How to integrate Metabase with Azure Data Lake Storage Data

Metabase is an open source data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, users can easily create visualizations and dashboards linked to live Azure Data Lake Storage data. This article describes how to connect to Azure Data Lake Storage and build a simple visualization using Azure Data Lake Storage data.

CData Connect provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Azure Data Lake Storage, allowing you to easily integrate with live Azure Data Lake Storage data in Metabase — without replicating the data. Connect looks exactly like a SQL Server database to Metabase and uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Azure Data Lake Storage, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Azure Data Lake Storage data.

Configure Azure Data Lake Storage Connectivity for Metabase

Connectivity to Azure Data Lake Storage from Metabase is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Azure Data Lake Storage data from Metabase, we start by creating and configuring a Azure Data Lake Storage connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "Azure Data Lake Storage" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Azure Data Lake Storage.

   Authenticating to a Gen 1 DataLakeStore Account

   Gen 1 uses OAuth 2.0 in Azure AD for authentication.

   For this, an Active Directory web application is required. You can create one as follows:

   1. Sign in to your Azure Account through the .
   2. Select "Azure Active Directory".
   3. Select "App registrations".
   4. Select "New application registration".
   5. Provide a name and URL for the application. Select Web app for the type of application you want to create.
   6. Select "Required permissions" and change the required permissions for this app. At a minimum, "Azure Data Lake" and "Windows Azure Service Management API" are required.
   7. Select "Key" and generate a new key. Add a description, a duration, and take note of the generated key. You won't be able to see it again.

   To authenticate against a Gen 1 DataLakeStore account, the following properties are required:

   • Schema: Set this to ADLSGen1.
   • Account: Set this to the name of the account.
   • OAuthClientId: Set this to the application Id of the app you created.
   • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the key generated for the app you created.
   • TenantId: Set this to the tenant Id. See the property for more information on how to acquire this.
   • Directory: Set this to the path which will be used to store the replicated file. If not specified, the root directory will be used.

   Authenticating to a Gen 2 DataLakeStore Account

   To authenticate against a Gen 2 DataLakeStore account, the following properties are required:

   • Schema: Set this to ADLSGen2.
   • Account: Set this to the name of the account.
   • FileSystem: Set this to the file system which will be used for this account.
   • AccessKey: Set this to the access key which will be used to authenticate the calls to the API. See the property for more information on how to acquire this.
   • Directory: Set this to the path which will be used to store the replicated file. If not specified, the root directory will be used.
4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Azure Data Lake Storage Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Azure Data Lake Storage data from Metabase.

Connect to CData Connect from Metabase

After creating the virtual database, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect Cloud.

1. Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab
2. Configure the connection to Connect Cloud and click "Save"
   • Database type: Select "SQL Server"
   • Name: Name the connection (e.g. "Azure Data Lake Storage (Connect Cloud)")
   • Host: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. ADLS1)
   • Username: A Connect Cloud username (e.g. user@mydomain.com)
   • Password: The PAT for the above Connect Cloud user
   • Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)

Execute Azure Data Lake Storage Data with Metabase

Once you configure the connection to Connect Cloud, you can query Azure Data Lake Storage and build visualizations.

1. Use the "Write SQL" tool to retrieve the Azure Data Lake Storage data
2. Write a SQL query based on the Azure Data Lake Storage connection in CData Connect Cloud, e.g.
   
   

   SELECT FullPath, Permission FROM Resources WHERE Type = 'FILE'

3. Navigate to the "Visualization" screen, choose a visualization, and configure the visualization

More Information & Free Trial

At this point, you have built a simple visualization from Azure Data Lake Storage data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live Azure Data Lake Storage data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to Azure Data Lake Storage (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect Cloud page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Azure Data Lake Storage data in Metabase today.