Build DB2 Visualizations in Tableau Desktop

Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Use CData Connect AI to connect to live DB2 data and build visualizations in Tableau.

Tableau is a visual analytics platform transforming the way businesses use data to solve problems. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to DB2 data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to connect to DB2 and build visualizations from DB2 data in Tableau.

CData Connect AI provides a pure SQL Server, cloud-to-cloud interface for DB2, allowing you to easily build visualizations from live DB2 data in Tableau without installing connectors. As you build visualizations, Tableau generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to DB2, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return DB2 data.

Configure DB2 Connectivity for Tableau

Connectivity to DB2 from Tableau is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with DB2 data from Tableau, we start by creating and configuring a DB2 connection.

  1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
    2. Adding a Connection
  2. Select "DB2" from the Add Connection panel
    3. Selecting a data source
  3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to DB2.

    Set the following properties to connect to DB2:

    • Server: Set this to the name of the server running DB2.
    • Port: Set this to the port the DB2 server is listening on.
    • Database: Set this to the name of the DB2 database.
    • User: Set this to the username of a user allowed to access the database.
    • Password: Set this to the password of a user allowed to access the database.

    You will also need to install the corresponding DB2 driver:

    • Windows: Install the IBM Data Server Provider for .NET.

      On Windows, installing the IBM Data Server Provider is sufficient, as the installation registers it in the machine.config.

    • Java: Install the IBM Data Server Driver for JDBC.

      In the Java version, place the IBM Data Server Driver JAR in the www\WEB-INF\lib\ folder for this application.

    Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
  4. Click Save & Test
  5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add DB2 Connection page and update the User-based permissions. Updating permissions

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

  1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
  2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
  3. Give the PAT a name and click Create. Creating a new PAT
  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 and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to DB2 data from Tableau.

Visualize Live DB2 Data in Tableau

To establish a connection from Tableau Desktop to the CData Connect AI Virtual SQL Server, follow these steps.

  1. In Tableau Desktop, open a new book. Under To a Server, select More, then Microsoft SQL Server. Selecting Microsoft SQL Server as the connection type.
  2. Enter your credentials:
    • Server: enter the Virtual SQL Server endpoint and port separated by a comma: tds.cdata.com,14333
    • Database: enter the Connection Name of the CData Connect AI data source you want to connect to (for example, DB21).
    • Authentication: select Use a specific username and password.
    • Username: enter your CData Connect AI username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect AI interface. For example, [email protected].
    • Password: enter the PAT you previously generated.
    • Require SSL: leave this selected.
    Configuring the connection to the Virtual SQL Server API.
  3. Click Sign In.
  4. Select the Database (Connect AI connection) you wish to work with and opt for a Live or Extract Connection type.
  5. Select the table(s) you wish to visualize. If you select multiple tables, define the relationship between the tables using the appropriate columns. Selecting tables to visualize (Salesforce is shown)
  6. Select the fields to visualize. Visualizing live data (Salesforce is shown).

Real-Time Access to DB2 Data from Data Applications

At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live DB2 data from your Tableau workbook. You can create new visualizations, build dashboards, and more. For more information on gaining live access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources from applications like Tableau, refer to our Connect AI page.

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