Create DB2 Dashboards in Bold BI

Bold BI allows you to create, share, and collaborate on interactive BI dashboards. When paired with CData Connect Server, you get instant access to DB2 data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to create a virtual database for DB2 and build reports from DB2 data in Bold BI.

CData Connect Server provides a pure SQL Server interface for DB2, allowing you to easily build reports from live DB2 data in Bold BI — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you build visualizations, Bold BI generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Server pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to DB2, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return the requested DB2 data.

Create a Virtual SQL Server Database for DB2 Data

CData Connect Server uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources and generate APIs.

1. Login to Connect Server and click Connections.
2. Select "DB2" from Available Data Sources.
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.

4. Click Save Changes
5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions.

With the virtual database created, you are ready to connect to DB2 data from Bold BI.

Visualize Live DB2 Data in Bold BI

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Server from Bold BI to create a new DB2 data source and build a simple visualization from the data.

1. Log into your Bold BI instance, click the data sources tab, create a new data source, and choose the SQL Server connector.
2. Choose the basic configuration and set the connection properties:
   • Name: Name your connection
   • Server name: Your Connect Server instance (CONNECT_SERVER_URL)
   • Port: 1433
   • Username: Your Connect Server username
   • Password: Your Connect Server password
   • Mode: Choose Live to query DB2 on-demand or choose Extract to load the data into Bold BI
   • Database: Choose the database you created from the drop-down menu (db2db)
3. Click Connect
4. Select the table to visualize and drag it onto the workspace.
5. Select a visualization style and add it to the report.
6. Click the gear icon for the visualization to configure the visualization properties and assign columns to the visualization.

SQL Access to DB2 Data from Applications

Now you have a direct connection to live DB2 data from your Bold BI workbook. You can create more data sources and new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating DB2 data.

To get SQL data access to 200+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your applications, see the CData Connect page.