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Get the Report →Build DB2-Connected Dashboards in Redash
Use CData Connect Server to create a virtual SQL Server Database for DB2 data and build visualizations and dashbaords from DB2 data in Redash.
Redash lets you connect and query your data sources, build dashboards to visualize data and share them with your company. When paired with CData Connect Server, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to DB2 data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to create a virtual database for DB2 and build visualizations from DB2 data in Redash.
CData Connect Server provides a pure SQL Server interface for DB2, allowing you to easily build reports from live DB2 data in Redash — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you build visualizations, Redash 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.
- Login to Connect Server and click Connections.
- Select "DB2" from Available Data Sources.
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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.
- Click Save Changes
- 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 Redash.
Visualize DB2 Data in Redash
The steps below outline creating a new data source in Redash based on the virtual DB2 database in Connect Server and building a simple visualization from the data.
Create a New Data Source
- Log into Redash, click on your profile and click "Data Sources"
- Click the " New Data Source" button
- Select "Microsoft SQL Server" as the Data Source Type
- On the configuration tab, set the following properties:
- Name: Name the data source (e.g. DB2 (CData Connect))
- Host: The full URL to your CData Connect instance (e.g. https://connect_server_url)
- Port: The port of the CData Connect SQL Server endpoint (e.g. 1433)
- User: A CData Connect user
- Password: The password for the above user
- Database name: The name of the virtual database for DB2 (e.g. DB21)
- Click the checkbox to Use SSQL
- Click Create
- Click the "Test Connection" button to ensure you have configured the connection properly
With the new Data Source created, we are ready to visualize our DB2 data.
Create a DB2 Data Visualization
- Click Create -> New Query
- Select the newly created Data Source (you can explore the data structure in the New Query wizard)
- Write a SQL statement to retrieve the data, for example:
SELECT Orders.Freight, Customers.ContactName FROM Customers INNER JOIN Orders ON Customers.CustomerId=Orders.CustomerId
- Click the "Execute" button to load DB2 data into Redash via CData Connect
- Use the Visualization Editor to create and analyze graphs from DB2 data
- You can schedule the query to refresh and update the visualization periodically
SQL Access to DB2 Data from Cloud Applications
At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to DB2 data from Redash. You can create new visualizations, build dashboards, and more. For more information on gaining SQL access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources from cloud applications like Redash, refer to our Connect Server page.