Model HCL Domino Data Using Azure Analysis Services

Microsoft Azure Analysis Services (AAS) is a fully-managed platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offering that delivers enterprise-grade data models in the cloud. When combined with CData Connect Cloud, AAS facilitates immediate cloud-to-cloud access to HCL Domino data for applications. This article outlines the process of connecting to HCL Domino via Connect Cloud and importing HCL Domino data into Visual Studio using an AAS extension.

CData Connect Cloud offers a seamless cloud-to-cloud interface tailored for HCL Domino, enabling you to create live models of HCL Domino data in Azure Analysis Services without the need to replicate data to a natively supported database. While constructing high-quality semantic data models for business reports and client applications, Azure Analysis Services formulates SQL queries to retrieve data. CData Connect Cloud is equipped with optimized data processing capabilities right from the start, directing all supported SQL operations, including filters and JOINs, directly to HCL Domino. This leverages server-side processing for swift retrieval of the requested HCL Domino data.

Prerequisites

Before you connect, you must first do the following:

• Connect a data source to your CData Connect Cloud account. Detailed steps are provided in the next section.
• Generate a Personal Access Token (PAT). Copy this down, as it acts as your password during authentication.
• Create a server in Azure Analysis Services to which you will deploy your data from CData Connect Cloud.
• Install and configure an On-Premise Gateway in your system. This will pull data from the source via CData Connect Cloud into the Azure Analysis Services project and deploy models to the server. Refer to the given link to find the detailed process.

Configure HCL Domino Connectivity for AAS

Connectivity to HCL Domino from Azure Analysis Services is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with HCL Domino data from Azure Analysis Services, we start by creating and configuring a HCL Domino connection.

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

   Prerequisites

   The connector requires the Proton component to be installed. Normally, Proton is distributed as part of the AppDev pack. See the HCL documentation for instructions on acquiring and installing Proton or the AppDev pack.

   Once the Proton service is installed and running, you will also need to create a user account and download its Internet certificate. This certificate can be used to set the connector certificate connection properties.

   Authenticating to Domino

   • Server: The name or IP address of the server running Domino with the Proton service.
   • Port: The port number that the Proton service is listening on.
   • Database: The name of the database file, including the .nsf extension.
   • SSLClientCertType: This must match the format of the certificate file. Typically this will be either PEMKEY_FILE for .pem certificates or PFXFILE for .pfx certificates.
   • SSLClientCert: The path to the certificate file.
   • SSLServerCert: This can be set to (*) if you trust the server. This is usually the case, but if you want to perform SSL validation, you may provide a certificate or thumbprint instead. See the documentation for SSLServerCert for details.

   Additional Server Configuration

   The connector supports querying Domino views if any are defined. Before views can be queried by the connector they must be registered with the design catalog.

   Please refer to the Catalog Administration section of the AppDev pack documentation for details on how to do this.

4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add HCL Domino 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 lacks support for OAuth authentication, you have the option to generate a Personal Access Token (PAT) for authentication purposes. It's advisable to follow best practices by creating a distinct PAT for each service to uphold access granularity.

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 HCL Domino data from Visual Studio using Azure Analysis Services.

Connect to HCL Domino in Visual Studio Using AAS

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Cloud from Azure Analysis Services to create a new HCL Domino data source. You will need the Microsoft Analysis Services Project extension installed in Microsoft Visual Studio to continue.

1. In Visual Studio, create a new project. Select Analysis Services Tabular Project. Click on Next.
2. In the Configure your new project dialog box, enter a name for your project in the Project name field. Fill in the rest of the fields.
3. Click on Create. The Tabular model designer dialog box opens. Select Workspace server and enter the address of your Azure Analysis Services server (for example, asazure://eastus.azure.windows.net/myAzureServer). Also, make sure to select the option SQL Server 2022 / Azure Analysis Services (1600) from the Compatibility level dropdown. Click on Test Connection to check if the connection details are correct. Click OK and sign in to your server.
4. Now, click on OK to create the project. Your Visual Studio window should resemble the following screenshot:
5. In the Tabular Model Explorer window of Visual Studio, right-click Data Sources and select Import From Data Source.
6. In the Get Data window, select SQL Server database and click Connect. In the Server field, enter the Virtual SQL Server endpoint and the port separated by a comma: e.g., “tds.cdata.com, 14333”, and click on OK.
7. Click on Database and enter the following information:
   • User name: Enter your CData Connect Cloud username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect Cloud interface. For example, test@cdata.com.
   • Password: Enter the PAT you generated on the Settings page.

   Click on Connect. If successful, the Navigator window will pop up.

8. In the Navigator window, search and select the tables of your choice
9. You should now see the Salesforce table populated with data in the preview section on the right panel.
10. Click on Load to import the data.

Now that you have imported the HCL Domino data into your data model, you are ready to deploy the project to Azure Analysis Services for use in business reports, client applications, and more.

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