Connect to Live EnterpriseDB Data in PostGresSQL Interface through CData Connect AI

There are a vast number of PostgreSQL clients available on the Internet. PostgreSQL is a popular interface for data access. When you pair PostgreSQL with CData Connect AI, you gain database-like access to live EnterpriseDB data from PostgreSQL. In this article, we walk through the process of connecting to EnterpriseDB data in Connect AI and establishing a connection between Connect AI and PostgreSQL using a TDS foreign data wrapper (FDW).

CData Connect AI provides a pure SQL Server interface for EnterpriseDB, allowing you to query data from EnterpriseDB without replicating the data to a natively supported database. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to EnterpriseDB, leveraging server-side processing to return the requested EnterpriseDB data quickly.

Connect to EnterpriseDB in Connect AI

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

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "EnterpriseDB" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to EnterpriseDB.

   The following connection properties are required in order to connect to data.

   • Server: The host name or IP of the server hosting the EnterpriseDB database.
   • Port: The port of the server hosting the EnterpriseDB database.

   You can also optionally set the following:

   • Database: The default database to connect to when connecting to the EnterpriseDB Server. If this is not set, the user's default database will be used.

   Connect Using Standard Authentication

   To authenticate using standard authentication, set the following:

   • User: The user which will be used to authenticate with the EnterpriseDB server.
   • Password: The password which will be used to authenticate with the EnterpriseDB server.

   Connect Using SSL Authentication

   You can leverage SSL authentication to connect to EnterpriseDB data via a secure session. Configure the following connection properties to connect to data:

   • SSLClientCert: Set this to the name of the certificate store for the client certificate. Used in the case of 2-way SSL, where truststore and keystore are kept on both the client and server machines.
   • SSLClientCertPassword: If a client certificate store is password-protected, set this value to the store's password.
   • SSLClientCertSubject: The subject of the TLS/SSL client certificate. Used to locate the certificate in the store.
   • SSLClientCertType: The certificate type of the client store.
   • SSLServerCert: The certificate to be accepted from the server.
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add EnterpriseDB Connection page and update the User-based 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.
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 EnterpriseDB data from PostgreSQL.

Build the TDS Foreign Data Wrapper

The Foreign Data Wrapper can be installed as an extension to PostgreSQL, without recompiling PostgreSQL. The tds_fdw extension is used as an example (https://github.com/tds-fdw/tds_fdw).

1. You can clone and build the git repository via something like the following view source:

   sudo apt-get install git
   git clone https://github.com/tds-fdw/tds_fdw.git
   cd tds_fdw
   make USE_PGXS=1
   sudo make USE_PGXS=1 install
   

   Note: If you have several PostgreSQL versions and you do not want to build for the default one, first locate where the binary for pg_config is, take note of the full path, and then append PG_CONFIG= after USE_PGXS=1 at the make commands.
2. After you finish the installation, then start the server:

   sudo service postgresql start
   

3. Then go inside the Postgres database

   psql -h localhost -U postgres -d postgres
   

   Note: Instead of localhost you can put the IP where your PostgreSQL is hosted.

Connect to EnterpriseDB data as a PostgreSQL Database and query the data!

After you have installed the extension, follow the steps below to start executing queries to EnterpriseDB data:

1. Log into your database.
2. Load the extension for the database:

   CREATE EXTENSION tds_fdw;
   

3. Create a server object for EnterpriseDB data:

   CREATE SERVER "EnterpriseDB1" FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER tds_fdw OPTIONS (servername'tds.cdata.com', port '14333', database 'EnterpriseDB1');
   

4. Configure user mapping with your email and Personal Access Token from your Connect AI account:

   CREATE USER MAPPING for postgres SERVER "EnterpriseDB1" OPTIONS (username '[email protected]', password 'your_personal_access_token' );
   

5. Create the local schema:

   CREATE SCHEMA "EnterpriseDB1";
   

6. Create a foreign table in your local database:

   #Using a table_name definition:
   
   CREATE FOREIGN TABLE "EnterpriseDB1".Orders  (      
   id varchar,      
   ShipCity varchar)      
   SERVER "EnterpriseDB1"
   OPTIONS(table_name 'EnterpriseDB.Orders', row_estimate_method 'showplan_all');
   
   #Or using a schema_name and table_name definition:
   
   CREATE FOREIGN TABLE "EnterpriseDB1".Orders (      
   id varchar,      
   ShipCity varchar)      
   SERVER "EnterpriseDB1"
   OPTIONS (schema_name 'EnterpriseDB', table_name 'Orders', row_estimate_method 'showplan_all');
   
   #Or using a query definition:
   
   CREATE FOREIGN TABLE  "EnterpriseDB1".Orders (
   id varchar,      
   ShipCity varchar)      
   SERVER "EnterpriseDB1"
   OPTIONS (query 'SELECT * FROM EnterpriseDB.Orders', row_estimate_method 'showplan_all');
   
   #Or setting a remote column name:
   
   CREATE FOREIGN TABLE "EnterpriseDB1".Orders (
   id varchar,
   col2 varchar OPTIONS (column_name 'ShipCity'))
   SERVER "EnterpriseDB1"
   OPTIONS (schema_name 'EnterpriseDB', table_name 'Orders', row_estimate_method 'showplan_all');
   

7. You can now execute read/write commands to EnterpriseDB:

   SELECT id, ShipCity
   FROM "EnterpriseDB1".Orders;
   

More Information & Free Trial

Now, you have created a simple query from live EnterpriseDB data. For more information on connecting to EnterpriseDB (and more than 200 other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live EnterpriseDB data in PostgreSQL.