How to integrate Metabase with FTP Data

Metabase is an open source data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards. When paired with CData Connect AI, users can easily create visualizations and dashboards linked to live FTP data. This article describes how to connect to FTP and build a simple visualization using FTP data.

CData Connect provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for FTP, allowing you to easily integrate with live FTP data in Metabase — without replicating the data. Connect looks exactly like a SQL Server database to Metabase and uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to FTP, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return FTP data.

Configure FTP Connectivity for Metabase

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

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

2. Select "FTP" from the Add Connection panel

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

   To connect to FTP or SFTP servers, specify at least RemoteHost and FileProtocol. Specify the port with RemotePort.

   Set User and Password to perform Basic authentication. Set SSHAuthMode to use SSH authentication. See the Getting Started section of the data provider help documentation for more information on authenticating via SSH.

   Set SSLMode and SSLServerCert to secure connections with SSL.

   The data provider lists the tables based on the available folders in your FTP server. Set the following connection properties to control the relational view of the file system:

   • RemotePath: Set this to the current working directory.
   • TableDepth: Set this to control the depth of folders to list as views.
   • FileRetrievalDepth: Set this to retrieve and list files recursively from the root table.

   Stored Procedures are available to download files, upload files, and send protocol commands. See the Data Model chapter of the FTP data provider documentation for more information.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add FTP 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 FTP data from Metabase.

Connect to CData Connect AI from Metabase

After creating the connection in Connect AI, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect AI.

1. Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab
2. Configure the connection to Connect AI and click "Save"
   • Database type: Select "SQL Server"
   • Name: Name the connection (e.g. "FTP (Connect AI)")
   • Host: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. FTP1)
   • Username: A Connect AI username (e.g. [email protected])
   • Password: The PAT previously created
   • Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)
   

Execute FTP Data with Metabase

Once you configure the connection to Connect AI, you can query FTP and build visualizations.

1. Use the "Write SQL" tool to retrieve the FTP data
2. Write a SQL query based on the FTP connection in CData Connect AI, e.g.
   
   

   SELECT Filesize, Filename FROM MyDirectory

   
3. Navigate to the "Visualization" screen, choose a visualization, and configure the visualization

More Information & Free Trial

At this point, you have built a simple visualization from FTP data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live FTP data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to FTP (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live FTP data in Metabase today.