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Use CData Tableau Connectors and Tableau Server to visualize live FTP data.
Tableau Server is a visual analytics platform transforming the way businesses use data to solve problems. When paired with the CData Tableau Connector for FTP, you get access to live FTP data within Tableau Server. This article shows how to connect to FTP in Tableau Desktop, publish a Data Source to Tableau Server, and build a simple chart from that data.
The CData Tableau Connectors enable high-speed access to live FTP data in Tableau Server. Once you install the connector, you simply authenticate with FTP and you can immediately start building responsive, dynamic visualizations and dashboards. By surfacing FTP data using native Tableau data types and handling complex filters, aggregations, & other operations automatically, CData Tableau Connectors grant seamless access to FTP data.
NOTE: The CData Tableau Connectors require Tableau 2020.3 or higher. If you are using an older version of Tableau, you will need to use the CData Tableau Connector for FTP. If you wish to connect to FTP data in Tableau Cloud, you will need to use CData Connect.
Enable Connectivity to FTP in Tableau Server
Start by installing the CData Tableau Connector on the machine hosting Tableau Server.
Installation on a Linux Machine:
- Unpack the setup.zip archive. Creating a directory for the connector like /opt/cdata/ftp is recommended, but the exact install location does not matter.
- Navigate to the lib subdirectory under the install directory. Generate a license file by running this command and following the prompts:
java -jar cdata.tableau.ftp.jar -l
- Copy cdata.tableau.ftp.jar and cdata.tableau.ftp.lic into the drivers directory, /opt/tableau/tableau_driver/jdbc.
- Copy cdata.ftp.taco into the connectors directory, MyTableauServerRootDir/data/tabsvc/vizqlserver/Connectors. In most cases MyTableauServerRootDir is located at /var/opt/tableau/tableau_server.
- Restart Tableau Server.
If you cannot execute the java commmand from step 2, you will need to install a Java runtime environment. The name of this package differs on Red Hat-based and Debian-based systems:
OS | Java Package |
---|---|
Ubuntu | openjdk-8-jre-headless |
Debian | openjdk-8-jre-headless |
RHEL | java-1.8.0-openjdk |
CentOS | java-1.8.0-openjdk |
Fedora | java-1.8.0-openjdk |
SUSE | java-1_8_0-openjdk |
You can substitute Java 8 with a later Java release as needed.
Installation on a Windows Machine:
- Run the setup.exe installer. The driver JAR file will be automatically placed in the drivers directory, C:\Program Files\Tableau\Drivers.
- Navigate to the lib folder under the installation directory. By default the installation directory is a folder in C:\Program Files\CData.
- Copy cdata.tableau.ftp.lic into the drivers directory.
- Copy cdata.tableau.ftp.taco into the connectors directory, MyTableauServerRootDir/data/tabsvc/vizqlserver/Connectors. In most cases MyTableauServerRootDir is located under C:\ProgramData.
- Restart Tableau Server.
Connect to FTP in Tableau Desktop
Once the connectors are installed on the Server machine, we can configure a connection to FTP in Tableau Desktop and publish a FTP-based Data Source to Tableau Server.
- Open Tableau Desktop.
- Click More under Connect -> To a Server.
- Select "FTP by CData".
- Configure the connection to the data.
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.
- Click "Sign In".
Discover Schemas and Query Data
Once you establish the connection to FTP data, you can configure which entities to visualize.
- Select CData from the Database pull-down menu.
- Select FTP from the Schema pull-down menu.
- Drag the tables and views you wish to visualize onto the join area. You can include multiple tables.
- Select Update Now or Automatically Update. Update Now lets you preview the first 10,000 rows of the data source (or enter the number of rows you want to see in the Rows text box). Automatically Update auto-loads the changes in the preview area.
Publish Data to Tableau Server
After you configure the data you wish to visualize, you can publish the Data Source to a Tableau Server instance. In Tableau Desktop:
- Click Server -> Sign In.
- Enter the URL for your Tableau Server.
- Authenticate with Tableau Server credentials.
- Click Server -> Publish Data Source and select your data source.
- Click Publish.
- Select the Project, name the Data Source, and optionally add a description.
- Click Publish.
This creates a new entry under the server's data source list, from which you an change the data source's permissions, view its history, and perform other management tasks.
Note that workstation connected to the same server will be able to use the same source in Tableau Desktop, even if the connector isn't installed there. Also, workbooks created directly on Tableau Server (via the web interface) can use this source.
Visualize FTP Data in Tableau Server
With the Data Source published to Tableau Server, you are ready to visualize FTP data.
- Login to your Tableau Server instance.
- Connect to the remote source using the Search for Data -> Tableau Server in the Connect sidebar.
- Click the published Data Source.
- Click New Workbook.
- In the workbook, FTP fields are listed as Dimensions and Measures, depending on the data type. The CData Tableau Connector discovers data types automatically, allowing you to leverage the powerful data processing and visualization features of Tableau.
- Drag a field from the Dimensions or Measures area to Rows or Columns. Tableau creates column or row headers.
- Select one of the chart types from the Show Me tab. Tableau displays the chart type that you selected.
Using the CData Tableau Connector for FTP with Tableau Server, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on FTP data. Download a free, 30-day trial and get started today.