Build Interactive Dashboards from Google Data Catalog Data in Amazon QuickSight

Amazon QuickSight allows users to build interactive dashboards in the cloud. When paired with CData Connect Server, you get direct access to Google Data Catalog data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to create a virtual database for Google Data Catalog in Connect Server and build dashboards in Amazon QuickSight with access to Google Data Catalog data.

CData Connect Server provides a pure SQL Server interface for Google Data Catalog, allowing you to easily build reports from live Google Data Catalog data in Quicksight — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you build visualizations, Quicksight 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 Google Data Catalog, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return the requested Google Data Catalog data.

Create a Virtual SQL Server Database for Google Data Catalog Data

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

1. Login to Connect Server and click Connections.
2. Select "Google Data Catalog" from Available Data Sources.
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Google Data Catalog.

   Google Data Catalog uses the OAuth authentication standard. Authorize access to Google APIs on behalf on individual users or on behalf of users in a domain.

   Before connecting, specify the following to identify the organization and project you would like to connect to:

   • OrganizationId: The ID associated with the Google Cloud Platform organization resource you would like to connect to. Find this by navigating to the cloud console.

     Click the project selection drop-down, and select your organization from the list. Then, click More -> Settings. The organization ID is displayed on this page.

   • ProjectId: The ID associated with the Google Cloud Platform project resource you would like to connect to.

     Find this by navigating to the cloud console dashboard and selecting your project from the Select from drop-down. The project ID will be present in the Project info card.

   When you connect, the OAuth endpoint opens in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application to completes the OAuth process. For more information, refer to the OAuth section in the Help documentation.

4. Click Save Changes
5. 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 Google Data Catalog data from Quicksight.

Import Google Data Catalog Data into SPICE and Create Interactive Dashboards

The steps below outline creating a new data set based on the virtual Google Data Catalog database in Connect Server, importing the dataset into SPICE, and building a simple visualization from the data.

1. Log into Amazon QuickSight and on the left panel click "Datasets"
2. Click "New dataset," select SQL Server as the data source, configure the connection to your Connect Server instance, and click "Create data source"
3. Select a table to visualize (or submit a custom SQL query for your data) and click Select.
4. Select "Import to SPICE for quicker analytics" and click "Visualize."
5. Select fields to visualize as well as a visual type.

Schedule Refreshes for SPICE Data Sets

QuickSight users can schedule refreshes for data sets that are imported into SPICE, ensuring that data being analyzed is only as old as the most recent refresh.

1. Navigate to the QuickSight home page.
2. Click "Manage data."
3. Select the data set you wish to refresh.
4. Click "Schedule refresh."
5. Click Create, configure the refresh settings (time zone, repeat frequency, and starting datetime), and click Create.

SQL Access to Google Data Catalog Data from Applications

At this point, you have a direct connection to Google Data Catalog data from your Amazon QuickSight dashboard. You can create new visualizations, build interactive dashboards, and more. For more information on gaining SQL access to data from more than 250 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources from applications like Amazon QuickSight, refer to our Connect Server page.