Use the CData ODBC Driver for Google Data Catalog in MicroStrategy



Connect to Google Data Catalog data in MicroStrategy Developer using the CData ODBC Driver for Google Data Catalog.

MicroStrategy is an analytics and mobility platform that enables data-driven innovation. When you pair MicroStrategy with the CData ODBC Driver for Google Data Catalog, you gain database-like access to live Google Data Catalog data from MicroStrategy, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. In this article, we walk through creating a database instance for Google Data Catalog in MicroStrategy Developer and creating a Warehouse Catalog based on Google Data Catalog data.

The CData ODBC driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Google Data Catalog data in MicroStrategy due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from MicroStrategy to Google Data Catalog, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Google Data Catalog and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can visualize and analyze Google Data Catalog data using native MicroStrategy data types.

Connect to Google Data Catalog as an ODBC Data Source

Information for connecting to Google Data Catalog follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments (the ODBC Driver for Google Data Catalog must be installed on the machine hosting the connected MicroStrategy Intelligence Server).

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.

When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

Windows

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Linux

If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for Google Data Catalog in a Linux environment, the driver installation predefines a system DSN. You can modify the DSN by editing the system data sources file (/etc/odbc.ini) and defining the required connection properties.

/etc/odbc.ini

[CData GoogleDataCatalog Sys] Driver = CData ODBC Driver for Google Data Catalog Description = My Description ProjectId = YourProjectId

For specific information on using these configuration files, please refer to the help documentation (installed and found online).

Create a Google Data Catalog Database Instance in MicroStrategy Developer

You can connect to Google Data Catalog in MicroStrategy Developer by adding a database instance based on the CData ODBC Driver for Google Data Catalog.*

  1. Open MicroStrategy Developer and select a Project Source.
  2. Navigate to Administration -> Configuration Managers -> Database Instances and right-click to add a new instance.
  3. Name the instance, select Generic DBMS as the database connection type, and create a new database connection.
  4. In the database connection wizard, name the connection and create a new Database Login name, using filler values for the user and password.
  5. Select the DSN that you configured earlier as the ODBC data source (i.e., CData GoogleDataCatalog Sys).
  6. Select the newly created database connection.
  7. In the Project Source, right-click the project and open the Project configuration.
  8. Navigate to Database Instances and select the newly created database instance.
  9. Close MicroStrategy Developer and restart the connected MicroStrategy Intelligence Server to complete the database instance creation.

With the database instance configured, you will now be able to connect to Google Data Catalog data from the Warehouse Catalog and Data Import.

Connect to Google Data Catalog Data from the Warehouse Catalog

Once you have created a database instance based on the ODBC Driver for Google Data Catalog, you can connect to data from the Warehouse Catalog.

  1. Select your project and click Schema -> Warehouse Catalog.
  2. In the Read Settings for the Catalog, click Settings and set the queries to retrieve the schema:
    • To retrieve the list of tables, use the following query:
      SELECT 
        CatalogName NAME_SPACE,
        TableName TAB_NAME 
      FROM 
        SYS_TABLES
              
    • To retrieve the list of columns for selected tables, use the following query:
      SELECT DISTINCT 
        CatalogName NAME_SPACE, 
        TableName TAB_NAME, 
        ColumnName COL_NAME, 
        DataTypeName DATA_TYPE, 
        Length DATA_LEN, 
        NumericPrecision DATA_PREC, 
        NumericScale DATA_SCALE 
      FROM 
        SYS_TABLECOLUMNS 
      WHERE 
        TableName IN (#TABLE_LIST#) 
      ORDER BY
        1,2,3
              
  3. Select tables to be used in the project.

If you are interested in connecting to Google Data Catalog from other MicroStrategy products, you can read about connecting from MicroStrategy Web and connecting from MicroStrategy Desktop.


Note: connecting using a ODBC driver requires a 3- or 4-tier architecture.

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the Google Data Catalog ODBC Driver to get started:

 Download Now

Learn more:

Google Data Catalog Icon Google Data Catalog ODBC Driver

The Google Data Catalog ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live data from Google Data Catalog, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access Google Data Catalog data like you would a database - read, write, and update Google Data Catalog Schemas, Tables, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.