Query IBM Cloud Object Storage Data in MySQL Workbench

MySQL Workbench allows users to administer MySQL environments and gain better visibility into databases. When paired with CData Connect (on-premise or Connect Server), you get live access to IBM Cloud Object Storage data as if it were a MySQL database. This article shows how to create a virtual database for IBM Cloud Object Storage in Connect and work with live IBM Cloud Object Storage data in MySQL Workbench.

Create a Virtual MySQL Database for IBM Cloud Object Storage Data

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

1. Login to Connect and click Connections.
2. Select "IBM Cloud Object Storage" from Available Data Sources.
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to IBM Cloud Object Storage.

   Register a New Instance of Cloud Object Storage

   If you do not already have Cloud Object Storage in your IBM Cloud account, follow the procedure below to install an instance of SQL Query in your account:

   1. Log in to your IBM Cloud account.
   2. Navigate to the page, choose a name for your instance and click Create. You will be redirected to the instance of Cloud Object Storage you just created.

   Connecting using OAuth Authentication

   There are certain connection properties you need to set before you can connect. You can obtain these as follows:

   API Key

   To connect with IBM Cloud Object Storage, you need an API Key. You can obtain this as follows:

   1. Log in to your IBM Cloud account.
   2. Navigate to the Platform API Keys page.
   3. On the middle-right corner click "Create an IBM Cloud API Key" to create a new API Key.
   4. In the pop-up window, specify the API Key name and click "Create". Note the API Key as you can never access it again from the dashboard.

   Cloud Object Storage CRN

   If you have multiple accounts, you will need to specify the CloudObjectStorageCRN explicitly. To find the appropriate value, you can:

   • Query the Services view. This will list your IBM Cloud Object Storage instances along with the CRN for each.
   • Locate the CRN directly in IBM Cloud. To do so, navigate to your IBM Cloud Dashboard. In the Resource List, Under Storage, select your Cloud Object Storage resource to get its CRN.

   Connecting to Data

   You can now set the following to connect to data:

   • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
   • ApiKey: Set this to your API key which was noted during setup.
   • CloudObjectStorageCRN (Optional): Set this to the cloud object storage CRN you want to work with. While the connector attempts to retrieve this automatically, specifying this explicitly is recommended if you have more than Cloud Object Storage account.

   When you connect, the connector completes the OAuth process.

   1. Extracts the access token and authenticates requests.
   2. Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation to be persisted across connections.
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 IBM Cloud Object Storage from MySQL Workbench.

Query IBM Cloud Object Storage from MySQL Workbench

The steps below outline connecting to the virtual IBM Cloud Object Storage database in Connect from MySQL Workbench and issuing basic queries to work with live IBM Cloud Object Storage data.

Connect to IBM Cloud Object Storage through Connect

1. In MySQL Workbench, click to add a new MySQL connection.
2. Name the connection (CData Connect).
3. Set the Hostname, Port, and Username parameters to connect to the SQL Gateway.
4. Click Store in Vault to set and store the password.
5. Click Test Connection to ensure the connection is configured properly and click OK.

Query IBM Cloud Object Storage Data

1. Open the connection you just created (CData Connect).
2. Click File -> New Query Tab.
3. Write a SQL query to retrieve IBM Cloud Object Storage data, like SELECT * FROM ibmcloudobjectstoragedb.Objects;

With access to live IBM Cloud Object Storage data from MySQL Workbench, you can easily query and update IBM Cloud Object Storage, just like you would a MySQL database. Request a demo of the CData Connect and start working with IBM Cloud Object Storage just like a MySQL database today.