Integrate LDAP Objects in Pentaho Data Integration

The CData JDBC Driver for LDAP enables access to live data from data pipelines. Pentaho Data Integration is an Extraction, Transformation, and Loading (ETL) engine that data, cleanses the data, and stores data using a uniform format that is accessible.This article shows how to connect to LDAP objects as a JDBC data source and build jobs and transformations based on LDAP objects in Pentaho Data Integration.

Configure to LDAP Connectivity

To establish a connection, the following properties under the Authentication section must be provided:

• Valid User and Password credentials (e.g., Domain\BobF or cn=Bob F,ou=Employees,dc=Domain).
• Server information, including the IP or host name of the Server, as well as the Port.

• BaseDN: This will limit the scope of LDAP searches to the height of the distinguished name provided.

  Note: Specifying a narrow BaseDN may greatly increase performance; for example, cn=users,dc=domain will only return results contained within cn=users and its children.

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the LDAP JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

When you configure the JDBC URL, 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.

Below is a typical JDBC URL:

Save your connection string for use in Pentaho Data Integration.

Connect to LDAP from Pentaho DI

Open Pentaho Data Integration and select "Database Connection" to configure a connection to the CData JDBC Driver for LDAP

1. Click "General"
2. Set Connection name (e.g. LDAP Connection)
3. Set Connection type to "Generic database"
4. Set Access to "Native (JDBC)"
5. Set Custom connection URL to your LDAP connection string (e.g.
   jdbc:ldap:User=Domain\BobF;Password=bob123456;Server=10.0.1.1;Port=389;
6. Set Custom driver class name to "cdata.jdbc.ldap.LDAPDriver"
7. Test the connection and click "OK" to save.

Create a Data Pipeline for LDAP

Once the connection to LDAP is configured using the CData JDBC Driver, you are ready to create a new transformation or job.

1. Click "File" >> "New" >> "Transformation/job"
2. Drag a "Table input" object into the workflow panel and select your LDAP connection.
3. Click "Get SQL select statement" and use the Database Explorer to view the available tables and views.
4. Select a table and optionally preview the data for verification.

At this point, you can continue your transformation or jb by selecting a suitable destination and adding any transformations to modify, filter, or otherwise alter the data during replication.

Free Trial & More Information

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for LDAP and start working with your live LDAP objects in Pentaho Data Integration today.