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Build MongoDB Visualizations in Tableau Cloud
Use CData Connect Cloud to connect to live MongoDB data and build visualizations in Tableau Cloud.
Tableau Cloud is an analytics platform fully hosted in the cloud. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to MongoDB data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to connect to MongoDB and build visualizations from MongoDB data in Tableau Cloud.
CData Connect Cloud provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for MongoDB, allowing you to easily build visualizations from live MongoDB data in Tableau Cloud without installing connectors or publishing worksheets and data sources from Tableau Desktop. As you build visualizations, Tableau Cloud generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to MongoDB, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return MongoDB data.
About MongoDB Data Integration
Accessing and integrating live data from MongoDB has never been easier with CData. Customers rely on CData connectivity to:
- Access data from MongoDB 2.6 and above, ensuring broad usability across various MongoDB versions.
- Easily manage unstructured data thanks to flexible NoSQL (learn more here: Leading-Edge Drivers for NoSQL Integration).
- Leverage feature advantages over other NoSQL drivers and realize functional benefits when working with MongoDB data (learn more here: A Feature Comparison of Drivers for NoSQL).
MongoDB's flexibility means that it can be used as a transactional, operational, or analytical database. That means CData customers use our solutions to integrate their business data with MongoDB or integrate their MongoDB data with their data warehouse (or both). Customers also leverage our live connectivity options to analyze and report on MongoDB directly from their preferred tools, like Power BI and Tableau.
For more details on MongoDB use case and how CData enhances your MongoDB experience, check out our blog post: The Top 10 Real-World MongoDB Use Cases You Should Know in 2024.
Getting Started
Configure MongoDB Connectivity for Tableau Cloud
To work with MongoDB data from Tableau Cloud, we need to connect to MongoDB from Connect Cloud, provide user access to the connection, and create a Workspace for the MongoDB data.
Connect to MongoDB from Connect Cloud
CData Connect Cloud uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.
- Log into Connect Cloud, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
- Select "MongoDB" from the Add Connection panel
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Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to MongoDB.
Set the Server, Database, User, and Password connection properties to connect to MongoDB. To access MongoDB collections as tables you can use automatic schema discovery or write your own schema definitions. Schemas are defined in .rsd files, which have a simple format. You can also execute free-form queries that are not tied to the schema.
- Click Create & Test
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Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add MongoDB Connection page and update the User-based permissions.
Add a Personal Access Token
When connecting to Connect Cloud through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect Cloud. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.
- Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect Cloud app to open the settings page.
- On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
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Give the PAT a name and click Create.
- The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.
Configure MongoDB Endpoints for Tableau Cloud
After connecting to MongoDB, create a workspace for your desired table(s).
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Navigate to the Workspaces page and click Add to create a new Workspace (or select an existing workspace).
- Click Add to add new assets to the Workspace.
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Select the MongoDB connection (e.g. MongoDB1) and click Next.
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Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm.
- Make note of the OData Service URL for your workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}
With the connection, PAT, and Workspace configured, you are ready to connect to MongoDB data from Tableau Cloud.
Visualize Live MongoDB Data in Tableau Cloud
The steps below outline creating a new data source in Tableau Cloud based on the virtual MongoDB database in Connect Cloud and building a simple visualization from the data.
- Log into Tableau Cloud, select a account, and create a new workbook.
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In the new workbook, choose the OData Connector from the data wizard and fill in the values for your Connect Cloud instance.
- Set Server to the OData URL for your Workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}
- Set Authentication to Username and Password
- Set Username to your Connect Cloud username (e.g. [email protected])
- Set Password to a PAT for the above user
- Select your newly created database and the table(s) you wish to visualize (defining relationships for JOINad tables as needed).
- Select Dimensions and Measures and configure your visualization.
Real-Time Access to MongoDB Data from Cloud Applications
At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live MongoDB data from your Tableau Cloud workbook. You can create new visualizations, build dashboards, and more, with no need to publish data sources and workbooks from Tableau Desktop. For more information on gaining live access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources from cloud applications like Tableau Cloud, refer to our Connect Cloud page.
