Build Neo4J-Connected ETL Processes in Google Data Fusion

Google Data Fusion allows users to perform self-service data integration to consolidate disparate data. Uploading the CData JDBC Driver for Neo4J enables users to access live Neo4J data from within their Google Data Fusion pipelines. While the CData JDBC Driver enables piping Neo4J data to any data source natively supported in Google Data Fusion, this article walks through piping data from Neo4J to Google BigQuery,

Upload the CData JDBC Driver for Neo4J to Google Data Fusion

Upload the CData JDBC Driver for Neo4J to your Google Data Fusion instance to work with live Neo4J data. Due to the naming restrictions for JDBC drivers in Google Data Fusion, create a copy or rename the JAR file to match the following format driver-version.jar. For example: cdataneo4j-2020.jar

1. Open your Google Data Fusion instance
2. Click the to add an entity and upload a driver
3. On the "Upload driver" tab, drag or browse to the renamed JAR file.
4. On the "Driver configuration" tab:
   • Name: Create a name for the driver (cdata.jdbc.neo4j) and make note of the name
   • Class name: Set the JDBC class name: (cdata.jdbc.neo4j.Neo4jDriver)
5. Click "Finish"

Connect to Neo4J Data in Google Data Fusion

With the JDBC Driver uploaded, you are ready to work with live Neo4J data in Google Data Fusion Pipelines.

1. Navigate to the Pipeline Studio to create a new Pipeline
2. From the "Source" options, click "Database" to add a source for the JDBC Driver
3. Click "Properties" on the Database source to edit the properties

   NOTE: To use the JDBC Driver in Google Data Fusion, you will need a license (full or trial) and a Runtime Key (RTK). For more information on obtaining this license (or a trial), contact our sales team.

   • Set the Label
   • Set Reference Name to a value for any future references (i.e.: cdata-neo4j)
   • Set Plugin Type to "jdbc"
   • Set Connection String to the JDBC URL for Neo4J. For example:
     
     jdbc:neo4j:RTK=5246...;Server=localhost;Port=7474;User=my_user;Password=my_password;

     To connect to Neo4j, set the following connection properties:

     • Server: The server hosting the Neo4j instance.
     • Port: The port on which the Neo4j service is running. The provider connects to port 7474 by default.
     • User: The username of the user using the Neo4j instance.
     • Password: The password of the user using the Neo4j instance.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Neo4J JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.neo4j.jar

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

   • Set Import Query to a SQL query that will extract the data you want from Neo4J, i.e.:
     SELECT * FROM ProductCategory
4. From the "Sink" tab, click to add a destination sink (we use Google BigQuery in this example)
5. Click "Properties" on the BigQuery sink to edit the properties
   • Set the Label
   • Set Reference Name to a value like neo4j-bigquery
   • Set Project ID to a specific Google BigQuery Project ID (or leave as the default, "auto-detect")
   • Set Dataset to a specific Google BigQuery dataset
   • Set Table to the name of the table you wish to insert Neo4J data into

With the Source and Sink configured, you are ready to pipe Neo4J data into Google BigQuery. Save and deploy the pipeline. When you run the pipeline, Google Data Fusion will request live data from Neo4J and import it into Google BigQuery.

While this is a simple pipeline, you can create more complex Neo4J pipelines with transforms, analytics, conditions, and more. Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Neo4J and start working with your live Neo4J data in Google Data Fusion today.