How to integrate Metabase with Oracle Data

Metabase is an open source data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, users can easily create visualizations and dashboards linked to live Oracle data. This article describes how to connect to Oracle and build a simple visualization using Oracle data.

CData Connect provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Oracle, allowing you to easily integrate with live Oracle data in Metabase — without replicating the data. Connect looks exactly like a SQL Server database to Metabase and uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Oracle, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Oracle data.

Configure Oracle Connectivity for Metabase

Connectivity to Oracle from Metabase is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Oracle data from Metabase, we start by creating and configuring a Oracle connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "Oracle" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Oracle.

   To connect to Oracle, you'll first need to update your PATH variable and ensure it contains a folder location that includes the native DLLs. The native DLLs can be found in the lib folder inside the installation directory. Once you've done this, set the following to connect:

   • Port: The port used to connect to the server hosting the Oracle database.
   • User: The user Id provided for authentication with the Oracle database.
   • Password: The password provided for authentication with the Oracle database.
   • Service Name: The service name of the Oracle database.
4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Oracle Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Oracle data from Metabase.

Connect to CData Connect from Metabase

After creating the virtual database, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect Cloud.

1. Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab
2. Configure the connection to Connect Cloud and click "Save"
   • Database type: Select "SQL Server"
   • Name: Name the connection (e.g. "Oracle (Connect Cloud)")
   • Host: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. OracleOCI1)
   • Username: A Connect Cloud username (e.g. user@mydomain.com)
   • Password: The PAT for the above Connect Cloud user
   • Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)

Execute Oracle Data with Metabase

Once you configure the connection to Connect Cloud, you can query Oracle and build visualizations.

1. Use the "Write SQL" tool to retrieve the Oracle data
2. Write a SQL query based on the Oracle connection in CData Connect Cloud, e.g.
   
   

   SELECT CompanyName, City FROM Customers WHERE Country = US

3. Navigate to the "Visualization" screen, choose a visualization, and configure the visualization

More Information & Free Trial

At this point, you have built a simple visualization from Oracle data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live Oracle data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to Oracle (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect Cloud page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Oracle data in Metabase today.