How to integrate Metabase with Planio Data

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

CData Connect provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Planio, allowing you to easily integrate with live Planio 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 Planio, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Planio data.

Configure Planio Connectivity for Metabase

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

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "Planio" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Planio.

   Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the Planio Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\Planio.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for Planio (see below).

   Planio API Profile Settings

   Enable the REST API in Planio Administration Settings, then go to My Account > API Access Key and click Show to reveal your API key. Your subdomain is the prefix of your Planio account URL.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Planio Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI 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 AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the 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 and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Planio data from Metabase.

Connect to CData Connect AI from Metabase

After creating the connection in Connect AI, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect AI.

1. Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab
2. Configure the connection to Connect AI and click "Save"
   • Database type: Select "SQL Server"
   • Name: Name the connection (e.g. "Planio (Connect AI)")
   • Host: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. API1)
   • Username: A Connect AI username (e.g. [email protected])
   • Password: The PAT previously created
   • Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)
   

Execute Planio Data with Metabase

Once you configure the connection to Connect AI, you can query Planio and build visualizations.

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

   SELECT Id, Name FROM Companies WHERE Country = 'United States'

   
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 Planio data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live Planio data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to Planio (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Planio data in Metabase today.