Use the CData ODBC Driver for Postmark in MicroStrategy Desktop

MicroStrategy is an analytics and mobility platform that enables data-driven innovation. When paired with the CData ODBC Driver for Postmark, you gain database-like access to live Postmark data from MicroStrategy, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. In this article, we walk through adding Postmark as a data source in MicroStrategy Desktop and creating a simple visualization of Postmark data.

The CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Postmark data in MicroStrategy due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from MicroStrategy to Postmark, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Postmark and utilizes the embedded SQL Engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can visualize and analyze Postmark data using native MicroStrategy data types.

Connect to Postmark as an ODBC Data Source

Information for connecting to Postmark follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments.

Using API Key Authentication

Postmark uses server API tokens to authenticate requests. Each Postmark server has its own API token, which controls access to messages, bounces, templates, and statistics associated with that server.

To obtain your Server API Token, log in to your Postmark account and navigate to the server you want to connect to. Go to API Tokens under the server settings and copy the token labeled Server API token.

After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

• AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
• APIKey: Set this to your Postmark Server API Token. This value is sent as the X-Postmark-Server-Token header on every request.

Example connection string:

Profile=C:\profiles\Postmark.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings="APIKey=your-server-api-token"

Connecting to Postmark

Once the authentication is configured, you can connect to Postmark and query data from any of the available tables such as OutboundMessages, Bounces, and Templates.

When you configure the DSN, 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.

Windows

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Linux

If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for Postmark in a Linux environment, the driver installation predefines a system DSN. You can modify the DSN by editing the system data sources file (/etc/odbc.ini) and defining the required connection properties.

/etc/odbc.ini

[CData API Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for Postmark
Description = My Description
Profile = C:\profiles\Postmark.apip
AuthScheme = APIKey
ProfileSettings = "APIKey = your-server-api-token"

For specific information on using these configuration files, please refer to the help documentation (installed and found online).

Connect to and Visualize Postmark Data using MicroStrategy Desktop

In addition to connecting Postmark in MicroStrategy enterprise products, you can connect to Postmark in MicroStrategy Desktop. Follow the steps below to add Postmark data as a dataset and create visualizations and reports of Postmark data.

1. Open MicroStrategy Desktop and create a new dossier.
2. In the datasets panel, click New Data, select Databases, and select Type a Query as the Import Option.
3. Add a new data source and choose DSN data sources.
4. Choose the DSN you previously configured (likely CData API Sys) and select Generic DBMS in the Version menu.
5. Set the User and Password properties for the DSN (or use placeholder values) and name the data source.

6. Select the new database instance to view the tables. You may need to manually click the search icon in the Available Tables section to see the tables.
7. Create a SQL query for the Postmark data (see below) and click Execute SQL to test the query.

   SELECT * FROM Bounces
   

   NOTE: Since we create a live connection, we can execute a SELECT * query and utilize the filtering and aggregation features native to the MicroStrategy products.
8. Click Finish and choose to connect live.
9. Choose a visualization, choose fields to display (data types are discovered automatically through dynamic metadata discovery) and apply any filters to create a new visualization of Postmark data. Where possible, the complex queries generated by the filters and aggregations will be pushed down to Postmark, while any unsupported operations (which can include SQL functions and JOIN operations) will be managed client-side by the CData SQL Engine embedded in the driver.
10. Once you are finished configuring the dossier, click File -> Save.

Using the CData ODBC Driver for Postmark in MicroStrategy Desktop, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on Postmark data. Read our other articles on connecting to Postmark in MicroStrategy and connecting to Postmark in MicroStrategy Web for more examples.