Visualize Presto Data in Tableau Desktop (through CData Connect)

Tableau is a visual analytics platform transforming the way businesses use data to solve problems. When paired with CData Connect (or Connect Server), you can easily get access to live Presto data within Tableau.

CData Connect Server provides a pure SQL Server interface for Presto, allowing you to easily build reports from live Presto data in Tableau Desktop — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you build visualizations, Tableau Desktop generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Server pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Presto, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return the requested Presto data.

This article shows how to create a virtual SQL Server database for Presto, connect to the virtual database in Tableau, and build a simple chart.

Create a Virtual SQL Server Database for Presto Data

CData Connect Server uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources and generate APIs.

1. Login to Connect Server and click Connections.
2. Select "Presto" from Available Data Sources.
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Presto.

   Set the Server and Port connection properties to connect, in addition to any authentication properties that may be required.

   To enable TLS/SSL, set UseSSL to true.

   Authenticating with LDAP

   In order to authenticate with LDAP, set the following connection properties:

   • AuthScheme: Set this to LDAP.
   • User: The username being authenticated with in LDAP.
   • Password: The password associated with the User you are authenticating against LDAP with.

   Authenticating with Kerberos

   In order to authenticate with KERBEROS, set the following connection properties:

   • AuthScheme: Set this to KERBEROS.
   • KerberosKDC: The Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC) service used to authenticate the user.
   • KerberosRealm: The Kerberos Realm used to authenticate the user with.
   • KerberosSPN: The Service Principal Name for the Kerberos Domain Controller.
   • KerberosKeytabFile: The Keytab file containing your pairs of Kerberos principals and encrypted keys.
   • User: The user who is authenticating to Kerberos.
   • Password: The password used to authenticate to Kerberos.
4. Click Save Changes
5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions.

With the virtual database created, you are ready to connect to Presto data from Tableau Desktop.

Visualize Live Presto Data in Tableau Desktop

The steps below outline connecting to the virtual Presto database in CData Connect and building a simple visualization from the data.

1. Open Tableau and click "Microsoft SQL Server" under Connect -> To a Server.
2. In the connection wizard, enter the values for your CData Connect instance and click "Sign In"
   • Server: the address of your Connect instance and port of the TDS endpoint, separated by a comma (default port is: 1433)
   • Database: the virtual database you configured for the Presto data
   • Username & Password: the credentials for a CData Connect user
3. Select your newly created database and the table(s) you wish to visualize (defining relationships for JOINed tables as needed).
4. Select Dimensions and Measures and configure your visualization.

SQL Access to Presto Data from On-Premise Applications

At this point, you have a direct connection to live Presto data from your Tableau Desktop workbook. You can create new visualizations, build dashboards, and more. For more information on gaining SQL access to data from more than 200 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources (including Presto) from desktop applications like Tableau refer to our CData Connect page or download a free trial.