Use the CData ODBC Driver for Presto in MicroStrategy Desktop

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

The CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Presto data in MicroStrategy due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from MicroStrategy to Presto, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Presto 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 Presto data using native MicroStrategy data types.

Connect to Presto as an ODBC Data Source

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

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.

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 Presto 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

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

Connect to and Visualize Presto Data using MicroStrategy Desktop

In addition to connecting Presto in MicroStrategy enterprise products, you can connect to Presto in MicroStrategy Desktop. Follow the steps below to add Presto data as a dataset and create visualizations and reports of Presto 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 Presto 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 Presto data (see below) and click Execute SQL to test the query. SELECT * FROM Customer 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 Presto data. Where possible, the complex queries generated by the filters and aggregations will be pushed down to Presto, 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 Presto in MicroStrategy Desktop, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on Presto data. Read our other articles on connecting to Presto in MicroStrategy and connecting to Presto in MicroStrategy Web for more examples.