Connect to and Query RabbitMQ Data in QlikView over ODBC

Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Create data visualizations with RabbitMQ data in QlikView.

The CData ODBC drivers expand your ability to work with data from hundreds of data sources. QlikView is a business discovery platform that provides self-service BI for all business users in an organization. This article outlines simple steps to connect to RabbitMQ data using the CData ODBC driver and create data visualizations in QlikView.

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

Connect to RabbitMQ as an ODBC Data Source

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.

About RabbitMQ Management HTTP API

RabbitMQ is an open-source message broker that supports multiple messaging protocols. The RabbitMQ Management HTTP API provides HTTP-based access to management and monitoring data for a RabbitMQ server. The API exposes information about virtual hosts, exchanges, queues, bindings, connections, channels, consumers, users, permissions, policies, and cluster-wide statistics.

The Management plugin must be enabled on the RabbitMQ server for the HTTP API to be available. By default, the management interface listens on port 15672.

Using Basic Authentication

RabbitMQ Management HTTP API uses HTTP Basic authentication. You must supply the username and password of a RabbitMQ management user.

To enable access to the management API:

  1. Ensure the RabbitMQ Management plugin is enabled on your server (rabbitmq-plugins enable rabbitmq_management).
  2. Use an existing management user or create one with the appropriate management tag (management, policymaker, monitoring, or administrator).
  3. Note the full base URL of your RabbitMQ Management HTTP API (e.g., http://localhost:15672).

After configuring your RabbitMQ server, set the following connection properties to connect:

  • AuthScheme: Set this to Basic.
  • URL: Set this to the base URL of your RabbitMQ Management HTTP API (e.g., http://localhost:15672).
  • User: Set this to your RabbitMQ management username (e.g., guest).
  • Password: Set this to your RabbitMQ management password.

Example connection string:

Profile=C:\profiles\RabbitMQ.apip;AuthScheme=Basic;URL=http://localhost:15672;User=guest;Password=guest;

Available Tables

The RabbitMQ profile provides access to the following tables:

  • Overview - Cluster-wide statistics and information about the RabbitMQ node
  • Nodes - Information about individual nodes in the RabbitMQ cluster
  • NodeMemory - Detailed memory usage breakdown for a specific cluster node
  • Connections - List of all open AMQP connections to the broker
  • Channels - List of all open AMQP channels across all connections
  • Consumers - List of all consumers registered across all queues
  • Exchanges - List of exchanges declared across all virtual hosts
  • Queues - List of queues declared across all virtual hosts
  • Bindings - List of all bindings between exchanges and queues
  • VirtualHosts - List of virtual hosts configured on the broker
  • VhostPermissions - User permissions within a specific virtual host
  • Users - List of all RabbitMQ users
  • Permissions - Permission records for all users across all virtual hosts
  • TopicPermissions - Topic-level permission records for all users
  • Policies - List of policies applied to queues and exchanges in virtual hosts
  • OperatorPolicies - List of operator policies applied to queues in virtual hosts
  • Parameters - List of component parameters (e.g., federation, shovel) per virtual host
  • GlobalParameters - List of global parameters that apply across all virtual hosts
  • VhostLimits - Resource limits configured for specific virtual hosts
  • UserLimits - Resource limits configured for specific users
  • FeatureFlags - List of feature flags and their enabled/disabled state on the node
  • DeprecatedFeatures - List of deprecated features and their usage state
  • AuthAttempts - Authentication attempt statistics for the node
  • ClusterName - The name of the RabbitMQ cluster
  • WhoAmI - Information about the currently authenticated management user
  • ExchangeBindingsSource - Bindings for which a specific exchange is the source
  • ExchangeBindingsDestination - Bindings for which a specific exchange is the destination
  • QueueBindings - Bindings for a specific queue within a virtual host

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.

Populate a Chart with RabbitMQ Data

The steps below supply the results of an SQL query to a visualization in QlikView. In this article, you will create a bar chart with the query below:

SELECT ,  FROM AuthAttempts WHERE NodeName = 'rabbit@hostname'
  1. Click File -> Edit Script (or click the Edit Script button in the Toolbar).
  2. On the Data tab, select ODBC in the Database menu and click Connect.
  3. Select the DSN (CData API Sys) in the resulting dialog. A command like the following is generated:
    ODBC CONNECT TO [CData API Sys];
    
  4. Enter the SQL query directly into the script with the SQL command (or click Select to build the query in the SELECT statement wizard).
    SQL SELECT ,  FROM AuthAttempts WHERE NodeName = 'rabbit@hostname';
    

    Where possible, the SQL operations in the query, like filters and aggregations, will be pushed down to RabbitMQ, 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.

  5. Close the script editor and reload the document to execute the script.
  6. Click Tools -> Quick Chart Wizard. In the wizard, select the chart type. This example uses a bar chart. When building the chart, you have access to the fields from RabbitMQ, typed appropriately for QlikView, thanks to built-in dynamic metadata querying.
  7. When defining Dimensions, select in the First Dimension menu.
  8. When defining Expressions, click the summary function you want and select in the menu.
  9. Finish the wizard to generate the chart. The CData ODBC Driver for RabbitMQ connects to live RabbitMQ data, so the chart can be refreshed to see real-time changes. Live connections are possible and effective, thanks to the high-performance data processing native to CData ODBC Drivers.

Ready to get started?

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