Visualize Live SAS xpt Data in Power BI (via CData Connect AI)

Power BI transforms your company's data into rich visuals for you to collect and organize so you can focus on what matters to you. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get access to SAS xpt data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to use CData Connect to create a live connection to SAS xpt, connect to SAS xpt data from Power BI and then create reports on SAS xpt data in Power BI.

Configure SAS xpt Connectivity for Power BI

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

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

2. Select "SAS xpt" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SAS xpt.

   Connecting to Local SASXpt Files

   You can connect to local SASXpt file by setting the URI to a folder containing SASXpt files.

   Connecting to S3 data source

   You can connect to Amazon S3 source to read SASXpt files. Set the following properties to connect:

   • URI: Set this to the folder within your bucket that you would like to connect to.
   • AWSAccessKey: Set this to your AWS account access key.
   • AWSSecretKey: Set this to your AWS account secret key.
   • TemporaryLocalFolder: Set this to the path, or URI, to the folder that is used to temporarily download SASXpt file(s).

   Connecting to Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2

   You can connect to ADLS Gen2 to read SASXpt files. Set the following properties to connect:

   • URI: Set this to the name of the file system and the name of the folder which contacts your SASXpt files.
   • AzureAccount: Set this to the name of the Azure Data Lake storage account.
   • AzureAccessKey: Set this to our Azure DataLakeStore Gen 2 storage account access key.
   • TemporaryLocalFolder: Set this to the path, or URI, to the folder that is used to temporarily download SASXpt file(s).
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add SAS xpt Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to SAS xpt data from Power BI.

Query SAS xpt Tables

Follow the steps below to build a query to pull SAS xpt data into the report:

1. Open Power BI Desktop and click Get Data -> Online Services -> CData Connect AI and click "Connect"
2. Click "Sign in" and authenticate with your CData Connect AI account
3. After signing in, click "Connect"
4. Select tables in the Navigator dialog
5. Click Load to establish the connection to your SAS xpt data from Power BI

Create SAS xpt Data Visualizations

After connecting to the data into Power BI, you can create data visualizations in the Report view by dragging fields from the Fields pane onto the canvas. Select the dimensions and measures you wish to visualize along with the chart type.

Click Refresh to synchronize your report with any changes to the data.

Live Access to SAS xpt Data from Data Applications

With CData Connect AI you have a direct connection to SAS xpt data from Power BI. You can import more data, create new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating SAS xpt data.

To get SQL data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources (including SAS xpt) directly from your on-premise BI, reporting, ETL and other data applications, visit the CData Connect AI page and start a free trial.