Build SFTP-Connected Visualizations in datapine

datapine is a browser-based business intelligence platform. When paired with the CData Connect AI, you get access to your SFTP data directly from your datapine visualizations and dashboards. This article describes connecting to SFTP in CData Connect AI and building a simple SFTP-connected visualization in datapine.

CData Connect AI provides a pure SQL Server interface for SFTP, allowing you to query data from SFTP without replicating the data to a natively supported database. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to SFTP, leveraging server-side processing to return the requested SFTP data quickly.

Configure SFTP Connectivity for datapine

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

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

2. Select "SFTP" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SFTP.

   SFTP can be used to transfer files to and from SFTP servers using the SFTP Protocol. To connect, specify the RemoteHost;. service uses the User and Password and public key authentication (SSHClientCert). Choose an SSHAuthMode and specify connection values based on your selection.

   Set the following connection properties to control the relational view of the file system:

   • RemotePath: Set this to the current working directory.
   • TableDepth: Set this to control the depth of subfolders to report as views.
   • FileRetrievalDepth: Set this to retrieve files recursively and list them in the Root table.
   Stored Procedures are available to download files, upload files, and send protocol commands. See gdatamodel for more on using SQL to interact with the server.
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add SFTP Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to SFTP data from datapine.

Connecting to SFTP from datapine

Once you configure your connection to SFTP in Connect AI, you are ready to connect to SFTP from datapine.

1. Log into datapine
2. Click Connect to navigate to the "Connect" page
3. Select MS SQL Server as the data source
4. In the Integration step, fill in the connection properties and click "Save and Proceed"
   • Set the Internal Name
   • Set Database Name to the name of the connection we just configured (e.g. SFTP1)
   • Set Host / IP to "tds.cdata.com"
   • Set Username to your Connect AI username (e.g. [email protected])
   • Set Password to the corresponding PAT
   • Set Database Port to "14333"
   
5. In the Data Schema step, select the tables and fields to visualize and click "Save and Proceed"
6. In the References step, define any relationships between your selected tables and click "Save and Proceed"
7. In the Data Transfer step, click "Go to Analyzer"

Visualize SFTP Data in datapine

After connecting to CData Connect AI, you are ready to visualize your SFTP data in datapine. Simply select the dimensions and measures you wish to visualize!

Having connect to SFTP from datapine, you are now able to visualize and analyze real-time SFTP data no matter where you are. To get live data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from datapine, try CData Connect AI today!