Create Reports from SFTP Data in Looker Studio

Looker Studio, formerly known as Google Data Studio, empowers users to craft customized reports featuring data visualizations that can be shared with clients while reflecting your brand identity. When combined with CData Connect AI, you gain immediate cloud-to-cloud access to SFTP data to create visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article provides step-by-step instructions on establishing a virtual database for SFTP and generating reports from SFTP data within Looker Studio.

CData Connect AI offers a seamless cloud-to-cloud interface tailored for SFTP, making it straightforward to construct reports directly from live SFTP data within Looker Studio without the need for data replication. As you create visualizations, Looker Studio generates queries to retrieve data. With its inherent optimized data processing capabilities, CData Connect AI efficiently channels all supported query operations, including filters, JOINs, and more, directly to SFTP. This leverages server-side processing to swiftly provide the requested SFTP data.

Configure SFTP Connectivity for Looker Studio

Connectivity to SFTP from Looker Studio is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with SFTP data from Looker Studio, 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.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to SFTP data from Looker Studio.

Visualize Live SFTP Data from Looker Studio

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect AI from Looker Studio to create a new SFTP data source and build a simple visualization from the data.

1. Log into Looker Studio, click data sources, create a new data source, and choose CData Connect AI Connector.

2. Click Authorize and allow access to your Google account.
3. Click Authorize to authenticate with your CData Connect AI instance
4. In the CData Connect AI Connector in Looker Studio select Connections to import from the dropdown and click Next

5. Now select a Connection (e.g. SFTP1) and click Next
6. Select a Table (e.g. MyDirectory) or use a Custom Query and click Connect to continue
7. If needed, modify columns, click Create Report, and add the data source to the report.

8. Select a visualization style and add it to the report.
9. Select Dimensions and Measures to customize your visualization.

Live Access to SFTP Data from Cloud Applications

Now you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live SFTP data from your Looker Studio workbook. You can create more data sources and new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating SFTP data.

Try CData Connect AI and get real-time data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications.