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CData Connect Server

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Visualize Snowflake Data in Tableau Desktop (through CData Connect)


Create a virtual SQL Server database for Snowflake data in CData Connect (or Connect Server) and build visualizations from live Snowflake data in Tableau Desktop.

Tableau is a visual analytics platform transforming the way businesses use data to solve problems. When paired with CData Connect (or Connect Server), you can easily get access to live Snowflake data within Tableau.

CData Connect Server provides a pure SQL Server interface for Snowflake, allowing you to easily build reports from live Snowflake data in Tableau Desktop — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you build visualizations, Tableau Desktop generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Server pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Snowflake, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return the requested Snowflake data.

This article shows how to create a virtual SQL Server database for Snowflake, connect to the virtual database in Tableau, and build a simple chart.

Create a Virtual SQL Server Database for Snowflake Data

CData Connect Server uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources and generate APIs.

  1. Login to Connect Server and click Connections.
  2. Select "Snowflake" from Available Data Sources.
  3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Snowflake.

    To connect to Snowflake:

    1. Set User and Password to your Snowflake credentials and set the AuthScheme property to PASSWORD or OKTA.
    2. Set URL to the URL of the Snowflake instance (i.e.: https://myaccount.snowflakecomputing.com).
    3. Set Warehouse to the Snowflake warehouse.
    4. (Optional) Set Account to your Snowflake account if your URL does not conform to the format above.
    5. (Optional) Set Database and Schema to restrict the tables and views exposed.

    See the Getting Started guide in the CData driver documentation for more information.

  4. Click Save Changes
  5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions.

With the virtual database created, you are ready to connect to Snowflake data from Tableau Desktop.

Visualize Live Snowflake Data in Tableau Desktop

The steps below outline connecting to the virtual Snowflake database in CData Connect and building a simple visualization from the data.

  1. Open Tableau and click "Microsoft SQL Server" under Connect -> To a Server.
  2. In the connection wizard, enter the values for your CData Connect instance and click "Sign In"
    • Server: the address of your Connect instance and port of the TDS endpoint, separated by a comma (default port is: 1433)
    • Database: the virtual database you configured for the Snowflake data
    • Username & Password: the credentials for a CData Connect user
  3. Select your newly created database and the table(s) you wish to visualize (defining relationships for JOINed tables as needed).
  4. Select Dimensions and Measures and configure your visualization.

SQL Access to Snowflake Data from On-Premise Applications

At this point, you have a direct connection to live Snowflake data from your Tableau Desktop workbook. You can create new visualizations, build dashboards, and more. For more information on gaining SQL access to data from more than 200 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources (including Snowflake) from desktop applications like Tableau refer to our CData Connect page or download a free trial.