Connect to Snowflake Data in the Denodo Platform

Denodo Platform is a data virtualization product providing a single point of contact for enterprise database data. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for Snowflake, Denodo users can work with live Snowflake data alongside other enterprise data sources. This article walks through creating a virtual data source for Snowflake in the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Snowflake data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Snowflake, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Snowflake and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying allows you to work with and analyze Snowflake data using native data types.

Create the Snowflake Virtual Port

To connect to live Snowflake data from Denodo, you need to copy the JDBC Driver JAR file to the external library directory for Denodo and create a new JDBC Data Source from the Virtual DataPort Administrator tool.

1. Download the CData JDBC Driver for Snowflake installer, unzip the package, and run the JAR file to install the driver.
2. Copy the JAR File (and license file if it exists) from the installation location (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for Snowflake\lib\) to the Denodo external library directory (C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-snowflake-19).
3. Open the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator tool and navigate to the Server Explorer tab.
4. Right-click "admin" and select New -> Data source -> JDBC.
5. Configure the JDBC Connection:
   • Name: your choice, e.g.: snowflake
   • Database adapter: Generic
   • Driver class path: C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-snowflake-19
   • Driver class: cdata.jdbc.snowflake.SnowflakeDriver

   • Database URI: Set this to a JDBC URL using the necessary connection properties. For example,

     jdbc:snowflake:User=Admin;Password=test123;Server=localhost;Database=Northwind;Warehouse=TestWarehouse;Account=Tester1;

     Information on creating the Database URI follows:

     Built-In Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Snowflake JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.snowflake.jar

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

     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.

6. Click the "Test connection" button to confirm the configuration and click Save.

View Snowflake Data in the VirtualPort Administrator Tool

After creating the data source, you can create a base view of Snowflake data for use in the Denodo Platform.

1. Click the "Create base view" button in the newly created VirtualPort (admin.Snowflake).
2. Expand the object tree and select the objects (tables) you wish to import.
3. Click the "Create selected" button to create views of the Snowflake data.
   Optional: Click "Create associations from foreign keys" to define relationships between the objects.
4. With the view(s) created, navigate to a table (cdata_snowflake_products) in the Server Explorer and double-click the selected table.
5. In the new tab, click "Execution panel" to open a query panel.
6. Customize the query in the "Execute" tab or use the default:

   SELECT * FROM cdata_snowflake_products CONTEXT ('i18n'='us_est', 'cache_wait_for_load'='true')
   

7. Click Execute to view the data.

With the base view created, you can now work with live Snowflake data like you would any other data source in Denodo Platform, for example, querying Snowflake in the Denodo Data Catalog.

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Snowflake and start working with your live Snowflake data in Denodo Platform. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.