Connect to NetSuite SuiteAnalytics Data as an External Data Source using PolyBase

PolyBase for SQL Server allows you to query external data by using the same Transact-SQL syntax used to query a database table. When paired with the CData ODBC Driver for NetSuite SuiteAnalytics, you get access to your NetSuite SuiteAnalytics data directly alongside your SQL Server data. This article describes creating an external data source and external tables to grant access to live NetSuite SuiteAnalytics data using T-SQL queries.

NOTE: PolyBase is only available on SQL Server 19 and above.

CData Connect AI provides a pure SQL Server interface for NetSuite SuiteAnalytics, allowing you to query data from NetSuite SuiteAnalytics 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 NetSuite SuiteAnalytics, leveraging server-side processing to return the requested NetSuite SuiteAnalytics data quickly.

Configure NetSuite SuiteAnalytics Connectivity for PolyBase

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

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

2. Select "NetSuite SuiteAnalytics" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to NetSuite SuiteAnalytics.

   Prerequisites

   Before you can connect to NetSuite SuiteAnalytics, you must set up SuiteAnalytics Connect in your NetSuite account:

   1. Enable the Connect Service feature.

      1. Ensure that your Account Administrator has enabled your Account and Role with the Connect Service feature.

      2. Navigate to Setup > Company > Enable Features.

      3. Click the Analytics tab and check the SuiteAnalytics Connect box.

   2. Add the SuiteAnalytics Connect permission to an existing Role, and note the Role ID for later.

   3. Find the Settings portlet on your home page and click Set Up SuiteAnalytics Connect, then click Your Configuration to view your service host and account ID. These settings map directly to the Server and Account Id properties.

   Add the NetSuite SuiteAnalytics Connection

   1. Open the Sources page of the Connect Cloud dashboard.

   2. Click Add Connection and select NetSuite SuiteAnalytics from the list of connectors.

   3. Enter a Connection Name of your choice.

   Authenticate to NetSuite SuiteAnalytics

   Set the following required properties:

   • Server: The Service Host value you found when setting up SuiteAnalytics Connect.

   • Account Id: The Account ID value you found when setting up SuiteAnalytics Connect.

   • Role Id: The internal ID of the login role you granted the SuiteAnalytics Connect permission.

   Next, choose one of the supported authentication methods:

   Basic authentication

   • User: The username you use to authenticate to your NetSuite account.

   • Password: The password associated with that account.

   Token-based authentication

   • Consumer Key and Consumer Secret: Generated when you create your integration record in NetSuite.

   • Token Key and Token Secret: The access token and secret generated for that integration.

   After you enter your credentials, click Save & Test to validate the connection.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add NetSuite SuiteAnalytics 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 NetSuite SuiteAnalytics data from Polybase.

Create an External Data Source for NetSuite SuiteAnalytics Data

After configuring the connection, you need to create a credential database for the external data source.

Creating a Credential Database

Execute the following SQL command to create credentials for the external data source connected to NetSuite SuiteAnalytics data.

NOTE: Set IDENTITY to your Connect AI username and set SECRET to your Personal Access Token.

CREATE DATABASE SCOPED CREDENTIAL ConnectCloudCredentials
WITH IDENTITY = 'yourusername', SECRET = 'yourPAT';

Create an External Data Source for NetSuite SuiteAnalytics

Execute a CREATE EXTERNAL DATA SOURCE SQL command to create an external data source for NetSuite SuiteAnalytics with PolyBase:

CREATE EXTERNAL DATA SOURCE ConnectCloudInstance
WITH ( 
  LOCATION = 'sqlserver://tds.cdata.com:14333',
  PUSHDOWN = ON,
  CREDENTIAL = ConnectCloudCredentials
);

Create External Tables for NetSuite SuiteAnalytics

After creating the external data source, use CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE statements to link to NetSuite SuiteAnalytics data from your SQL Server instance. The table column definitions must match those exposed by CData Connect AI. You can use the Data Explorer in Connect AI to see the table definition.

Sample CREATE TABLE Statement

Execute a CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE SQL command to create the external table(s), using the collation and setting the LOCATION to three-part notation for the connection, catalog, and table. The statement to create an external table based on a NetSuite SuiteAnalytics Account would look similar to the following.

CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE Account(
  AnnualRevenue COLLATE [nvarchar](255) NULL,
  NumberOfEmployees COLLATE [nvarchar](255) NULL,
  ...
) WITH ( 
  LOCATION='SuiteAnalytics1.SuiteAnalytics.Account',
  DATA_SOURCE=ConnectCloudInstance
);

Having created external tables for NetSuite SuiteAnalytics in your SQL Server instance, you are now able to query local and remote data simultaneously. To get live data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your SQL Server database, try CData Connect AI today!