Visualize Live Sybase Data in Power BI (via CData Connect AI)

Power BI transforms your company's data into rich visuals for you to collect and organize so you can focus on what matters to you. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get access to Sybase data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to use CData Connect to create a live connection to Sybase, connect to Sybase data from Power BI and then create reports on Sybase data in Power BI.

Configure Sybase Connectivity for Power BI

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

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

2. Select "Sybase" from the Add Connection panel

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

   To connect to Sybase, specify the following connection properties:

   • Server: Set this to the name or network address of the Sybase database instance.
   • Database: Set this to the name of the Sybase database running on the specified Server.

   Optionally, you can also secure your connections with TLS/SSL by setting UseSSL to true.

   Sybase supports several methods for authentication including Password and Kerberos.

   Connect Using Password Authentication

   Set the AuthScheme to Password and set the following connection properties to use Sybase authentication.

   • User: Set this to the username of the authenticating Sybase user.
   • Password: Set this to the username of the authenticating Sybase user.

   Connect using LDAP Authentication

   To connect with LDAP authentication, configure Sybase server-side to use the LDAP authentication mechanism.

   After configuring Sybase for LDAP, you can connect using the same credentials as Password authentication.

   Connect Using Kerberos Authentication

   To leverage Kerberos authentication, begin by enabling it setting AuthScheme to Kerberos. See the Using Kerberos section in the Help documentation for more information on using Kerberos authentication.

   You can find an example connection string below:

   Server=MyServer;Port=MyPort;User=SampleUser;Password=SamplePassword;Database=MyDB;Kerberos=true;KerberosKDC=MyKDC;KerberosRealm=MYREALM.COM;KerberosSPN=server-name

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Sybase Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Sybase data from Power BI.

Query Sybase Tables

Follow the steps below to build a query to pull Sybase data into the report:

1. Open Power BI Desktop and click Get Data -> Online Services -> CData Connect AI and click "Connect"
2. Click "Sign in" and authenticate with your CData Connect AI account
3. After signing in, click "Connect"
4. Select tables in the Navigator dialog
5. Click Load to establish the connection to your Sybase data from Power BI

Create Sybase Data Visualizations

After connecting to the data into Power BI, you can create data visualizations in the Report view by dragging fields from the Fields pane onto the canvas. Select the dimensions and measures you wish to visualize along with the chart type.

Click Refresh to synchronize your report with any changes to the data.

Live Access to Sybase Data from Data Applications

With CData Connect AI you have a direct connection to Sybase data from Power BI. You can import more data, create new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating Sybase data.

To get SQL data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources (including Sybase) directly from your on-premise BI, reporting, ETL and other data applications, visit the CData Connect AI page and start a free trial.