Connect to Sybase 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 Sybase, Denodo users can work with live Sybase data alongside other enterprise data sources. This article walks through creating a virtual data source for Sybase in the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Sybase data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Sybase, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Sybase 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 Sybase data using native data types.

Create the Sybase Virtual Port

To connect to live Sybase 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 Sybase 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 Sybase\lib\) to the Denodo external library directory (C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-sybase-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.: sybase
   • Database adapter: Generic
   • Driver class path: C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-sybase-19
   • Driver class: cdata.jdbc.sybase.SybaseDriver

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

     jdbc:sybase:User=myuser;Password=mypassword;Server=localhost;Database=mydatabase;Charset=iso_1;

     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 Sybase JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.sybase.jar

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

     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, you will need to 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

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

View Sybase Data in the VirtualPort Administrator Tool

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

1. Click the "Create base view" button in the newly created VirtualPort (admin.Sybase).
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 Sybase 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_sybase_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_sybase_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 Sybase data like you would any other data source in Denodo Platform, for example, querying Sybase in the Denodo Data Catalog.

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