How to integrate Metabase with Teradata Data

Metabase is an open source data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards. When paired with CData Connect AI, users can easily create visualizations and dashboards linked to live Teradata data. This article describes how to connect to Teradata and build a simple visualization using Teradata data.

CData Connect provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Teradata, allowing you to easily integrate with live Teradata data in Metabase — without replicating the data. Connect looks exactly like a SQL Server database to Metabase and uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Teradata, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Teradata data.

Configure Teradata Connectivity for Metabase

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

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

2. Select "Teradata" from the Add Connection panel

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

   To connect to Teradata, provide authentication information and specify the database server name.

   • User: Set this to the username of a Teradata user.
   • Password: Set this to the password of the Teradata user.
   • DataSource: Specify the Teradata server name, DBC Name, or TDPID.
   • Port: Specify the port the server is running on.
   • Database: Specify the database name. If not specified, the default database is used.
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Teradata 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 Teradata data from Metabase.

Connect to CData Connect AI from Metabase

After creating the connection in Connect AI, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect AI.

1. Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab
2. Configure the connection to Connect AI and click "Save"
   • Database type: Select "SQL Server"
   • Name: Name the connection (e.g. "Teradata (Connect AI)")
   • Host: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. Teradata1)
   • Username: A Connect AI username (e.g. [email protected])
   • Password: The PAT previously created
   • Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)
   

Execute Teradata Data with Metabase

Once you configure the connection to Connect AI, you can query Teradata and build visualizations.

1. Use the "Write SQL" tool to retrieve the Teradata data
2. Write a SQL query based on the Teradata connection in CData Connect AI, e.g.
   
   

   SELECT ProductId, ProductName FROM NorthwindProducts WHERE CategoryId = 5

   
3. Navigate to the "Visualization" screen, choose a visualization, and configure the visualization

More Information & Free Trial

At this point, you have built a simple visualization from Teradata data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live Teradata data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to Teradata (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Teradata data in Metabase today.