Bridge Workday Connectivity with Apache NiFi

Apache NiFi supports powerful and scalable directed graphs of data routing, transformation, and system mediation logic. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for Workday, NiFi can work with live Workday data. This article describes how to connect to and query Workday data from an Apache NiFi Flow.

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

Connecting to Workday Data in Apache NiFi

1. Download the CData JDBC Driver for Workday installer, unzip the package, and run the JAR file to install the driver.

2. Copy the CData JDBC Driver JAR file (and license file if it exists), cdata.jdbc.workday.jar (and cdata.jdbc.workday.lic), to the Apache NiFi lib subfolder, for example, C:\nifi-1.3.0-bin\nifi-1.3.0\lib.

   On Windows, the default location for the CData JDBC Driver is C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for Workday.

3. Start Apache NiFi. For example:

   cd C:\nifi-1.3.0-bin\nifi-1.3.0\bin
   run-nifi.bat
   

4. Navigate to the Apache NiFi UI in your web browser: typically http://localhost:8080/nifi
5. Click the (Configuration) button from the Operate sidebar.
6. In the NiFi Flow Configuration page, navigate to the Controller Services tab.
7. Click the button to create a new controller service.
8. In the Add Controller Service page, select DBCPConnection Pool, and then click Add.
9. Click the gear button to configure the new DBCPConnection Pool.

10. In the Configure Controller Service page, navigate to the Properties tab. Fill in the properties:

    Property	Value
    Database Connection URL	jdbc:workday:User=myuser;Password=mypassword;Tenant=mycompany_gm1;Host=https://wd3-impl-services1.workday.com
    Database Driver Class Name	cdata.jdbc.workday.WorkdayDriver

    Built-in Connection String Designer

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

    java -jar cdata.jdbc.workday.jar

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

    To connect, there are three pieces of information required: Authentication, API URL, and WSDL URL.

    Authentication

    To authenticate, specify your User and Password. Note that you must append your Tenant to your User separated by an '@' character. For instance, if you normally log in with 'geraldg' and your Tenant is 'mycompany_mc1', then your User should be specified as 'geraldg@mycompany_mc1'.

    API URL

    The API URL may be specified either directly via APIURL, or it may be constructed from the Tenant, Service, and Host. The APIURL is constructed in the following format: <Host>/ccx/service/<Tenant>/<Service>.

    WSDL URL

    The WSDLURL may be specified in its entirety, or may be constructed from the Service and WSDLVersion connection properties. The WSDLURL is constructed in the following format: https://community.workday.com/sites/default/files/file-hosting/productionapi/<Service>/<WSDLVersion>/<Service>.wsdl

11. Click the button to enable the new DBCPConnection Pool.

Your Workday data is now available for use in Apache NiFi. For example, you can use the DBCPConnection Pool as the source for a QueryDatabaseTable processor.

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