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

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

Create the Zuora Virtual Port

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

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

     jdbc:zuora:OAuthClientID=MyOAuthClientId;OAuthClientSecret=MyOAuthClientSecret;Tenant=USProduction;ZuoraService=DataQuery;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.zuora.jar

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

     Zuora uses the OAuth standard to authenticate users. See the online Help documentation for a full OAuth authentication guide.

     Configuring Tenant property

     In order to create a valid connection with the provider you need to choose one of the Tenant values (USProduction by default) which matches your account configuration. The following is a list with the available options:

     • USProduction: Requests sent to https://rest.zuora.com.
     • USAPISandbox: Requests sent to https://rest.apisandbox.zuora.com"
     • USPerformanceTest: Requests sent to https://rest.pt1.zuora.com"
     • EUProduction: Requests sent to https://rest.eu.zuora.com"
     • EUSandbox: Requests sent to https://rest.sandbox.eu.zuora.com"

     Selecting a Zuora Service

     Two Zuora services are available: Data Query and AQuA API. By default ZuoraService is set to AQuADataExport.

     DataQuery

     The Data Query feature enables you to export data from your Zuora tenant by performing asynchronous, read-only SQL queries. We recommend to use this service for quick lightweight SQL queries.

     Limitations
     • The maximum number of input records per table after filters have been applied: 1,000,000
     • The maximum number of output records: 100,000
     • The maximum number of simultaneous queries submitted for execution per tenant: 5
     • The maximum number of queued queries submitted for execution after reaching the limitation of simultaneous queries per tenant: 10
     • The maximum processing time for each query in hours: 1
     • The maximum size of memory allocated to each query in GB: 2
     • The maximum number of indices when using Index Join, in other words, the maximum number of records being returned by the left table based on the unique value used in the WHERE clause when using Index Join: 20,000

     AQuADataExport

     AQuA API export is designed to export all the records for all the objects ( tables ). AQuA query jobs have the following limitations:

     Limitations
     • If a query in an AQuA job is executed longer than 8 hours, this job will be killed automatically.
     • The killed AQuA job can be retried three times before returned as failed.
6. Click the "Test connection" button to confirm the configuration and click Save.

View Zuora Data in the VirtualPort Administrator Tool

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

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

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