Using OpenLink’s ODBC-JDBC Bridge to Access JDBC Data Sources via Tableau (Windows Edition)
Tableau provides users with an analytics solution that provides an easy-to-use interface for building and presenting analytical data. Tableau natively supports the ODBC data access interface, which provides access to numerous data sources.
Native JDBC support is currently missing from Tableau Desktop, which leaves Java data sources inaccessible without appropriate middleware.
OpenLink’s ODBC-JDBC Bridge Driver provides ODBC Compliant applications such as Tableau with connectivity to JDBC-accessible data sources.
Prerequisites
- Working ODBC-JDBC Bridge DSN (General Installation Guide)
- Tableau for Windows or Tableau Server
Creating an ODBC Connection
- Navigate to the more section of the side navigation bar and click on Other Database (ODBC).
- Start the ODBC DSN configuration process using Tableau’s DSN configuration and management UI.
- Select the “Driver” radio button and then select the OpenLink ODBC-JDBC Bridge (matching the Java SDK & Runtime associated with your JDBC Driver) from the drop-down.
- Click connect, and then click on options in the login interface that pops up.
Provide a name for your ODBC DSN. You can also include an optional description, but most tools will not show this to you when asking you to pick the DSN to which they’ll connect.
Type your JDBC driver’s classname (e.g., virtuoso.jdbc4.Driver, openlink.jdbc4.Driver) into the JDBC Driver text box. If you already know your JDBC URL, you can type or paste it into the URL String text box. Alternatively, you can click “…” button to bring up the JDBC connection string builder.
By default, the “Connect now to verify that all settings are correct” box is checked. Input a username and password, and click “Continue” to test the basic connection at this point, before proceeding to the Options, Preferences, and Compatibility setting panes.
- Continue through the Setup panels (Options, Preferences, Compatibility) to adjust any other settings specific to how this data source will interact with your ODBC client application. (Details of these settings may be found in the product documentation.)
- Review the list of active settings, and click Test Datasource… to verify connectivity.
- Once the connection is successfully verified, click okay and enter you login credentials.
- Click Connect to create an ODBC connection against your JDBC data source and click sign in to continue.
- Select a database from your JDBC data source using the Database dropdown menu. Click on New Custom SQL and enter the query you wish to use in Tableau.
- Click Update Now to refresh results from your data source.
- From here, you can use Tableau to design reports with your newly updated JDBC data.
Related
- Installing & Using the OpenLink Lite Edition ODBC-JDBC Bridge Driver for Mac OS X
- OpenLink JDBC-to-ODBC Bridge Drivers Are More Than Transitional Solutions
- iODBC SDK & Runtime for Mac OS X — for ODBC experience that matches what’s offered on Windows
- Tableau Home Page
- OpenLink ODBC-JDBC Driver Home Page — Single-Tier Edition
- OpenLink ODBC-JDBC Driver Home Page — Multi-Tier Edition
- Download Free Evaluation License & Installer for OpenLink ODBC-JDBC Bridge Drivers.
