Connectors → Custom SQL

About the Custom SQL Connector

The Custom SQL Connector enables Incorta to access data stored in any SQL database. It is recommended that this connector be used when a dedicated Incorta database connector does not already exist. You can access the data you want with a standard SQL query. The Custom SQL connector supports the following Incorta specific functionality:

Deploy the JAR file

The Custom SQL connector requires that you have a custom JDBC jar file for the database vendor. The following is a generic example

• company.jdbc.jar

To use the Custom SQL connector, a System Administrator with root access will need to copy the JDBC driver JAR file of the database to each Incorta Node in an Incorta cluster. A CMC Administrator will need to restart the Analytics and Loader Services in the cluster.

Here are the steps to copy the JAR file to standalone Incorta cluster:

• Download the JDBC driver JAR file from the database vendor.
• Secure copy the company.jdbc.jar file to the host. Here is an example using scp:

Copy
INCORTA_NODE_HOST=100.101.102.103
INCORTA_NODE_HOST_PEM_FILE="host_key.pem"
INCORTA_NODE_HOST_USER="incorta"
CUSTOM_JDBC_JAR_FILE="company.jdbc.jar"

cd ~/Downloads
scp -i ~/.ssh/${INCORTA_NODE_HOST_PEM_FILE}  ${CUSTOM_JDBC_JAR_FILE} ${INCORTA_NODE_HOST_USER}@${INCORTA_NODE_HOST}:/tmp/

• Secure shell into the host

Copy
ssh -i ~/.ssh/${INCORTA_NODE_HOST_PEM_FILE} ${INCORTA_NODE_HOST_USER}@${INCORTA_NODE_HOST}

• Copy the company.jdbc.jar to the IncortaNode/runtime/lib/ directory in bash shell

Copy
INCORTA_INSTALLATION_PATH=/home/incorta/IncortaAnalytics
CUSTOM_JDBC_JAR_FILE="company.jdbc.jar"
cp /tmp/${CUSTOM_JDBC_JAR_FILE} $INCORTA_INSTALLATION_PATH/IncortaNode/runtime/lib/${CUSTOM_JDBC_JAR_FILE}

Restart the Analytics and Loader Services

Here are the steps to restart the Analytics and Loader Services in an Incorta Cluster from the Cluster Management Console (CMC).

• As the CMC Administrator, sign in to the CMC.
• In the Navigation bar, select Clusters.
• In the cluster list, select a Cluster name.
• Select the Details tab, if not already selected.
• In the footer, select Restart.

Steps to connect a Custom SQL Database and Incorta

To connect a Custom SQL Database and Incorta, here are the high level steps, tools, and procedures:

• Create an external data source
• Create a physical schema with the Schema Wizard
• or, Create a physical schema with the Schema Designer
• Load the physical schema
• Explore the physical schema

Create an external data source

Here are the steps to create a external data source with the Custom SQL connector:

• Sign in to the Incorta Direct Data Platform™.
• In the Navigation bar, select Data.
• In the Action bar, select + New → Add Data Source.
• In the Choose a Data Source dialog, in Custom, select Custom SQL.
• In the New Data Source dialog, specify the applicable connector properties.
• To test, select Test Connection.
• Select Ok to save your changes.

Custom SQL connector properties

Here are the properties for the Custom SQL connector:

Create a physical schema with the Schema Wizard

Here are the steps to create a Custom SQL physical schema with the Schema Wizard:

• Sign in to the Incorta Direct Data Platform™.
• In the Navigation bar, select Schema.
• In the Action bar, select + New → Schema Wizard
• In (1) Choose a Source, specify the following:
  • For Enter a name, enter the physical schema name.
  • For Select a Datasource, select the Custom SQL external data source.
  • Optionally create a description.
• In the Schema Wizard footer, select Next.
• In (2) Manage Tables, in the Data Panel, navigate the directory tree as necessary to select the Custom SQL tables. You can either check the Select All checkbox or select individual sheets.
• In the Schema Wizard footer, select Next.
• In (3) Finalize, in the Schema Wizard footer, select Create Schema.

Create a physical schema with the Schema Designer

Here are the steps to create a custom SQL physical schema using the Schema Designer:

• Sign in to the Incorta Direct Data Platform™.
• In the Navigation bar, select Schema.
• In the Action bar, select + New → Create Schema.
• In Name, specify the physical schema name, and select Save.
• In Start adding tables to your schema, select SQL Database.
• In the Data Source dialog, specify the Custom SQL table data source properties.
• Select Add.
• In the Table Editor, in the Table Summary section, enter the table name.
• To save your changes, select Done in the Action bar.

Custom SQL table data source properties

For a physical schema table in Incorta, you can define the following Custom SQL specific data source properties as follows:

View the physical schema diagram with the Schema Diagram Viewer

Here are the steps to view the physical schema diagram using the Schema Diagram Viewer:

• Sign in to the Incorta Direct Data Platform™.
• In the Navigation bar, select Schema.
• In the list of schemas, select the Custom SQL schema.
• In the Schema Designer, in the Action bar, select Diagram.

Load the physical schema

Here are the steps to perform a Full Load of the Custom SQL physical schema using the Schema Designer:

• Sign in to the Incorta Direct Data Platform™.
• In the Navigation bar, select Schema.
• In the list of schemas, select the Custom SQL schema.
• In the Schema Designer, in the Action bar, select Load → Load Now → Full.
• To review the load status, in Last Load Status, select the date.

Explore the physical schema

With the full load of the Custom SQL physical schema complete, you can use the Analyzer to explore the schema, create your first insight, and save the insight to a new dashboard.

To open the Analyzer from the schema, follow these steps:

• In the Navigation bar, select Schema.
• In the Schema Manager, in the List view, select the Custom SQL schema.
• In the Schema Designer, in the Action bar, select Explore Data.