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URL: https://www.cdata.com/kb/tech/alloydb-cloud-zapier.rst

⇱ Build Automated AlloyDB-Connected Workflows in Zapier

Build Automated AlloyDB-Connected Workflows in Zapier

👁 Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Use CData Connect AI to connect to live AlloyDB data and build automated workflows in Zapier.

Zapier is an online automation tool that connects your apps and services. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get access to live AlloyDB data for your workflows. This article shows how to connect to AlloyDB and build workflows with live AlloyDB data in Zapier.

Connect to AlloyDB from Zapier

To work with AlloyDB in Zapier, we need to connect to AlloyDB from Connect AI, provide user access to the connection, and create a Workspace for the AlloyDB data.

Connect to AlloyDB from Connect AI

CData Connect AI uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.

  1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
    2. 👁 Adding a Connection
  2. Select "AlloyDB" from the Add Connection panel
    3. 👁 Selecting a data source
  3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to AlloyDB.

    The following connection properties are usually required in order to connect to AlloyDB.

    • Server: The host name or IP of the server hosting the AlloyDB database.
    • User: The user which will be used to authenticate with the AlloyDB server.
    • Password: The password which will be used to authenticate with the AlloyDB server.

    You can also optionally set the following:

    • Database: The database to connect to when connecting to the AlloyDB Server. If this is not set, the user's default database will be used.
    • Port: The port of the server hosting the AlloyDB database. This property is set to 5432 by default.

    Authenticating with Standard Authentication

    Standard authentication (using the user/password combination supplied earlier) is the default form of authentication.

    No further action is required to leverage Standard Authentication to connect.

    Authenticating with pg_hba.conf Auth Schemes

    There are additional methods of authentication available which must be enabled in the pg_hba.conf file on the AlloyDB server.

    Find instructions about authentication setup on the AlloyDB Server here.

    Authenticating with MD5 Authentication

    This authentication method must be enabled by setting the auth-method in the pg_hba.conf file to md5.

    Authenticating with SASL Authentication

    This authentication method must be enabled by setting the auth-method in the pg_hba.conf file to scram-sha-256.

    Authenticating with Kerberos

    The authentication with Kerberos is initiated by AlloyDB Server when the ∏ is trying to connect to it. You should set up Kerberos on the AlloyDB Server to activate this authentication method. Once you have Kerberos authentication set up on the AlloyDB Server, see the Kerberos section of the help documentation for details on how to authenticate with Kerberos. 👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)

  4. Click Save & Test
  5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add AlloyDB Connection page and update the User-based permissions. 👁 Updating 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. 👁 Creating a new PAT
  4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

Configure AlloyDB Endpoints for Zapier

After connecting to AlloyDB, create a workspace for your desired table(s).

  1. Navigate to the Workspaces page and click Add to create a new Workspace (or select an existing workspace). 👁 The Workspaces page.
    👁 Adding a new Workspace.
  2. Click Add to add new assets to the Workspace.
  3. Select the AlloyDB connection (e.g. AlloyDB1) and click Next. 👁 Selecting an Asset (Salesforce is shown).
  4. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm. 👁 Selecting Tables (Salesforce is shown).
  5. Make note of the OData Service URL for your workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}

With the connection, PAT, and Workspace configured, you are ready to connect to AlloyDB data from Zapier.

Connect to AlloyDB Data in Zapier Workflows

To establish a connection from Zapier to CData Connect AI using the OData protocol, follow these steps.

  1. Log into Zapier.
  2. Click Create Zap.
  3. In the dialog that appears, search for "Webhooks by Zapier", and click the option underneath. 👁 Creating a Webhooks by Zapier Zap.
  4. Under Event, select Retrieve Poll. 👁 Creating a Retrieve Poll event.
  5. Fill in the connection details:
    • URL: Enter the OData URL (e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}).
    • Key: Enter "value.name."
    • Authentication details: Fill in the Basic Auth or Headers. The basic option requires a user (your Connect AI username, e.g. [email protected]) and password (the PAT you've previously created) separated by a pipe symbol: |. The headers option requires a request type header with encoded credentials.
    👁 Configuring the connection to Connect AI OData or Workspace URLs.
  6. Click Test. If the connection is set up properly, sample records will appear. 👁 Testing the connection.

Simplified Access to AlloyDB Data from Cloud Applications

At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live AlloyDB data from Zapier. For more information on gaining simplified access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources in cloud applications like Zapier, refer to our Connect AI page.