Build Box-Connected ETL Processes in Google Data Fusion

Google Data Fusion allows users to perform self-service data integration to consolidate disparate data. Uploading the CData JDBC Driver for Box enables users to access live Box data from within their Google Data Fusion pipelines. While the CData JDBC Driver enables piping Box data to any data source natively supported in Google Data Fusion, this article explains how to pipe data from Box to Google BigQuery,

Upload the CData JDBC Driver for Box to Google Data Fusion

Upload the CData JDBC Driver for Box to your Google Data Fusion instance to work with live Box data. Due to the naming restrictions for JDBC drivers in Google Data Fusion, create a copy or rename the JAR file to match the following format driver-version.jar. For example: cdatabox-2020.jar

1. Open your Google Data Fusion instance
2. Click the to add an entity and upload a driver 👁 Image
   
3. On the "Upload driver" tab, drag or browse to the renamed JAR file.
4. On the "Driver configuration" tab:
   • Name: Create a name for the driver (cdata.jdbc.box) and make note of the name
   • Class name: Set the JDBC class name: (cdata.jdbc.box.BoxDriver)
   👁 Configuring the driver (Salesforce is shown.)
   
5. Click "Finish"

Connect to Box Data in Google Data Fusion

With the JDBC Driver uploaded, you are ready to work with live Box data in Google Data Fusion Pipelines.

1. Navigate to the Pipeline Studio to create a new Pipeline
2. From the "Source" options, click "Database" to add a source for the JDBC Driver 👁 Adding a database source
   
3. Click "Properties" on the Database source to edit the properties

   NOTE: To use the JDBC Driver in Google Data Fusion, you will need a license (full or trial) and a Runtime Key (RTK). For more information on obtaining this license (or a trial), contact our sales team.

   • Set the Label
   • Set Reference Name to a value for any future references (i.e.: cdata-box)
   • Set Plugin Type to "jdbc"
   • Set Connection String to the JDBC URL for Box. For example:
     
     jdbc:box:RTK=5246...;OAuthClientId=MyOAuthClientId;OAuthClientSecret=MyOAuthClientSecret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

     Box uses the OAuth standard to authenticate. To authenticate to Box, obtain the OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL by registering an app. See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide to using OAuth.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

      java -jar cdata.jdbc.box.jar
      

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

     👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
     
   • Set Import Query to a SQL query that will extract the data you want from Box, i.e.:
     SELECT * FROM Files
   👁 Configuring the database source
   
4. From the "Sink" tab, click to add a destination sink (we use Google BigQuery in this example)
5. Click "Properties" on the BigQuery sink to edit the properties
   • Set the Label
   • Set Reference Name to a value like box-bigquery
   • Set Project ID to a specific Google BigQuery Project ID (or leave as the default, "auto-detect")
   • Set Dataset to a specific Google BigQuery dataset
   • Set Table to the name of the table you wish to insert Box data into
   👁 Configuring the BigQuery sink
   

With the Source and Sink configured, you are ready to pipe Box data into Google BigQuery. Save and deploy the pipeline. When you run the pipeline, Google Data Fusion will request live data from Box and import it into Google BigQuery. 👁 Image

While this is a simple pipeline, you can create more complex Box pipelines with transforms, analytics, conditions, and more. Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Box and start working with your live Box data in Google Data Fusion today.