Use the CData ODBC Driver for Cosmos DB in MicroStrategy Desktop

MicroStrategy is an analytics and mobility platform that enables data-driven innovation. When paired with the CData ODBC Driver for Cosmos DB, you gain database-like access to live Cosmos DB data from MicroStrategy, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. In this article, we walk through adding Cosmos DB as a data source in MicroStrategy Desktop and creating a simple visualization of Cosmos DB data.

The CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Cosmos DB data in MicroStrategy due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from MicroStrategy to Cosmos DB, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Cosmos DB and utilizes the embedded SQL Engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can visualize and analyze Cosmos DB data using native MicroStrategy data types.

Connect to Cosmos DB as an ODBC Data Source

Information for connecting to Cosmos DB follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments.

To obtain the connection string needed to connect to a Cosmos DB account using the SQL API, log in to the Azure Portal, select Azure Cosmos DB, and select your account. In the Settings section, click Connection String and set the following values:

• AccountEndpoint: The Cosmos DB account URL from the Keys blade of the Cosmos DB account
• AccountKey: In the Azure portal, navigate to the Cosmos DB service and select your Azure Cosmos DB account. From the resource menu, go to the Keys page. Find the PRIMARY KEY value and set AccountKey to this value.

When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

Windows

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Linux

If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for Cosmos DB in a Linux environment, the driver installation predefines a system DSN. You can modify the DSN by editing the system data sources file (/etc/odbc.ini) and defining the required connection properties.

/etc/odbc.ini

[CData CosmosDB Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for Cosmos DB
Description = My Description
AccountEndpoint = myAccountEndpoint
AccountKey = myAccountKey

For specific information on using these configuration files, please refer to the help documentation (installed and found online).

Connect to and Visualize Cosmos DB Data using MicroStrategy Desktop

In addition to connecting Cosmos DB in MicroStrategy enterprise products, you can connect to Cosmos DB in MicroStrategy Desktop. Follow the steps below to add Cosmos DB data as a dataset and create visualizations and reports of Cosmos DB data.

1. Open MicroStrategy Desktop and create a new dossier.
2. In the datasets panel, click New Data, select Databases, and select Type a Query as the Import Option.
3. Add a new data source and choose DSN data sources.
4. Choose the DSN you previously configured (likely CData CosmosDB Sys) and select Generic DBMS in the Version menu.
5. Set the User and Password properties for the DSN (or use placeholder values) and name the data source.
👁 Creating a new data source for Cosmos DB.

6. Select the new database instance to view the tables. You may need to manually click the search icon in the Available Tables section to see the tables.
7. Create a SQL query for the Cosmos DB data (see below) and click Execute SQL to test the query.

   SELECT * FROM Customers
   

   👁 Querying Cosmos DB for data.
   NOTE: Since we create a live connection, we can execute a SELECT * query and utilize the filtering and aggregation features native to the MicroStrategy products.
8. Click Finish and choose to connect live.
9. Choose a visualization, choose fields to display (data types are discovered automatically through dynamic metadata discovery) and apply any filters to create a new visualization of Cosmos DB data. Where possible, the complex queries generated by the filters and aggregations will be pushed down to Cosmos DB, while any unsupported operations (which can include SQL functions and JOIN operations) will be managed client-side by the CData SQL Engine embedded in the driver. 👁 Visualize Cosmos DB data.
   
10. Once you are finished configuring the dossier, click File -> Save.

Using the CData ODBC Driver for Cosmos DB in MicroStrategy Desktop, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on Cosmos DB data. Read our other articles on connecting to Cosmos DB in MicroStrategy and connecting to Cosmos DB in MicroStrategy Web for more examples.