Use the CData ODBC Driver for Databricks in MicroStrategy Desktop

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

The CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Databricks data in MicroStrategy due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from MicroStrategy to Databricks, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Databricks 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 Databricks data using native MicroStrategy data types.

Getting Started

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Connect to Databricks as an ODBC Data Source

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

To connect to a Databricks cluster, set the properties as described below.

Note: The needed values can be found in your Databricks instance by navigating to Clusters, and selecting the desired cluster, and selecting the JDBC/ODBC tab under Advanced Options.

• Server: Set to the Server Hostname of your Databricks cluster.
• HTTPPath: Set to the HTTP Path of your Databricks cluster.
• Token: Set to your personal access token (this value can be obtained by navigating to the User Settings page of your Databricks instance and selecting the Access Tokens tab).

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 Databricks 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 Databricks Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for Databricks
Description = My Description
Server = 127.0.0.1
Port = 443
TransportMode = HTTP
HTTPPath = MyHTTPPath
UseSSL = True
User = MyUser
Password = MyPassword

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

Connect to and Visualize Databricks Data using MicroStrategy Desktop

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

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 Databricks data (see below) and click Execute SQL to test the query.

   SELECT * FROM Customers
   

   👁 Querying Databricks 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 Databricks data. Where possible, the complex queries generated by the filters and aggregations will be pushed down to Databricks, 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 Databricks data.
   
10. Once you are finished configuring the dossier, click File -> Save.

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