Connect to DB2 Data in RapidMiner

This article shows how you can easily integrate the CData JDBC driver for DB2 into your processes in RapidMiner. This article uses the CData JDBC Driver for DB2 to transfer DB2 data to a process in RapidMiner.

Connect to DB2 in RapidMiner as a JDBC Data Source

You can follow the procedure below to establish a JDBC connection to DB2:

1. Add a new database driver for DB2: Click Connections -> Manage Database Drivers.
2. In the resulting wizard, click the Add button and enter a name for the connection.
3. Enter the prefix for the JDBC URL:

   jdbc:db2:
   

4. Enter the path to the cdata.jdbc.db2.jar file, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.
5. Enter the driver class:

   cdata.jdbc.db2.DB2Driver
   

   👁 The JDBC driver configuration. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
6. Create a new DB2 connection: Click Connections -> Manage Database Connections.
7. Enter a name for your connection.
8. For Database System, select the DB2 driver you configured previously.
9. Enter your connection string in the Host box.

   Set the following properties to connect to DB2:

   • Server: Set this to the name of the server running DB2.
   • Port: Set this to the port the DB2 server is listening on.
   • Database: Set this to the name of the DB2 database.
   • User: Set this to the username of a user allowed to access the database.
   • Password: Set this to the password of a user allowed to access the database.

   You will also need to install the corresponding DB2 driver:

   • Windows: Install the IBM Data Server Provider for .NET.

     On Windows, installing the IBM Data Server Provider is sufficient, as the installation registers it in the machine.config.

   • Java: Install the IBM Data Server Driver for JDBC.

     In the Java version, place the IBM Data Server Driver JAR in the www\WEB-INF\lib\ folder for this application.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

   For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the DB2 JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.db2.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.)
   

   A typical connection string is below:

   Server=10.0.1.2;Port=50000;User=admin;Password=admin;Database=test;
   

10. Enter your username and password if necessary. 👁 The connection to the JDBC data source. (Salesforce is shown.)
    

You can now use your DB2 connection with the various RapidMiner operators in your process. To retrieve DB2 data, drag the Retrieve operator from the Operators view. 👁 A Retrieve operation to select data. (Salesforce is shown.)
With the Retrieve operator selected, you can then define which table to retrieve in the Parameters view by clicking the folder icon next to the "repository entry." In the resulting Repository Browser, you can expand your connection node to select the desired example set.

Finally, wire the output to the Retrieve process to a result, and run the process to see the DB2 data.