Use the CData ODBC Driver for Google Cloud Storage in MicroStrategy Desktop

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

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

Connect to Google Cloud Storage as an ODBC Data Source

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

Authenticate with a User Account

You can connect without setting any connection properties for your user credentials. After setting InitiateOAuth to GETANDREFRESH, you are ready to connect.

When you connect, the Google Cloud Storage OAuth endpoint opens in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions, then the OAuth process completes

Authenticate with a Service Account

Service accounts have silent authentication, without user authentication in the browser. You can also use a service account to delegate enterprise-wide access scopes.

You need to create an OAuth application in this flow. See the Help documentation for more information. After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

• InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH.
• OAuthJWTCertType: Set this to "PFXFILE".
• OAuthJWTCert: Set this to the path to the .p12 file you generated.
• OAuthJWTCertPassword: Set this to the password of the .p12 file.
• OAuthJWTCertSubject: Set this to "*" to pick the first certificate in the certificate store.
• OAuthJWTIssuer: In the service accounts section, click Manage Service Accounts and set this field to the email address displayed in the service account Id field.
• OAuthJWTSubject: Set this to your enterprise Id if your subject type is set to "enterprise" or your app user Id if your subject type is set to "user".
• ProjectId: Set this to the Id of the project you want to connect to.

The OAuth flow for a service account then completes.

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 Google Cloud Storage 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 GoogleCloudStorage Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for Google Cloud Storage
Description = My Description
ProjectId = 'project1'
InitiateOAuth = GETANDREFRESH

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

Connect to and Visualize Google Cloud Storage Data using MicroStrategy Desktop

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

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 Google Cloud Storage data (see below) and click Execute SQL to test the query.

   SELECT * FROM Buckets
   

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

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