Use the CData ODBC Driver for HubDB in MicroStrategy Desktop

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

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

Connect to HubDB as an ODBC Data Source

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

There are two authentication methods available for connecting to HubDB data source: OAuth Authentication with a public HubSpot application and authentication with a Private application token.

Using a Custom OAuth App

AuthScheme must be set to "OAuth" in all OAuth flows. Be sure to review the Help documentation for the required connection properties for you specific authentication needs (desktop applications, web applications, and headless machines).

Follow the steps below to register an application and obtain the OAuth client credentials:

1. Log into your HubSpot app developer account.
   • Note that it must be an app developer account. Standard HubSpot accounts cannot create public apps.
2. On the developer account home page, click the Apps tab.
3. Click Create app.
4. On the App info tab, enter and optionally modify values that are displayed to users when they connect. These values include the public application name, application logo, and a description of the application.
5. On the Auth tab, supply a callback URL in the "Redirect URLs" box.
   • If you're creating a desktop application, set this to a locally accessible URL like http://localhost:33333.
   • If you are creating a Web application, set this to a trusted URL where you want users to be redirected to when they authorize your application.
6. Click Create App. HubSpot then generates the application, along with its associated credentials.
7. On the Auth tab, note the Client ID and Client secret. You will use these later to configure the driver.

8. Under Scopes, select any scopes you need for your application's intended functionality.

   A minimum of the following scopes is required to access tables:

   • hubdb
   • oauth
   • crm.objects.owners.read
9. Click Save changes.
10. Install the application into a production portal with access to the features that are required by the integration.
    • Under "Install URL (OAuth)", click Copy full URL to copy the installation URL for your application.
    • Navigate to the copied link in your browser. Select a standard account in which to install the application.
    • Click Connect app. You can close the resulting tab.

Using a Private App

To connect using a HubSpot private application token, set the AuthScheme property to "PrivateApp."

You can generate a private application token by following the steps below:

1. In your HubDB account, click the settings icon (the gear) in the main navigation bar.
2. In the left sidebar menu, navigate to Integrations > Private Apps.
3. Click Create private app.
4. On the Basic Info tab, configure the details of your application (name, logo, and description).
5. On the Scopes tab, select Read or Write for each scope you want your private application to be able to access.
6. A minimum of hubdb and crm.objects.owners.read is required to access tables.
7. After you are done configuring your application, click Create app in the top right.
8. Review the info about your application's access token, click Continue creating, and then Show token.
9. Click Copy to copy the private application token.

To connect, set PrivateAppToken to the private application token you retrieved.

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 HubDB 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 HubDB Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for HubDB
Description = My Description
AuthScheme = OAuth
OAuthClientID = MyOAuthClientID
OAuthClientSecret = MyOAuthClientSecret
CallbackURL = http://localhost:33333
InitiateOAuth = GETANDREFRESH

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

Connect to and Visualize HubDB Data using MicroStrategy Desktop

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

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

   SELECT * FROM NorthwindProducts
   

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

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