Publish Kafka-Connected Dashboards in Tableau Server via JDBC

Tableau Server is a visual analytics platform transforming the way businesses use data to solve problems. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for Apache Kafka, you get access to live Kafka data within Tableau Server. This article shows how to connect to Kafka in Tableau Desktop, publish a Data Source to Tableau Server, and build a simple chart from that data.

The CData JDBC Driver enables high-speed access to live Kafka data in Tableau Server. Once you install the driver, you simply authenticate with Kafka and you can immediately start building responsive, dynamic visualizations and dashboards. By surfacing Kafka data using native Tableau data types and handling complex filters, aggregations, & other operations automatically, CData JDBC Driver grants seamless access to Kafka data.

Enable Connectivity to Kafka in Tableau Server

Start by installing the CData JDBC Driver on the machine hosting Tableau Server.

If your server is a Linux Machine:

1. Copy cdata.jdbc.apachekafka.jar and cdata.tableau.apachekafka.lic.
2. Place the copies in the Tableau Server Connectors folder (/opt/tableau/tableau_driver/jdbc).
3. Restart Tableau Server.

If your server is a Windows Machine:

1. Copy cdata.jdbc.apachekafka.jar and cdata.tableau.apachekafka.lic.
2. Place the copy in the Tableau Server drivers directory (C:\ Program Files\Tableau\Drivers).
3. Restart Tableau Server.

Next, install the CData JDBC Driver on the machine running Tableau Desktop. Before starting Tableau on Windows, make sure that you have placed the .jar file in the C:\Program Files\Tableau\Drivers folder. Before starting Tableau on macOS, make sure that you have placed the .jar file in the ~/Library/Tableau/Drivers folder.

Connect to Kafka in Tableau Desktop

Once the driver is installed on the Server machine, we can configure a connection to Kafka in Tableau Desktop and publish a Kafka-based Data Source to Tableau Server.

1. Open Tableau Desktop.
2. Click More under Connect -> To a Server.
3. Select "Other Databases (JDBC)".
4. Configure the connection to the data. The driver comes with a connection string builder that streamlines creating and managing the content of connection strings. Note that you will need to manually add "jdbc:apachekafka" to the beginning of the connection string.
5. Click "Sign In".

Set BootstrapServers and the Topic properties to specify the address of your Apache Kafka server, as well as the topic you would like to interact with.

Authorization Mechanisms

• SASL Plain: The User and Password properties should be specified. AuthScheme should be set to 'Plain'.
• SASL SSL: The User and Password properties should be specified. AuthScheme should be set to 'Scram'. UseSSL should be set to true.
• SSL: The SSLCert and SSLCertPassword properties should be specified. UseSSL should be set to true.
• Kerberos: The User and Password properties should be specified. AuthScheme should be set to 'Kerberos'.

You may be required to trust the server certificate. In such cases, specify the TrustStorePath and the TrustStorePassword if necessary.

Discover Schemas and Query Data

Once you establish the connection to Kafka data, you can configure which entities to visualize.

1. Select CData from the Database pull-down menu.
2. Select ApacheKafka from the Schema pull-down menu.
3. Drag the tables and views you wish to visualize onto the join area. You can include multiple tables. 👁 Selecting table(s)
   
4. Select Update Now or Automatically Update. Update Now lets you preview the first 10,000 rows of the data source (or enter the number of rows you want to see in the Rows text box). Automatically Update auto-loads the changes in the preview area.

Publish Data to Tableau Server

After you configure the data you wish to visualize, you can publish the Data Source to a Tableau Server instance. In Tableau Desktop:

1. Click Server -> Sign In.
2. Enter the URL for your Tableau Server.
3. Authenticate with Tableau Server credentials.
4. Click Server -> Publish Data Source and select your data source.
5. Click Publish.
6. Select the Project, name the Data Source, and optionally add a description.
7. Click Publish. 👁 Publish the Data Source to Tableau Server
   

This creates a new entry under the server's data source list, from which you an change the data source's permissions, view its history, and perform other management tasks.

Note that workstation connected to the same server will be able to use the same source in Tableau Desktop, even if the driver isn't installed there. Also, workbooks created directly on Tableau Server (via the web interface) can use this source.

Visualize Kafka Data in Tableau Server

With the Data Source published to Tableau Server, you are ready to visualize Kafka data.

1. Login to your Tableau Server instance.
2. Connect to the remote source using the Search for Data -> Tableau Server in the Connect sidebar. 👁 Remote Data Source
   
3. Click the published Data Source.
4. Click New Workbook.
5. In the workbook, Kafka fields are listed as Dimensions and Measures, depending on the data type. The CData JDBC Driver discovers data types automatically, allowing you to leverage the powerful data processing and visualization features of Tableau.
6. Drag a field from the Dimensions or Measures area to Rows or Columns. Tableau creates column or row headers.
7. Select one of the chart types from the Show Me tab. Tableau displays the chart type that you selected. 👁 Visualizing live Kafka data in Tableau Server
   

Using the CData JDBC Driver for Apache Kafka with Tableau Server, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on Kafka data. Download a free, 30-day trial and get started today.