Visualize Live MariaDB Data in Power BI (via CData Connect AI)

Power BI transforms your company's data into rich visuals for you to collect and organize so you can focus on what matters to you. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get access to MariaDB data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to use CData Connect to create a live connection to MariaDB, connect to MariaDB data from Power BI and then create reports on MariaDB data in Power BI.

Configure MariaDB Connectivity for Power BI

Connectivity to MariaDB from Power BI is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with MariaDB data from Power BI, we start by creating and configuring a MariaDB connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
👁 Adding a Connection

2. Select "MariaDB" from the Add Connection panel
👁 Selecting a data source

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to MariaDB.

   The Server and Port properties must be set to a MariaDB server. If IntegratedSecurity is set to false, then User and Password must be set to valid user credentials. Optionally, Database can be set to connect to a specific database. If not set, the tables from all databases are reported.

   👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add MariaDB Connection page and update the User-based permissions. 👁 Updating permissions
   

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to MariaDB data from Power BI.

Query MariaDB Tables

Follow the steps below to build a query to pull MariaDB data into the report:

1. Open Power BI Desktop and click Get Data -> Online Services -> CData Connect AI and click "Connect"
2. Click "Sign in" and authenticate with your CData Connect AI account 👁 Authenticating with Connect AI
   
3. After signing in, click "Connect" 👁 Connecting to Connect AI
   
4. Select tables in the Navigator dialog 👁 The available tables. (Salesforce tables are shown)
   
5. Click Load to establish the connection to your MariaDB data from Power BI

Create MariaDB Data Visualizations

After connecting to the data into Power BI, you can create data visualizations in the Report view by dragging fields from the Fields pane onto the canvas. Select the dimensions and measures you wish to visualize along with the chart type.

Click Refresh to synchronize your report with any changes to the data.

Live Access to MariaDB Data from Data Applications

With CData Connect AI you have a direct connection to MariaDB data from Power BI. You can import more data, create new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating MariaDB data.

To get SQL data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources (including MariaDB) directly from your on-premise BI, reporting, ETL and other data applications, visit the CData Connect AI page and start a free trial.