How to publish and share MySQL Data dashboards with Tableau Server

Integrate connectivity to MySQL data into your enterprise reporting capabilities. The CData ODBC Driver for MySQL enables you to access live MySQL data in business intelligence tools like Tableau Server. Connectivity to MySQL APIs enables you to monitor changes to your data in real time. Other members of your organization can access your dashboards from a Web browser and get updates from their mobile phone.

This article explains how to configure a DSN on the client and server machines, publish a data source for MySQL to Tableau Server, and publish an entire Workbook to Tableau Server (including the data source). If you publish a data source, you will be able to create new, refreshable workbooks in Tableau Server.

Connect to MySQL as an ODBC Data Source

To create a data source or workbook in Tableau Desktop and publish the data source or workbook to Tableau server, you will need to configure a DSN on each machine (Desktop and Server), specifying connection properties and creating DSNs using the same name on each machine. Information for connecting to MySQL follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments.

The CData Provider supports connecting to on-premises and cloud-hosted versions of MySQL such as Amazon RDS for MySQL, Google Cloud SQL for MySQL, Azure Database for MySQL, or Oracle MySQL HeatWave. The Server and Port properties must be set to a MySQL 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, tables from all databases will be returned.

SSH Connectivity for MySQL

You can use SSH (Secure Shell) to authenticate with MySQL, whether the instance is hosted on-premises or in supported cloud environments. SSH authentication ensures that access is encrypted (as compared to direct network connections).

SSH Connections to MySQL in Password Auth Mode

To connect to MySQL via SSH in Password Auth mode, set the following connection properties:

• User: MySQL User name
• Password: MySQL Password
• Database: MySQL database name
• Server: MySQL Server name
• Port: MySQL port number like 3306
• UserSSH: "true"
• SSHAuthMode: "Password"
• SSHPort: SSH Port number
• SSHServer: SSH Server name
• SSHUser: SSH User name
• SSHPassword: SSH Password

SSH Connections to MySQL in Public Key Auth Mode

To connect to MySQL via SSH in Password Auth mode, set the following connection properties:

• User: MySQL User name
• Password: MySQL Password
• Database: MySQL database name
• Server: MySQL Server name
• Port: MySQL port number like 3306
• UserSSH: "true"
• SSHAuthMode: "Public_Key"
• SSHPort: SSH Port number
• SSHServer: SSH Server name
• SSHUser: SSH User name
• SSHClientCret: the path for the public key certificate file

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 are installing the CData ODBC Driver for MySQL on Windows, DSN configuration is the last step of the driver installation. If you already have the driver installed, or you wish to configure new DSNs, you can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator.

Linux

If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for MySQL 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 MySQL Source]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for MySQL
Description = My Description
User = myUser
Password = myPassword
Database = NorthWind
Server = myServer
Port = 3306

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

Publish the MySQL Data Source to Tableau Server

With the connections to MySQL data configured, you are ready to publish a MySQL data source on Tableau, ready to be leveraged by users in your organization to create workbooks based on MySQL data.

Create and Publish a Data Source

1. In the Connect pane, click More -> Other Databases (ODBC). Select CData MySQL Sys, the system DSN.

   The driver installation automatically creates matching user and system DSNs: The system DSN is needed to connect from Tableau Server.

   👁 The connection to the DSN. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
2. In the Database menu, select CData.
3. In the Table box, enter a table name or click New Custom SQL to enter an SQL query.
4. Drag the table onto the join area. 👁 A connection to a single table. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
5. From the Server menu, click Publish Data Source -> (YOUR DATA SOURCE). 👁 Image
   
6. Enter the URL to the server. For most instances, you will authenticate with the Tableau Server username and password. Other authentication scenarios can be found below:
   • If Tableau is configured to use Kerberos and your computer has valid Active Directory credentials, Tableau connects to the server.
   • If Tableau is configured to use SAML, a login prompt for your external identity provider is displayed.
   • If Tableau is configured to use Active Directory, enter your Windows username and password.
7. In the resulting dialog, set the Project, Data Source, and other properties. If you want to schedule refreshes, select Embedded Password in the Authentication menu. Click Publish.

You and other users in your organization can now create and share workbooks based on the published data source.

👁 Connectivity to your data source from the Web authoring environment in Tableau Server. (Salesforce is shown.)

Refresh Workbooks

With a system DSN configured on the client (Tableau Desktop) machine and server (Tableau Server) machine, you can refresh workbooks connected to the MySQL data source. From the Web interface for Tableau Sever, click Data -> (YOUR DATA SOURCE) -> Refresh.

👁 Refresh the data extract on demand from Tableau Desktop. (Salesforce is shown.)

Publish a Completed Workbook with MySQL Data to Tableau Server

If you have a specific Workbook that you wish to share with your organization, you can create the Workbook on Tableau Desktop and publish the Workbook directly to Tableau Server.

1. To connect to MySQL and select data, follow steps 1-5 above. 👁 A connection to a single table. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
2. Click Server -> Sign in and configure the connection to the server. For most instances, you will authenticate with the Tableau Server username and password. Other authentication scenarios can be found below:
   • If Tableau is configured to use Kerberos and your computer has valid Active Directory credentials, Tableau connects to the server.
   • If Tableau is configured to use SAML, a login prompt for your external identity provider is displayed.
   • If Tableau is configured to use Active Directory, enter your Windows username and password.
3. With the data selected, select dimensions and measures to visualize and select a type of chart or graph to build your visualization(s). 👁 Image
   
4. Once the Workbook is complete, click Server -> Publish Workbook to publish the Workbook to Tableau Server. 👁 Image
   
5. In the resulting dialog, set the Project, Name, Description and other properties. If you want to schedule refreshes, click Edit under Data Sources and change the Authentication option to Embedded Password. Click Publish. 👁 Image
   

You and other users in your organization can now review the published workbook from Tableau Server.

👁 Connectivity to your published Workbook from the Web authoring environment in Tableau Server. (Salesforce is shown.)