How to integrate Metabase with Oracle Data

Metabase is an open source data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards. When paired with CData Connect AI, users can easily create visualizations and dashboards linked to live Oracle data. This article describes how to connect to Oracle and build a simple visualization using Oracle data.

CData Connect provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Oracle, allowing you to easily integrate with live Oracle data in Metabase — without replicating the data. Connect looks exactly like a SQL Server database to Metabase and uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Oracle, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Oracle data.

Configure Oracle Connectivity for Metabase

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

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

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

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

   To connect to Oracle, you'll first need to update your PATH variable and ensure it contains a folder location that includes the native DLLs. The native DLLs can be found in the lib folder inside the installation directory. Once you've done this, set the following to connect:

   • Port: The port used to connect to the server hosting the Oracle database.
   • User: The user Id provided for authentication with the Oracle database.
   • Password: The password provided for authentication with the Oracle database.
   • Service Name: The service name of the Oracle database.
   👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Oracle Connection page and update the User-based permissions. 👁 Updating permissions
   

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create. 👁 Creating a new PAT
   
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Oracle data from Metabase.

Connect to CData Connect AI from Metabase

After creating the connection in Connect AI, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect AI.

1. Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab 👁 Adding a new database connection to Metabase.
   
2. Configure the connection to Connect AI and click "Save"
   • Database type: Select "SQL Server"
   • Name: Name the connection (e.g. "Oracle (Connect AI)")
   • Host: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. OracleOCI1)
   • Username: A Connect AI username (e.g. [email protected])
   • Password: The PAT previously created
   • Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)
   👁 Configuring the connection to Connect AI.
   

Execute Oracle Data with Metabase

Once you configure the connection to Connect AI, you can query Oracle and build visualizations.

1. Use the "Write SQL" tool to retrieve the Oracle data 👁 Click the 'Write SQL' button.
   
2. Write a SQL query based on the Oracle connection in CData Connect AI, e.g.
   
   

   SELECT CompanyName, City FROM Customers WHERE Country = US

   👁 Collected data (Salesforce is shown).
   
3. Navigate to the "Visualization" screen, choose a visualization, and configure the visualization 👁 Collected data (Salesforce is shown).
   

More Information & Free Trial

At this point, you have built a simple visualization from Oracle data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live Oracle data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to Oracle (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Oracle data in Metabase today.