Create Informatica Mappings From/To a JDBC Data Source for PostgreSQL

Informatica provides a powerful, elegant means of transporting and transforming your data. By utilizing the CData JDBC Driver for PostgreSQL, you are gaining access to a driver based on industry-proven standards that integrates seamlessly with Informatica's powerful data transportation and manipulation features. This tutorial shows how to transfer and browse PostgreSQL data in Informatica PowerCenter.

Deploy the Driver

To deploy the driver to the Informatica PowerCenter server, copy the CData JAR and .lic file, located in the lib subfolder in the installation directory, to the following folder: Informatica-installation-directory\services\shared\jars\thirdparty.

To work with PostgreSQL data in the Developer tool, you will need to copy the CData JAR and .lic file, located in the lib subfolder in the installation directory, into the following folders:

• Informatica-installation-directory\client\externaljdbcjars
• Informatica-installation-directory\externaljdbcjars

Create the JDBC Connection

Follow the steps below to connect from Informatica Developer:

1. In the Connection Explorer pane, right-click your domain and click Create a Connection.
2. In the New Database Connection wizard that is displayed, enter a name and Id for the connection and in the Type menu select JDBC.
3. In the JDBC Driver Class Name property, enter:

   cdata.jdbc.postgresql.PostgreSQLDriver

4. In the Connection String property, enter the JDBC URL, using the connection properties for PostgreSQL.

   To connect to PostgreSQL, set the Server, Port (the default port is 5432), and Database connection properties and set the User and Password you wish to use to authenticate to the server. If the Database property is not specified, the data provider connects to the user's default database.

   SSH Connectivity for PostgreSQL

   You can use SSH (Secure Shell) to authenticate with PostgreSQL, 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 PostgreSQL in Password Auth Mode

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

   • User: PostgreSQL User name
   • Password: PostgreSQL Password
   • Database: PostgreSQL database name
   • Server: PostgreSQL Server name
   • Port: PostgreSQL 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 PostgreSQL in Public Key Auth Mode

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

   • User: PostgreSQL User name
   • Password: PostgreSQL Password
   • Database: PostgreSQL database name
   • Server: PostgreSQL Server name
   • Port: PostgreSQL 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

   Built-in Connection String Designer

   For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the PostgreSQL JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.postgresql.jar
   

   Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

   👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
   

   A typical connection string is below:

   jdbc:postgresql:User=postgres;Password=admin;Database=postgres;Server=127.0.0.1;Port=5432;

Browse PostgreSQL Tables

After you have added the driver JAR to the classpath and created a JDBC connection, you can now access PostgreSQL entities in Informatica. Follow the steps below to connect to PostgreSQL and browse PostgreSQL tables:

1. Connect to your repository.
2. In the Connection Explorer, right-click the connection and click Connect.
3. Clear the Show Default Schema Only option. 👁 The driver models PostgreSQL entities as relational tables. (Salesforce is shown.)
   

You can now browse PostgreSQL tables in the Data Viewer: Right-click the node for the table and then click Open. On the Data Viewer view, click Run.

Create PostgreSQL Data Objects

Follow the steps below to add PostgreSQL tables to your project:

1. Select tables in PostgreSQL, then right-click a table in PostgreSQL, and click Add to Project.
2. In the resulting dialog, select the option to create a data object for each resource.
3. In the Select Location dialog, select your project.

   Create a Mapping

   Follow the steps below to add the PostgreSQL source to a mapping:

   1. In the Object Explorer, right-click your project and then click New -> Mapping.
   2. Expand the node for the PostgreSQL connection and then drag the data object for the table onto the editor.
   3. In the dialog that appears, select the Read option.
   👁 The source PostgreSQL table in the mapping. (Salesforce is shown.)
   

   Follow the steps below to map PostgreSQL columns to a flat file:

   1. In the Object Explorer, right-click your project and then click New -> Data Object.
   2. Select Flat File Data Object -> Create as Empty -> Fixed Width.
   3. In the properties for the PostgreSQL object, select the rows you want, right-click, and then click copy. Paste the rows into the flat file properties.
   4. Drag the flat file data object onto the mapping. In the dialog that appears, select the Write option.
   5. Click and drag to connect columns.

   To transfer PostgreSQL data, right-click in the workspace and then click Run Mapping.

   👁 The completed mapping. (Salesforce is shown.)