Use the CData JDBC Driver for RabbitMQ in MicroStrategy Web

MicroStrategy is an analytics and mobility platform that enables data-driven innovation. When you pair MicroStrategy with the CData JDBC Driver for RabbitMQ, you gain database-like access to live RabbitMQ data from MicroStrategy, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. In this article, we walk through adding RabbitMQ as an external data source in MicroStrategy Web and creating a simple visualization of RabbitMQ data.

The CData JDBC driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live RabbitMQ data in MicroStrategy due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from MicroStrategy to RabbitMQ, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to RabbitMQ and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can visualize and analyze RabbitMQ data using native MicroStrategy data types.

Connect to and Visualize RabbitMQ Data using MicroStrategy Web

You can connect to RabbitMQ in MicroStrategy Web by adding a data source based on the CData JDBC Driver for RabbitMQ.^* Before you begin, you will need install the JDBC Driver for RabbitMQ on the machine hosting the MicroStrategy Intelligence Server that your instance of MicroStrategy Web is connected to. Once you have created a data source you can build dynamic visualizations of RabbitMQ data in MicroStrategy Web.

1. Open MicroStrategy Web and select your project.
2. Click Add External Data, select Databases, and use Select Tables as the Import Option. 👁 Adding External Data
   
3. In the Import from Tables wizard, click to add a new Data Source.
4. Select Generic in the Database menu and select Generic DBMS in the Version menu.
5. Click the link to show the connection string and opt to edit the connection string. In the Driver menu, select MicroStrategy Cassandra ODBC Driver (MicroStrategy requires a certified driver to interface through JDBC, the actual driver will not be used).
6. Set the connection string to the following:

   JDBC;MSTR_JDBC_JAR_FOLDER=PATH\TO\JAR\;DRIVER=cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver;URL={jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\\RabbitMQ.apip;AuthScheme=Basic;URL=http://localhost:15672;User=guest;Password=guest;};
   

   👁 Configure the data source.
   

   About RabbitMQ Management HTTP API

   RabbitMQ is an open-source message broker that supports multiple messaging protocols. The RabbitMQ Management HTTP API provides HTTP-based access to management and monitoring data for a RabbitMQ server. The API exposes information about virtual hosts, exchanges, queues, bindings, connections, channels, consumers, users, permissions, policies, and cluster-wide statistics.

   The Management plugin must be enabled on the RabbitMQ server for the HTTP API to be available. By default, the management interface listens on port 15672.

   Using Basic Authentication

   RabbitMQ Management HTTP API uses HTTP Basic authentication. You must supply the username and password of a RabbitMQ management user.

   To enable access to the management API:

   1. Ensure the RabbitMQ Management plugin is enabled on your server (rabbitmq-plugins enable rabbitmq_management).
   2. Use an existing management user or create one with the appropriate management tag (management, policymaker, monitoring, or administrator).
   3. Note the full base URL of your RabbitMQ Management HTTP API (e.g., http://localhost:15672).

   After configuring your RabbitMQ server, set the following connection properties to connect:

   • AuthScheme: Set this to Basic.
   • URL: Set this to the base URL of your RabbitMQ Management HTTP API (e.g., http://localhost:15672).
   • User: Set this to your RabbitMQ management username (e.g., guest).
   • Password: Set this to your RabbitMQ management password.

   Example connection string:

   Profile=C:\profiles\RabbitMQ.apip;AuthScheme=Basic;URL=http://localhost:15672;User=guest;Password=guest;
   

   Available Tables

   The RabbitMQ profile provides access to the following tables:

   • Overview - Cluster-wide statistics and information about the RabbitMQ node
   • Nodes - Information about individual nodes in the RabbitMQ cluster
   • NodeMemory - Detailed memory usage breakdown for a specific cluster node
   • Connections - List of all open AMQP connections to the broker
   • Channels - List of all open AMQP channels across all connections
   • Consumers - List of all consumers registered across all queues
   • Exchanges - List of exchanges declared across all virtual hosts
   • Queues - List of queues declared across all virtual hosts
   • Bindings - List of all bindings between exchanges and queues
   • VirtualHosts - List of virtual hosts configured on the broker
   • VhostPermissions - User permissions within a specific virtual host
   • Users - List of all RabbitMQ users
   • Permissions - Permission records for all users across all virtual hosts
   • TopicPermissions - Topic-level permission records for all users
   • Policies - List of policies applied to queues and exchanges in virtual hosts
   • OperatorPolicies - List of operator policies applied to queues in virtual hosts
   • Parameters - List of component parameters (e.g., federation, shovel) per virtual host
   • GlobalParameters - List of global parameters that apply across all virtual hosts
   • VhostLimits - Resource limits configured for specific virtual hosts
   • UserLimits - Resource limits configured for specific users
   • FeatureFlags - List of feature flags and their enabled/disabled state on the node
   • DeprecatedFeatures - List of deprecated features and their usage state
   • AuthAttempts - Authentication attempt statistics for the node
   • ClusterName - The name of the RabbitMQ cluster
   • WhoAmI - Information about the currently authenticated management user
   • ExchangeBindingsSource - Bindings for which a specific exchange is the source
   • ExchangeBindingsDestination - Bindings for which a specific exchange is the destination
   • QueueBindings - Bindings for a specific queue within a virtual host

   Built-in Connection String Designer

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

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.api.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.)
   

   When you configure the JDBC URL, 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.

7. Right-click on the new data source, and choose Edit catalog options.👁 Edit the catalog options.
   
8. Edit the SQL Statement to SELECT * FROM SYS_SCHEMAS to read the metadata from the JDBC Driver. 👁 Configuring the Catalog Options.
   
9. Select the new data source to view the available tables. You may need to manually click the search icon in the Available Tables section to see the tables.
10. Drag tables into the pane to import them. 👁 Select tables to import.
    Note: Since we create a live connection, we can import whole tables and utilize the filtering and aggregation features native to the MicroStrategy products to customize our datasets.
11. Click Finish, choose to the option to connect live, save the query, and choose the option to create a new dossier. Live connections are possible and effective, thanks to high-performance data processing native to CData JDBC drivers. 👁 Save the query and create a new dossier.
    
12. Choose a visualization, choose fields to display and apply any filters to create a new visualization of RabbitMQ data. Data types are discovered automatically through dynamic metadata discovery. Where possible, the complex queries generated by the filters and aggregations will be pushed down to RabbitMQ, while any unsupported operations (which can include SQL functions and JOIN operations) will be managed client-side by the CData SQL engine embedded in the driver. 👁 Visualize RabbitMQ data.
    
13. Once you have finished configuring the dossier, click File -> Save.

Using the CData JDBC Driver for RabbitMQ in MicroStrategy Web, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on RabbitMQ data. Read our other articles on connecting to RabbitMQ in MicroStrategy and connecting to RabbitMQ in MicroStrategy Desktop for more examples.

Note: Connecting using a JDBC Driver requires a 3- or 4-Tier Architecture.