Process & Analyze Sybase Data in Databricks (AWS)

Databricks is a cloud-based service that provides data processing capabilities through Apache Spark. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver, customers can use Databricks to perform data engineering and data science on live Sybase data. This article explains how to host the CData JDBC Driver in AWS, as well as connect to and process live Sybase data in Databricks.

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

Install the CData JDBC Driver in Databricks

To work with live Sybase data in Databricks, install the driver on your Databricks cluster.

1. Navigate to your Databricks administration screen and select the target cluster.
2. On the Libraries tab, click "Install New."
3. Select "Upload" as the Library Source and "Jar" as the Library Type.
4. Upload the JDBC JAR file (cdata.jdbc.sybase.jar) from the installation location (typically C:\Program Files\CData[product_name]\lib).

👁 Loading the JDBC JAR File into AWS

Access Sybase Data in your Notebook: Python

With the JAR file installed, we are ready to work with live Sybase data in Databricks. Start by creating a new notebook in your workspace. Name the notebook, select Python as the language (though Scala is available as well), and choose the cluster where you installed the JDBC driver. When the notebook launches, we can configure the connection, query Sybase, and create a basic report.

Configure the Connection to Sybase

Connect to Sybase by referencing the JDBC Driver class and constructing a connection string to use in the JDBC URL. Additionally, you will need to set the property in the JDBC URL (unless you are using a Beta driver). You can view the licensing file included in the installation for information on how to set this property.

Step 1: Connection Information

driver = "cdata.jdbc.sybase.SybaseDriver"
url = "jdbc:sybase:RTK=5246...;User=myuser;Password=mypassword;Server=localhost;Database=mydatabase;Charset=iso_1;"

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.sybase.jar

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

To connect to Sybase, specify the following connection properties:

• Server: Set this to the name or network address of the Sybase database instance.
• Database: Set this to the name of the Sybase database running on the specified Server.

Optionally, you can also secure your connections with TLS/SSL by setting UseSSL to true.

Sybase supports several methods for authentication including Password and Kerberos.

Connect Using Password Authentication

Set the AuthScheme to Password and set the following connection properties to use Sybase authentication.

• User: Set this to the username of the authenticating Sybase user.
• Password: Set this to the username of the authenticating Sybase user.

Connect using LDAP Authentication

To connect with LDAP authentication, configure Sybase server-side to use the LDAP authentication mechanism.

After configuring Sybase for LDAP, you can connect using the same credentials as Password authentication.

Connect Using Kerberos Authentication

To leverage Kerberos authentication, begin by enabling it setting AuthScheme to Kerberos. See the Using Kerberos section in the Help documentation for more information on using Kerberos authentication.

You can find an example connection string below:

Server=MyServer;Port=MyPort;User=SampleUser;Password=SamplePassword;Database=MyDB;Kerberos=true;KerberosKDC=MyKDC;KerberosRealm=MYREALM.COM;KerberosSPN=server-name

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

Load Sybase Data

Once you configure the connection, you can load Sybase data as a dataframe using the CData JDBC Driver and the connection information.

Step 2: Reading the data

remote_table = spark.read.format ( "jdbc" ) \
	.option ( "driver" , driver) \
	.option ( "url" , url) \
	.option ( "dbtable" , "Products") \
	.load ()

Display Sybase Data

Check the loaded Sybase data by calling the display function.

Step 3: Checking the result

display (remote_table.select ("Id"))

👁 Displaying Sybase Data

Analyze Sybase Data in Databricks

If you want to process data with Databricks SparkSQL, register the loaded data as a Temp View.

Step 4: Create a view or table

remote_table.createOrReplaceTempView ( "SAMPLE_VIEW" )

With the Temp View created, you can use SparkSQL to retrieve the Sybase data for reporting, visualization, and analysis.

% sql

SELECT Id, ProductName FROM SAMPLE_VIEW ORDER BY ProductName DESC LIMIT 5

👁 Displaying Sybase Data

The data from Sybase is only available in the target notebook. If you want to use it with other users, save it as a table.

remote_table.write.format ( "parquet" ) .saveAsTable ( "SAMPLE_TABLE" )

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Sybase and start working with your live Sybase data in Databricks. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.