Working with JDBC Data in Domo

Domo like many other data visualisation applications supports ODBC, a generic data access interface, which enables the default choice of data sources to be extended. Domo does not include a connector that will allow it to access a Java data source, however.

Java data sources are accessed by using a connector called a JDBC driver. A JDBC driver allows a Java application to access external data. For example, the Amazon Athena JDBC driver allows Java applications to access data stored in an Amazon S3 Bucket.

Domo is not written in Java however. Domo uses an ODBC driver, a different piece of database middleware, to access external data. (It also includes a number of dedicated connectors, for example one that enables Domo to access Salesforce.com.)

The ODBC-JDBC Gateway connects an application that uses ODBC to an application that uses JDBC. To the application, the ODBC-JDBC Gateway is an ODBC driver. To the JDBC driver the ODBC-JDBC Gateway is a Java application.

Installing and Licensing the ODBC-JDBC Gateway

  1. Download the Windows ODBC-JDBC Gateway. (Registration required.)
  2. Install and license the ODBC-JDBC Gateway on the Windows machine where Domo is installed.

    For installation instructions, see the ODBC-JDBC Gateway documentation.

  3. Use the ODBC-JDBC Gateway Setup Java Interface dialog box to select the JVM included in the JRE / JDK distribution recommended by your Java database vendor.

Configuring an ODBC Data Source

Before you can use the ODBC-JDBC Gateway to connect Domo to a Java database, you need to configure an ODBC data source. An ODBC data source stores the connection details for the target database.

You configure ODBC data sources in ODBC Administrator, which is included with Windows. On some versions of Windows, ODBC Administrator is located in Control Panel > Administrative Tools. On some versions of Windows, you can access ODBC Administrator by searching for "ODBC" in the taskbar search box. If presented with a choice of ODBC Administrators, choose 64-bit rather than 32-bit.

Use ODBC Administrator to create your ODBC-JDBC Gateway data source.

Creating a ODBC-JDBC Gateway ODBC Data Source for Gemfire XD

  1. Choose the System DSN tab, and then choose Add.
  2. In the Create New Data Source dialog box, choose ODBC-JDBC Gateway, and then choose Finish.
  3. Complete the ODBC-JDBC Gateway DSN Setup dialog box:
    Setting Value
    DSN Some descriptive text to identify the data source in Domo.
    Driver Class The driver class that identifies the JDBC driver for your target Java backend.
    Class Path The path to the JDBC driver JAR file.
    URL The JDBC URL that contains the necessary connection details to access your target Java database. Refer to your JDBC driver documentation for the correct JDBC URL syntax.
  4. Use the Test button to verify that you can successfully connect to your Java database.

You can now use the ODBC-JDBC Gateway Data Source to connect Domo to your Java database.

Connecting Domo to a Java Database

If you have not already installed the Domo Workbench on the machine where the the ODBC-JDBC Gateway is installed, follow these steps:

  1. In Domo, choose the (+) button.
  2. In the Add to Domo, choose Data > On Premise.
  3. Download and install the Domo Workbench on the machine where the ODBC-JDBC Gateway is installed.

Use the Domo Workbench to make local JDBC data available to Domo:

  1. In Domo Workbench, add a new Data Set.

    The New DataSet Job dialog box is displayed.

  2. In the DataSet Job Name and DataSet Name boxes, enter some descriptive text to identify the job.
  3. In the Transport Method list, choose ODBC Connection Provider. Choose Next.
  4. When the Select your data source dialog appears, enter a DataSet description if you wish, and then choose Next.
  5. In the Almost finished dialog box, choose Next.
  6. In the Transport Method, in the System DSN list, choose your ODBC-JDBC Gateway data source.

    Choose Validate Configuration to ensure that the ODBC-JDBC Gateway data source is compatible with Domo Workbench.

  7. In the Query box, enter a query and then choose the Run button.
  8. Choose the Save button.

    The data is now available to Domo.

  1. In Domo, navigate to the Data Center.
  2. Choose DataSets.
  3. Choose the new ODBC-JDBC Gateway Dataset.

    The data displays in Domo.