Working with Java data in Sisense

Sisense allows users to analyse and visualise information derived from multiple data sources. Sisense like many other analytics applications supports ODBC, a generic data access interface, which enables the default choice of data sources to be extended.

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 Gemfire XD JDBC driver allows Java applications to access data stored in Gemfire XD.

Sisense is not written in Java however, but can use an ODBC to JDBC gateway driver to access a Java data source.

The ODBC-JDBC Gateway connects an application such as Sisense 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.
  2. Install and license the ODBC-JDBC Gateway on the Windows machine where Sisense is installed.

    For installation instructions, refer to the ODBC-JDBC Gateway documentation.

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

Configuring an ODBC data source

Before you can use the ODBC-JDBC Gateway to connect Sisense 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 Data Source Administrator, which is included with Windows. On some versions of Windows, ODBC Data Source Administrator is located in Control Panel > Administrative Tools. On some versions of Windows, you can access ODBC Data Source Administrator by searching for "ODBC" in the taskbar search box. If presented with a choice of ODBC Data Source Administrators, choose 64-bit rather than 32-bit.

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

Creating a ODBC-JDBC Gateway ODBC data source

  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 Sisense. For example, "Gemfire XD".
    Driver Class The driver class that identifies the JDBC driver for your target Java back end. For example, the Gemfire XD JDBC driver's class name is com.pivotal.gemfirexd.jdbc.ClientDriver
    Class Path The path to the JDBC driver JAR file. For example, Gemfire XD's JDBC driver JAR file is: 
    C:\Pivotal_GemFireXD_140_b50226_Windows\lib\gemfirexd-client.jar
    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.

    For example, a JDBC URL for Gemfire XD:

    jdbc:gemfirexd://localhost:1527/
  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 Sisense to your Java database.

Connecting Sisense to a Java Database

  1. In Sisense ElastiCube Manager, create a new cube.
  2. Choose Add Data.
  3. In the Database Servers list, choose Generic ODBC Driver.
  4. In the ODBC Connectivity Properties dialog box, choose your ODBC-JDBC Gateway data source.
  5. Choose Test Connection. Choose OK.
  6. In the Add table from ODBC Tables/Views dialog box, select a table.
  7. Choose Edit.
  8. In the table Query Properties dialog box, choose None from the Delimiter list.
  9. In the Manual Query Input box, enter a SELECT query.
  10. Choose Apply Table.
  11. Choose the left-hand button at the bottom of the dialog box (on my monitor the text of this button is obscured).
  12. Build the ElastiCube.

    If you get the error "The connectionstring property has not been initialized" when attempting to build the Elasticube, in the Windows Services interface, try changing the ElastiCubeManagementService so that it runs under a named account, and restart the service. Then try to build the Elasticube again.

  13. Choose Dashboard.
  14. Log into Sisense.
  15. Choose your new data set when prompted.