Snowflake

Verify that your administrator has installed the correct plugin or driver if the data source requires one. (Almost all relational databases require a driver. Other data sources, such as cloud data sources, may not require a driver.) Plugins and drivers can be obtained from Support Center > Drivers or the database vendor. If you have permission, you may be able to upload the driver by yourself. (See below.)

Follow the steps below to create a connection:

Watch Video: Connecting to a Database

This video might show an earlier version of the feature or operation that differs in minor ways from the current version.

  1. In the User Portal, press the top ‘Create’ button creation in the Portal, and select ‘Data Source’ database plus.

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    This opens the data source listing. To locate a data source, select the data source category in the left panel, or enter the data source name in the search field.

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    If you see the ‘Create Visualization’ dialog box instead of the User Portal, press Connect to Data Source to display the data source listing.

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  2. Select the ‘Snowflake’ data source, and press Create. This opens the data source definition screen.

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  3. In the ‘Name’ field, enter a label for this database connection.

  4. From the ‘Database Type’ menu, select ‘Custom’ (if not already selected).

  5. Enter the name of the driver class in the ‘Driver Class’ field. The name of the driver class is usually provided by the driver vendor.

  6. Enter the ‘JDBC URL’ that should be used to connect to the database, which has the following form. (You can obtain this from the database administrator.)

    jdbc:snowflake://{accountName}.snowflakecomputing.com/[?db={database}]

  7. Enter a ‘Connection Test Query’. This can be any valid database query, and generally should be as simple as possible.

    The default test query for JDBC 4-compliant databases is Select 1, which simply checks if the database can be contacted. Another possible test query is Select * from Database_Table, where Database_Table is a table in the database schema. This query would check that data can be retrieved from the database.

  8. Enter the additional required connection information for your database, such as login credentials. You can obtain this information from your database administrator.

  9. Optional: Adjust the following optional properties:

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    1. In the ‘Change Default DB’ field, enter the default schema name with which the login and password are associated.

    2. Select ‘ANSI Join Syntax’ to specify that queries should use the ANSI standard.

    3. The ‘Transaction Isolation’ option sets the database transaction isolation level.

    4. The ‘Table Name’ option allows you to select how table names are represented in the SQL that is sent to the database.

      Example 1. ‘Schema.Table’ option

      If you select the ‘Schema.Table’ option, the SQL string will refer to tables by both the schema name and the table name. For a schema called “ORDERS”, table names would therefore appear in SQL as ORDERS.CATEGORIES, ORDERS.PRODUCTS, and so on.

      Example 2. ‘Table’ option

      If you select the ‘Table’ option, the SQL string will refer to tables by the table name alone, e.g., CATEGORIES, PRODUCTS, and so on.

      If the ‘Table Name’ setting does not match the structure of your queries, you may see an error such as “Table name specified more than once,” and you may not be able to access the tables.

  10. If the driver for the database has not yet been installed, press the Create Driver button to open the ‘Create Driver’ dialog box.

    Read more about how to create a driver…​

    To upload a database driver to the server, you will package it as a plugin, either from local storage or from a Maven repository. Follow the steps below:

    Local Storage

    To upload drivers from local storage, follow the steps below:

    1. Select the ‘Upload’ option.

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    2. Press the Add button select the desired JAR files, as well as any other files required by the database.

    3. Press Next, and choose the desired driver file or files to package into a plugin.

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    4. Press Next, and enter the desired ‘Plugin ID’, ‘Plugin Name’, and ‘Plugin Version’. The ID must be unique, and should typically be a namespaced value, such as com.mycompany.jdbc.dbtype. The Version should conform to semantic versioning standards.

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    5. Press Finish to create the plugin Zip file.

    Maven Repository

    To create a plugin from assets in a Maven repository, follow the steps below:

    1. Select the ‘Maven’ option.

    2. Enter the ‘Maven Coordinates’: groupId:artifactId:packaging:version.

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    3. Press Next, and choose the desired driver file or files to package into a plugin.

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    4. Press Next, and enter the desired ‘Plugin ID’, ‘Plugin Name’, and ‘Plugin Version’. The ID must be unique, and should typically be a namespaced value, such as com.mycompany.jdbc.dbtype. The Version should conform to semantic versioning standards.

    5. Press Finish to create the plugin Zip file.

    This feature is not enabled in all installations. If you do not see the Create Driver button, consult an administrator.

  11. Optional: Press Test Connection to check that the database is accessible.

  12. Optional: To refresh meta-data for the data source (which may be necessary if a schema change has been made to a database, for example), press the Refresh Metadata button.

  13. Optional: For a multi-tenant environment, assign any desired additional connections. See Add an Additional Connection for more information.

  14. Optional: For ‘Connection Pool Properties’, press the New button and add a HikariConfig name/value pair. Repeat to add additional properties.

  15. Press OK.

    You may see the ‘Create Visualization’ dialog box at this step.

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    Press the ‘Close’ button close to continue with the steps below (recommended), or choose one of the following options:

    Create a Query

    Define a query based on the selected data source. See New Data Worksheet Dialog Box in Create a Data Worksheet for further instructions.

    Start from Scratch

    Open a blank Data Worksheet to build data blocks from fields of the selected data source. See Create Data Blocks in Create a Data Worksheet for further instructions.

  16. Verify that the data source you added is shown with a “check” icon submit, indicating that the connection was successful.

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    If the database is shown with an ‘Error’ icon alert circle, this means that the connection was not successful.

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    Check the settings to make sure they are correct for your database. See Edit a Connection for information on how to change connection settings.

    An error such as “Driver class not found” generally indicates that you do not have the correct database driver installed. See Manage Drivers and Plugins in Manage the Server or consult an administrator. Other connection errors may be caused if a proxy is blocking the connection to the data source.

After you have created a connection to the database, you can create a data set as described in Create a Data Worksheet and Query Data.