Connect to Dynamics GP Data in RapidMiner

This article shows how you can easily integrate the CData JDBC driver for Dynamics GP into your processes in RapidMiner. This article uses the CData JDBC Driver for Dynamics GP to transfer Dynamics GP data to a process in RapidMiner.

Connect to Dynamics GP in RapidMiner as a JDBC Data Source

You can follow the procedure below to establish a JDBC connection to Dynamics GP:

1. Add a new database driver for Dynamics GP: Click Connections -> Manage Database Drivers.
2. In the resulting wizard, click the Add button and enter a name for the connection.
3. Enter the prefix for the JDBC URL: jdbc:dynamicsgp:
4. Enter the path to the cdata.jdbc.dynamicsgp.jar file, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.
5. Enter the driver class: cdata.jdbc.dynamicsgp.DynamicsGPDriver
6. Create a new Dynamics GP connection: Click Connections -> Manage Database Connections.
7. Enter a name for your connection.
8. For Database System, select the Dynamics GP driver you configured previously.
9. Enter your connection string in the Host box.

   To authenticate set the User and Password connection properties.

   To connect set the URL to the Web services endpoint; for example, http://{servername}:{port}/Dynamics/GPService. Additionally, set CompanyId; you can obtain this value in the company setup window: Click Tools -> Setup -> Company.

   By default, data summaries are not returned to save performance. Set LookupIds to true to return details such as line items; however, note that entities must be retrieved one at a time.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

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

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.dynamicsgp.jar

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

   A typical connection string is below:

   CompanyId=mycompanyId;user=myuser;password=mypassword;URL= http://{servername}:{port}/Dynamics/GPService;
10. Enter your username and password if necessary.

You can now use your Dynamics GP connection with the various RapidMiner operators in your process. To retrieve Dynamics GP data, drag the Retrieve operator from the Operators view. With the Retrieve operator selected, you can then define which table to retrieve in the Parameters view by clicking the folder icon next to the "repository entry." In the resulting Repository Browser, you can expand your connection node to select the desired example set.

Finally, wire the output to the Retrieve process to a result, and run the process to see the Dynamics GP data.