Use the CData JDBC Driver for HubDB in MicroStrategy

MicroStrategy is an analytics and mobility platform that enables data-driven innovation. When you pair MicroStrategy with the CData JDBC Driver for HubDB, you gain database-like access to live HubDB data from MicroStrategy, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. In this article, we walk through creating a database instance for HubDB in MicroStrategy Developer and create a Warehouse Catalog for the HubDB data.

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

Connect to HubDB in MicroStrategy Developer

You can connect to HubDB in MicroStrategy Developer by adding a database instance based on the CData JDBC Driver for HubDB.^* Before you begin, you will need to install the JDBC Driver for HubDB on the machine hosting the MicroStrategy Intelligence Server that your instance of MicroStrategy Developer is connected to.

1. Open MicroStrategy Developer and select a Project Source.
2. Navigate to Administration -> Configuration Managers -> Database Instances and right-click to add a new instance.
3. Name the instance, select Generic DBMS as the database connection type, and create a new database connection.
4. In the database connection wizard, name the connection and create a new Database Login name, setting the user and password for HubDB.
5. On the Advanced tab for the connection wizard, set the additional connection string parameters as follows.
   • Add the JDBC keyword to the connection string.
   • Set MSTR_JDBC_JAR_FOLDER to the path of the directory containing the JAR file for the JDBC driver. (C:\Program Files\CData JDBC Driver for HubDB\lib\ on Windows.)
   • Set DRIVER to cdata.jdbc.hubdb.HubDBDriver, the driver class.
   • Set URL to the JDBC URL for the HubDB driver, which contains the necessary connection properties.

     There are two authentication methods available for connecting to HubDB data source: OAuth Authentication with a public HubSpot application and authentication with a Private application token.

     Using a Custom OAuth App

     AuthScheme must be set to "OAuth" in all OAuth flows. Be sure to review the Help documentation for the required connection properties for you specific authentication needs (desktop applications, web applications, and headless machines).

     Follow the steps below to register an application and obtain the OAuth client credentials:

     1. Log into your HubSpot app developer account.
        • Note that it must be an app developer account. Standard HubSpot accounts cannot create public apps.
     2. On the developer account home page, click the Apps tab.
     3. Click Create app.
     4. On the App info tab, enter and optionally modify values that are displayed to users when they connect. These values include the public application name, application logo, and a description of the application.
     5. On the Auth tab, supply a callback URL in the "Redirect URLs" box.
        • If you're creating a desktop application, set this to a locally accessible URL like http://localhost:33333.
        • If you are creating a Web application, set this to a trusted URL where you want users to be redirected to when they authorize your application.
     6. Click Create App. HubSpot then generates the application, along with its associated credentials.
     7. On the Auth tab, note the Client ID and Client secret. You will use these later to configure the driver.

     8. Under Scopes, select any scopes you need for your application's intended functionality.

        A minimum of the following scopes is required to access tables:

        • hubdb
        • oauth
        • crm.objects.owners.read
     9. Click Save changes.
     10. Install the application into a production portal with access to the features that are required by the integration.
         • Under "Install URL (OAuth)", click Copy full URL to copy the installation URL for your application.
         • Navigate to the copied link in your browser. Select a standard account in which to install the application.
         • Click Connect app. You can close the resulting tab.

     Using a Private App

     To connect using a HubSpot private application token, set the AuthScheme property to "PrivateApp."

     You can generate a private application token by following the steps below:

     1. In your HubDB account, click the settings icon (the gear) in the main navigation bar.
     2. In the left sidebar menu, navigate to Integrations > Private Apps.
     3. Click Create private app.
     4. On the Basic Info tab, configure the details of your application (name, logo, and description).
     5. On the Scopes tab, select Read or Write for each scope you want your private application to be able to access.
     6. A minimum of hubdb and crm.objects.owners.read is required to access tables.
     7. After you are done configuring your application, click Create app in the top right.
     8. Review the info about your application's access token, click Continue creating, and then Show token.
     9. Click Copy to copy the private application token.

     To connect, set PrivateAppToken to the private application token you retrieved.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.hubdb.jar

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

     When you configure the JDBC URL, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

   Typical additional connection string properties follow:

   JDBC;MSTR_JDBC_JAR_FOLDER=PATH\TO\JAR\;DRIVER=cdata.jdbc.hubdb.HubDBDriver;URL={jdbc:hubdb:AuthScheme=OAuth;OAuthClientID=MyOAuthClientID;OAuthClientSecret=MyOAuthClientSecret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333;};
6. Ensure that you have not selected an ODBC data source (this will trigger MicroStrategy to use the additional connection string parameters to build the database instance) and click OK.
7. Click OK to close the database instance wizard.
8. In the Project Source, right-click the project and open the Project configuration.
9. Navigate to Database Instances, select the newly created database instance, and click OK.
10. Close MicroStrategy Developer and restart the connected MicroStrategy Intelligence Server to complete the database instance creation.

With the database instance configured, you will now be able to connect to HubDB data from the Warehouse Catalog and Data Import.

Connect to HubDB Data from the Warehouse Catalog

Once you have created a database instance based on the JDBC Driver for HubDB, you can connect to data from the Warehouse Catalog.

1. Select your project and click Schema -> Warehouse Catalog.
2. In the Read Settings for the Catalog, click Settings and set the queries to retrieve the schema:
   • To retrieve the list of tables, use the following query: SELECT * FROM SYS_TABLES
   • To retrieve the list of columns for selected tables, use the following query: SELECT DISTINCT CatalogName NAME_SPACE, TableName TAB_NAME, ColumnName COL_NAME, DataTypeName DATA_TYPE, Length DATA_LEN, NumericPrecision DATA_PREC, NumericScale DATA_SCALE FROM SYS_TABLECOLUMNS WHERE TableName IN (#TABLE_LIST#) ORDER BY 1,2,3
3. Select tables to be used in the project.

Using the CData JDBC Driver for HubDB in MicroStrategy, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on HubDB data. Read our other articles on connecting to HubDB in MictroStrategy Web and connecting to HubDB in MicroStrategy Desktop for more information.

Note: Connecting using a JDBC Driver requires a 3- or 4-Tier Architecture.