How to integrate Metabase with Amazon DynamoDB Data

Metabase is an open source data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, users can easily create visualizations and dashboards linked to live Amazon DynamoDB data. This article describes how to connect to Amazon DynamoDB and build a simple visualization using Amazon DynamoDB data.

CData Connect provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Amazon DynamoDB, allowing you to easily integrate with live Amazon DynamoDB data in Metabase — without replicating the data. Connect looks exactly like a SQL Server database to Metabase and uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Amazon DynamoDB, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Amazon DynamoDB data.

Configure Amazon DynamoDB Connectivity for Metabase

Connectivity to Amazon DynamoDB from Metabase is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Amazon DynamoDB data from Metabase, we start by creating and configuring a Amazon DynamoDB connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "Amazon DynamoDB" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Amazon DynamoDB.

   The connection to Amazon DynamoDB is made using your AccessKey, SecretKey, and optionally your Domain and Region. Your AccessKey and SecretKey can be obtained on the security credentials page for your Amazon Web Services account. Your Region will be displayed in the upper left-hand corner when you are logged into DynamoDB.

4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Amazon DynamoDB Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Amazon DynamoDB data from Metabase.

Connect to CData Connect from Metabase

After creating the virtual database, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect Cloud.

1. Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab
2. Configure the connection to Connect Cloud and click "Save"
   • Database type: Select "SQL Server"
   • Name: Name the connection (e.g. "Amazon DynamoDB (Connect Cloud)")
   • Host: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. AmazonDynamoDB1)
   • Username: A Connect Cloud username (e.g. user@mydomain.com)
   • Password: The PAT for the above Connect Cloud user
   • Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)

Execute Amazon DynamoDB Data with Metabase

Once you configure the connection to Connect Cloud, you can query Amazon DynamoDB and build visualizations.

1. Use the "Write SQL" tool to retrieve the Amazon DynamoDB data
2. Write a SQL query based on the Amazon DynamoDB connection in CData Connect Cloud, e.g.
   
   

   SELECT Industry, Revenue FROM Lead

3. Navigate to the "Visualization" screen, choose a visualization, and configure the visualization

More Information & Free Trial

At this point, you have built a simple visualization from Amazon DynamoDB data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live Amazon DynamoDB data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to Amazon DynamoDB (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect Cloud page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Amazon DynamoDB data in Metabase today.