Create Okta Dataflows on PowerBI.com

The CData Power BI Connector for Okta seamlessly integrates with the tools and wizards in Power BI, including the real-time data workflows on PowerBI.com. Follow the steps below to pull data directly into DataFlows on PowerBI.com and use the Power BI Gateway to configure automatic refresh.

Create a DSN

Installing the Power BI Connector creates a DSN (data source name) called CData Power BI Okta. This the name of the DSN that Power BI uses to request a connection to the data source. Configure the DSN by filling in the required connection properties.

You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create a new DSN or configure (and rename) an existing DSN: From the Start menu, enter "ODBC Data Sources." Ensure that you run the version of the ODBC Administrator that corresponds to the bitness of your Power BI Desktop installation (32-bit or 64-bit).

To connect to Okta, set the Domain connection string property to your Okta domain.

You will use OAuth to authenticate with Okta, so you need to create a custom OAuth application.

Creating a Custom OAuth Application

From your Okta account:

1. Sign in to your Okta developer edition organization with your administrator account.
2. In the Admin Console, go to Applications > Applications.
3. Click Create App Integration.
4. For the Sign-in method, select OIDC - OpenID Connect.
5. For Application type, choose Web Application.
6. Enter a name for your custom application.
7. Set the Grant Type to Authorization Code. If you want the token to be automatically refreshed, also check Refresh Token.
8. Set the callback URL:
   • For desktop applications and headless machines, use http://localhost:33333 or another port number of your choice. The URI you set here becomes the CallbackURL property.
   • For web applications, set the callback URL to a trusted redirect URL. This URL is the web location the user returns to with the token that verifies that your application has been granted access.
9. In the Assignments section, either select Limit access to selected groups and add a group, or skip group assignment for now.
10. Save the OAuth application.
11. The application's Client Id and Client Secret are displayed on the application's General tab. Record these for future use. You will use the Client Id to set the OAuthClientId and the Client Secret to set the OAuthClientSecret.
12. Check the Assignments tab to confirm that all users who must access the application are assigned to the application.
13. On the Okta API Scopes tab, select the scopes you wish to grant to the OAuth application. These scopes determine the data that the app has permission to read, so a scope for a particular view must be granted for the driver to have permission to query that view. To confirm the scopes required for each view, see the view-specific pages in Data Model < Views in the Help documentation.

Pulling Okta Data Directly Into Your Dataflow

With the data source configured, follow the steps below to load data from Okta tables into your DataFlow.

Set Up the Power BI Gateway

Follow the steps below to configure the gateway on your machine:

1. Run the CData Power BI Connector installer. If you have not already done so, download the Power BI Gateway.
2. Select the on-premises data gateway (recommended) option.
3. Sign into the gateway.
4. Name the gateway and specify a recovery key.

5. In the Connectors step, choose a folder where the gateway will look for the CData Power BI Connector. This article uses C:\Users\PBIEgwService\Documents\Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors\. Copy the .pqx files for the CData Connector (found in C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors\) to the folder you configured.

   NOTE: The account configured for the service (NT SERVICE\PBIEgwService) needs to be able to access the folder chosen for the gateway. If needed, you can change the service account in the Service Settings section of the gateway installer.

6. Confirm that the entry CData.PowerBI.Okta is displayed in the list in the Connectors section.

Set up Power BI Online for a Dataflow

1. In Power BI Online, create a new workspace, which is also known as an app, if you do not already have one. Note that this is only available with Power BI Pro or higher.
2. Set up your On-Premises Gateway. The steps for this are in the Configuring the Gateway section of this article.
3. Go back to Power BI Online. In settings, go to 'Manage Gateways', and add a new data source to your Gateway
   • Enter the Data Source Name, the name that the data source will be referred to within Power BI Online
   • Select the Data Source Type, (e.g. CData Power BI Connector for Okta) and set the Data Source Name (e.g. CData Power BI Okta)
   • Set Authentication Method to "Anonymous"
   • Set Privacy Level as needed
4. Click Add to finish the configuration (do not skip the test connection as it is important to know if a successful connection was made).
   
   If you would like to manage the users that have access to this data source, you can go to the Users tab.

Set up your Dataflow and pull the Okta data

1. In the new workspace, go to Create > Dataflow > Add New Entities.
2. Choose the ODBC data source and enter the correct connection properties.
   Enter your DSN name in the ODBC connection string section, dsn=CData Power BI Okta. Choose your gateway and set the authentication type to Anonymous.
3. Choose the table(s) you want to work with and click Transform data.
   If you want to make any changes to the query, you can right click on the query and click on Advanced Editor.

Configure Data Refresh on PowerBI.com

Refresh your dataflow to have the most up to date data.

• To refresh manually, open the dataflow options menu from your workspace -> Dataflows and click Refresh Now.
• To schedule refreshes, open the dataflow options menu from your workspace -> Dataflows and click Schedule Refresh. Enable the option to keep your data up to date. Specify the refresh frequency in the menus.

At this point, you will have a Dataflow built on top of live Okta data. Learn more about the CData Power BI Connectors for Okta and download a free trial from the CData Power BI Connector for Okta page. Let our Support Team know if you have any questions.