Connect to PostgreSQL Data in as an External Source in Dremio

The CData JDBC Driver for PostgreSQL implements JDBC Standards and allows various applications, including Dremio, to work with live PostgreSQL data. Dremio is a data lakehouse platform designed to empower self-service, interactive analytics on the data lake. With the CData JDBC Driver, you can include live PostgreSQL data as a part of your enterprise data lake. This article describes how to connect to PostgreSQL data from Dremio as an External Source.

The CData JDBC Driver enables high-speed access to live PostgreSQL data in Dremio. Once you install the driver, authenticate with PostgreSQL and gain immediate access to PostgreSQL data within your data lake. By surfacing PostgreSQL data using native data types and handling complex filters, aggregations, & other operations automatically, the CData JDBC Driver grants seamless access to PostgreSQL data.

Build the ARP Connector

To use the CData JDBC Driver in Dremio, you need to build an Advanced Relation Pushdown (ARP) Connector. You can view the source code for the Connector on GitHub or download the ZIP file (GitHub.com) directly. Once you copy or extract the files, run the following command from the root directory of the connector (the directory containing the pom.xml file) to build the connector.

mvn clean install

Once the JAR file for the connector is built (in the target directory), you are ready to copy the ARP connector and JDBC Driver to your Dremio instance.

Installing the Connector and JDBC Driver

Install the ARP Connector to %DREMIO_HOME%/jars/ and the JDBC Driver for PostgreSQL to %DREMIO_HOME%/jars/3rdparty. You can use commands similar to the following:

ARP Connector

docker cp PATH\TO\dremio-postgresql-plugin-20.0.0.jar dremio_image_name:/opt/dremio/jars/

JDBC Driver for PostgreSQL

docker cp PATH\TO\cdata.jdbc.postgresql.jar dremio_image_name:/opt/dremio/jars/3rdparty/

Connecting to PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL will now appear as an External Source option in Dremio. The ARP Connector built uses a JDBC URL to connect to PostgreSQL data. The JDBC Driver has a built-in connection string designer that you can use (see below).

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.postgresql.jar

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

To connect to PostgreSQL, set the Server, Port (the default port is 5432), and Database connection properties and set the User and Password you wish to use to authenticate to the server. If the Database property is not specified, the data provider connects to the user's default database.

NOTE: To use the JDBC Driver in Dremio, you will need a license (full or trial) and a Runtime Key (RTK). For more information on obtaining this license (or a trial), contact our sales team.

Add the Runtime Key (RTK) to the JDBC URL. You will end up with a JDBC URL similar to the following:

jdbc:postgresql:RTK=5246...;User=postgres;Password=admin;Database=postgres;Server=127.0.0.1;Port=5432;

Access PostgreSQL as an External Source

To add PostgreSQL as an External Source, click to add a new source and select PostgreSQL. Copy the JDBC URL and paste it into the New PostgreSQL Source wizard.

Save the connection and you are ready to query live PostgreSQL data in Dremio, easily incorporating PostgreSQL data into your data lake.

More Information & Free Trial

Using the CData JDBC Driver for PostgreSQL in Dremio, you can incorporate live PostgreSQL data into your data lake. Check out our CData JDBC Driver for PostgreSQL page for more information about connecting to PostgreSQL. Download a free, 30 day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for PostgreSQL and get started today.