Connect to a data source#

To connect to any data source, the following Querona objects need to be created:

The common relation between the data source, data source connection, virtual database and data consumer is depicted below:

blockdiag data_source ds_connection virtual_database consumer

Name

Description

data_source

Data source

ds_connection

Connection to data source defined in Querona

virtual_database

Virtual database defined in Querona

consumer

Person or system consuming data from Querona

Note

You can create many connections to the same data source, for example, to authenticate with different credentials against the source, and multiple virtual database objects can share the connection.

Prerequisites#

Log in to Querona#

Default administrative credentials#

The installer by default creates the following administrator account:

Username:

admin

Password:

admin

Use these credentials to access your new Querona instance. You can change the password for the admin user after you login.

Windows domain accounts#

By default the local server administrators group is added to Querona instance with administrative privileges. For domain-enabled installations, you can login using your Active Directory credentials. Example: lets assume your domain name is MyDomain, your username is MyUserName and password is pass. You can login by entering the following information onto the login screen:

Username:

MyDomain\MyUserName

Password:

pass

Create a connection#

Note

The list of supported data source providers can be found in Data sources. Please read any remarks specific to the data source provider you would like to use.

Detailed description of how to create a data source connection is available in the User Guide’s Create a connection article.

Creating the data source connection looks the same for every data source, and involves the following general steps:

  1. From the “Quick actions” section on the dashboard click the ADD SOURCE CONNECTION

  2. Enter the connection name, pick the data source provider type (eg. SQL Server or Oracle) and click Next

  3. Fill-in any provider-specific parameters, usually server name or url, and provide the authentication information

  4. Test the connection and create it by clicking CREATE

After creating the connection, you can create a virtual database.

Create a virtual database#

Detailed description of how to create a virtual database is described in the User Guide’s Create a virtual database article.

Creating the virtual database looks the same for every data connection, and involves the following general steps:

  1. Navigate to DATABASES and click ADD DATABASE

  2. Enter the name of your new virtual database, choose the connection you created from the “existing connection” list and click Next

  3. If the selected data source connection requires you to choose the source database name, do so. That is required by the Microsoft SQL Server provider. Click Next.

  4. The wizard extracts metadata from the data source and presents it as tables and columns. Select the desired tables and columns to import. Mind that only metadata is imported. Click CREATE.

Note

Any number of virtual databases can be created on top of the connection, provided you hold the necessary privileges, including access to connection object and privilege to create virtual databases.

Demo video#

Below is a demo video showing how to connect to a data source, and how to create a virtual database on top of it, using the wizard:

You should repeat the above actions for all data sources you would like to use. See also Integrate the data.

Important

Security privileges of the newly created virtual database are limited to the creator. For other users to view the VDB, the creator/owner has to grant permissions explicitly. Users with system-wide administrative privileges can view and manage all virtual databases.