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Connecting to Denodo with Tableau

Connecting to Denodo with Tableau

Owned by Matthew Girard
Last updated: Dec 16, 2023
3 min read

Tableau Desktop

ODBC (Recommended)

Install the Denodo ODBC connector pictured above. The ODBC connector is listed simply as Denodo.

JDBC

There is currently a bug in Tableau’s Taco-based connectors that causes intermittent failures. See below. While JDBC is the connector recommended by both Tableau and Denodo, the workaround for this bug isn’t acceptable at Tufts due to security concerns. As such, we currently recommend using the ODBC connector.

  1. Download and install the JDBC Connector (.taco file) through the app, or online here: Denodo JDBC | Tableau Exchange

    1. For Mac, place it under ~/Users/[user]/Documents/My Tableau Repository/Connectors

    2. For Windows, place it under C:\Users[Windows User]\Documents\My Tableau Repository\Connectors

  2. For the driver, download it here: https://tufts.box.com/s/vhrkabwsquy4bssil8hh7cmi2mqus8k0

    1. For Mac, place it under ~/Library/Tableau/Drivers

    2. For Windows, place it under C:\Program Files\Tableau\Drivers

Connecting

Once you have either the ODBC or JDBC connector installed, click on the connector and fill in Server (URLs can be found here), Database, Port (9999 for JDBC, 9996 for ODBC), check Require SSL, and enter your Username and Password. This can be your personal UTLN and password or a service account.

For development work, you should use the development VDP server. For local or deployed production workbooks you should use the production VDP server.

 

References

Tableau Server

In order for workbooks using a Denodo JDBC data source to be published to a Tableau Server, the server needs to be updated to include the Denodo JDBC connector and driver. The steps below outline how to accomplish this.

  1. Add the Denodo JDBC Connector (denodo_jdbc_2.0.0.taco ) under C:\Program Files\Tableau\Connectors

  2. Add the Denodo JDBC Driver (https://tufts.box.com/s/vhrkabwsquy4bssil8hh7cmi2mqus8k0 ) under C:\Program Files\Tableau\Drivers

  3. Restart Tableau Server using tsm pending-changes apply in the command line, entering y when prompted to restart.

References

Connectors Built with the Tableau Connector SDK

Service Accounts for Connecting to Denodo

A service account is recommended for workbooks that are to be deployed.

The account below is for internal Data Strategy use only. Additional service accounts can be created upon request via TechConnect. Tickets should be assigned to Andrew Levine.

Username

zdenodo_tableau_prd

Username

zdenodo_tableau_prd

Password

AWS Secrets Manager Link

Known Issues

Denodo Connection Times Out

Issue

Occurs when adding new fields. Can be bypassed by cancelling, refreshing the data source and trying again.

Cause

Tableau ODBC connector for Denodo doesn’t keep connection alive and doesn’t reconnect after the connection closes.

Solution

  1. If Live connection is a must, click Refresh in the Data Source tab.

  2. If Extract is accpetable, set connection to Extract. If encountering error while creating/refreshing an extract, refresh the Data Source.

Taco package signature verification failure

It’s a known issue that verification of Taco-based package signatures can fail in Tableau. This affects both Tableau Desktop and Tableau Server. To get around the issue, you can disable package signature verification. How to do this is outlined below. Reference: How to update the Tableau Denodo JDBC connector to support OAuth Authentication

Tableau Desktop

Tableau.exe -DDisableVerifyConnectorPluginSignature=true

Tableau Server

tsm configuration set -k native_api.disable_verify_connector_plugin_signature -v true --forcekeys tsm pending-changes apply