Connecting to data sources in Data Virtualization

Before you begin

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• Review the list of supported data sources. For more information, see Supported data sources in Data Virtualization.

• To connect to any of the following data sources, you must complete their specific steps.
  • Amazon S3
  • Ceph®
  • IBM Cloud Object Storage
  • Google BigQuery
  • Snowflake

Adding a connection to a data source

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To add a connection to a data source in your environment, complete the following steps.

1. On the navigation menu, click Data > Data virtualization. The Data sources page appears.

2. Click Add connection > New connection to view a list of data sources.

3. Select the type of data source that you want to connect to and provide the following information:

   • Connection name and description of the database
   • Name of the database
   • Hostname or IP address and port number of the database
   • Username and password of the data source
   • Any additional properties required to create the connection.
   • Note: The username and password that is specified here refer to an ID with read-only access to the data source. This user is required for accessing data from the data source and does not necessarily correspond to a Cloud Pak for Data username or a Data Virtualization user ID.

     For some data sources, you can use the Cloud Pak for Data credentials to access the data source. To do so, select the corresponding checkbox.

   • If you want to use SSL to connect to the database, copy the content of the SSL certificate and paste it in the corresponding box.

4. Optional: You can add additional collaborators to access the connection from the Add collaborators and add the connection to a remote connector page by referring to the following table.

   Access to connection	Steps
   Creator only: only the creator of the connection has access to the connection.	Select Skip
   Users and user group: any users that you select, and any users that belong to groups that you select, can access the connection.	Select Add collaborators > Roles and select the users and user groups that you want to add
   Users with selected roles: any users that have the roles that you select can access the connection.	Select Add collaborators > Users and User Groups and select the roles that you want to add

   For more information about collaborators, see Collaborators.

5. Click Create to add the connection to the data source environment.

6. Optional: Select a remote connector to associate to the data source and click Add to connector.

   For more information, see Accessing data sources by using remote connectors in Data Virtualization.

7. Manage the database tasks that each collaborator (user, user group, or role that has access to the data source connection) can perform on the connection by completing the following steps.
   1. On the Data sources page, click the vertical overflow menu () and select Manage access. A list of collaborators and their current privileges appears.
   2. Apply your changes.

Adding a data source from an existing platform connection

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To add a data source from an existing platform connection, complete the following steps.

1. On the navigation menu, click Data > Data virtualization. The Data sources page appears.

2. Click Add connection > Existing platform connection to view a list of data sources.

3. Choose a data source and click Add.

   Important:

   To select the platform connection, click the platform connection name instead of the radio button beside the name, and then proceed to add the connection.

   For more information, see Unable to add a data source from an existing connection.

4. Optional: You can add additional collaborators to access the connection from the Add collaborators and add the connection to a remote connector page by referring to the following table.

   Access to connection	Steps
   Creator only: only the creator of the connection has access to the connection.	Select Skip
   Users and user group: any users that you select, and any users that belong to groups that you select, can access the connection.	Select Add collaborators > Roles and select the users and user groups that you want to add
   Users with selected roles: any users that have the roles that you select can access the connection.	Select Add collaborators > Users and User Groups and select the roles that you want to add

   For more information about collaborators, see Collaborators.

5. Optional: Select a remote connector to associate to the data source and click Add to connector.

   For more information, see Accessing data sources by using remote connectors in Data Virtualization.

6. Click Add to add the connection.
   Note: When you add data source connections in Data Virtualization, you might need to refresh the Virtualize page twice. The first refresh notification is displayed when new data source connections are added. Click Refresh to reload tables, including new connections. After tables reload, a second notification is displayed. Click Refresh again to update your table list with newly loaded tables.
7. Manage the database tasks that each collaborator (user, user group, or role that has access to the data source connection) can perform on the connection by completing the following steps.
   1. On the Data sources page, click the vertical overflow menu () and select Manage access. A list of collaborators and their current privileges appears.
   2. Apply your changes.

Next steps

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Learn more

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