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Connect from Tableau Desktop

Connect from Tableau Desktop¶

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Prerequisites
Connect from Tableau with the C Authentication Plugin
Connect from Tableau without Authentication or TLS/SSL
Connect from Tableau with Authentication and TLS/SSL

Prerequisites¶

Before using Tableau with BI Connector you should have:

A running mongod instance or Atlas deployment
A running mongosqld instance
The MySQL Connector/ODBC driver (Version 5.3.10)

Important

The BI Connector is only compatible with version 5.3.x of the MySQL Connector/ODBC driver.

New in version 2.2.

Connect from Tableau with the C Authentication Plugin¶

1

Download the C Authentication Plugin library.¶

Navigate to the releases page then download the mongosql_auth plugin library.

macOS

Save the library file mongosql_auth.so to the /usr/local/mysql/lib/plugin/ directory.

If this directory does not exist, create it:

Example

copy

sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/mysql/lib/plugin -m 755
sudo chown -R {user}:admin /usr/local/mysql
tar -xvf /Users/{user}/Downloads/mongosql-auth-osx-x86_64-v{version}.tgz
cp /Users/{user}/Downloads/mongosql-auth-osx-x86_64/lib/mongosql_auth.so ./

Note

This example assumes you downloaded the mongosql_auth plugin to the /Users/{user}/Downloads/ directory.

The plugin does not require MySQL or the MySQL ODBC Connector to be installed.

Windows Run the Windows installer (.msi).

2

Create a MySQL Configuration file. (macOS only)¶

Create a text file with the following contents:
copy
```
[client]
default-auth=mongosql_auth
```
Save the file to /etc/my.cnf.

3

Create a Tableau Datasource Connection file.¶

Create a text file with the following contents:

Platform

TDC File Contents

macOS

copy

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8' ?>
<connection-customization class='mongodb' version='7.7' enabled='true'>
  <vendor name='mongodb' />
  <driver name='mongodb' />
  <customizations>
    <customization
      name='odbc-connect-string-extras'
      value='USE_MYCNF=1' />
  </customizations>
</connection-customization>

Windows

copy

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8' ?>
<connection-customization class='mongodb' version='7.7' enabled='true'>
  <vendor name='mongodb' />
  <driver name='mongodb' />
  <customizations>
    <customization
      name='odbc-connect-string-extras'
      value='DEFAULT_AUTH=mongosql_auth' />
  </customizations>
</connection-customization>

Save this file as mongodb.tdc in the My Tableau Repository for your platform:

Platform Default TDC Save Path

macOS /Users/{name}/Documents/My Tableau Repository/Datasources

Windows C:\Users\{username}\Documents\My Tableau Repository\Datasources

4

Start Tableau.¶

Start the Tableau Desktop application or restart it if it was already running.

Important

Any time you change a .tdc file, you must restart the Tableau Desktop application for those changes to take effect.

5

Connect using Tableau.¶

In the left-side navigation under To a server, click on More… then click MongoDB BI Connector.

In the connection dialog box:

Field	Action
Server	Type the hostname or IP address of the MongoDB Connector for BI host.
Port	Type the IANA port number for the MongoDB Connector for BI. The default is `3307`.
Username	Type the username for the user that can access the active MongoDB Connector for BI database. Unless you specified a `defaultMechanism` in your MongoDB Connector for BI Configuration File, you must append the authenticating database to the username. Example The user `myTestUser` is authenticated against the `test` database. If you are using Username and Password (`SCRAM-SHA-1`) authentication, the expected authenticating database is `admin`. If you are using LDAP (`PLAIN`) authentication, the expected authenticating database is `$external`.
Password	Type the password associated with the Username.

Click Sign In.

6

Connect using Tableau.¶

In the left-side navigation under To a server, click on More… then click MongoDB BI Connector.

In the connection dialog box:

Field	Action
Server	Type the hostname or IP address of the MongoDB Connector for BI host.
Port	Type the IANA port number for the MongoDB Connector for BI. The default is `3307`.
Username	Type the username for the user that can access the active MongoDB Connector for BI database. Unless you specified a `defaultMechanism` in your MongoDB Connector for BI Configuration File, you must append the authenticating database to the username. Example The user `biUser` is authenticated against the `imf` database. If you are using Username and Password (`SCRAM-SHA-1`) authentication, the expected authenticating database is `admin`. If you are using LDAP (`PLAIN`) authentication, the expected authenticating database is `$external`.
Password	Type the password associated with the Username.

Click Sign In.

Connect from Tableau without Authentication or TLS/SSL¶

In the left-side navigation under To a server, click on More… then click MongoDB BI Connector.

In the connection dialog box, provide values for these fields:

Field Action

Server Type the hostname or IP address of the MongoDB Connector for BI host.

Port Type the IANA port number for the MongoDB Connector for BI. The default is 3307.

Username

Type the username for the user that can access the active MongoDB Connector for BI database.

Unless you specified a defaultMechanism in your MongoDB Connector for BI Configuration File, you must append the authenticating database to the username.

Example

Screenshot of Tableau with the MongoDB BI connection panel open

Click Sign In.

Connect from Tableau with Authentication and TLS/SSL¶

To connect Tableau to the MongoDB Connector for BI using TLS/SSL:

Using Tableau 10.3 or Later¶

With Tableau versions 10.3 or later, Tableau sends passwords in clear text. To configure Tableau to use authentication and TLS/SSL:

1

Create a Tableau Datasource Connection file.¶

The TDC file allows you to specify the authentication mechanism.

copy

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8' ?>
<connection-customization class='mongodb' version='7.7' enabled='true'>
  <vendor name='mongodb' />
  <driver name='mongodb' />
  <customizations>
    <customization
      name='odbc-connect-string-extras'
      value='DEFAULT_AUTH=mongosql_auth' />
  </customizations>
</connection-customization>

Save this file as mongodb.tdc in the My Tableau Repository for your platform:

Platform	Default TDC Save Path
macOS	`/Users/{name}/Documents/My Tableau Repository/Datasources`
Windows	`C:\Users\{username}\Documents\My Tableau Repository\Datasources`

Important

Any time you change a .tdc file, you must restart the Tableau Desktop application for those changes to take effect.

Tableau applies the authentication settings in the .tdc file to every connection matching the named database vendor and driver.

2

Connect using Tableau.¶

In the left-side navigation under To a server, click on More… then click MongoDB BI Connector.

In the connection dialog box, provide values for these fields:

Field	Action
Server	Type the hostname or IP address of the MongoDB Connector for BI host.
Port	Type the IANA port number for the MongoDB Connector for BI. The default is `3307`.
Username	Type the username for the user that can access the active MongoDB Connector for BI database. Unless you specified a `defaultMechanism` in your MongoDB Connector for BI Configuration File, you must append the authenticating database to the username. Example The user `reader` is authenticated against the `admin` database. If you are using Username and Password (`SCRAM-SHA-1`) authentication, the expected authenticating database is `admin`. If you are using LDAP (`PLAIN`) authentication, the expected authenticating database is `$external`.
Password	Type the password associated with the Username.
Require SSL	Select the checkbox.
No custom configuration file specified (click to change)…	Click this link to configure your SSL certificate.

In the Configure and Use SSL Certificate dialog box:

Field	Action
Use the following custom SSL certificate file	Select this to allow you to select an SSL certificate. Example The user is going to select an SSL certificate.
Browse…	Choose an SSL certificate file on your computer.

Click OK.

Click Sign In.

Using Tableau 10.2 or Earlier¶

With Tableau versions 10.2 or earlier, you must configure Tableau to send passwords in clear text. To configure Tableau, you can either:

Use a Tableau Datasource Connection (TDC) file, or
Set the LIBMYSQL_ENABLE_CLEARTEXT_PLUGIN environment variable.

Use a TDC File¶

1

Create a Tableau Datasource Connection file.¶

The TDC file is a convenient way to enable the cleartext plugin and specify all of mongosqld’s TLS/SSL certificates and keys.

To create a TDC file that can connect to the MongoDB Connector for BI with authentication over TLS/SSL, modify the following .tdc file template. Substitute SSLKEY, SSLCERT, and SSLCA appropriately:

copy

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8' ?>
<connection-customization class='mysql' version='7.7' enabled='true'>
  <vendor name='mysql' />
  <driver name='mysql' />
  <customizations>
    <customization
      name='odbc-connect-string-extras'
      value='SSLKEY={C:\path_to_key\mysql.key};
             SSLCERT={C:\path_to_cert\mysql.crt};
             SSLCA={C:\path_to_CAcert\ca.crt};
             ENABLE_CLEARTEXT_PLUGIN=1;
             SSL_ENFORCE=1' />
  </customizations>
</connection-customization>

Save this file as mysql.tdc in the My Tableau Repository for your platform:

Platform	Default TDC Save Path
macOS	`/Users/{name}/Documents/My Tableau Repository/Datasources`
Windows	`C:\Users\{username}\Documents\My Tableau Repository\Datasources`

Important

Any time you change a .tdc file, you must restart the Tableau Desktop application for those changes to take effect.

Tableau applies the TLS/SSL, certificate, and cleartext plugin settings in the .tdc file to every connection matching the named database vendor and driver.

2

Connect using Tableau.¶

In the left-side navigation under To a server, click on More… then click MongoDB BI Connector.

In the connection dialog box, provide values for these fields:

Field	Action
Server	Type the hostname or IP address of the MongoDB Connector for BI host.
Port	Type the IANA port number for the MongoDB Connector for BI. The default is `3307`.
Username	Type the username for the user that can access the active MongoDB Connector for BI database. Unless you specified a `defaultMechanism` in your MongoDB Connector for BI Configuration File, you must append the authenticating database to the username. Example The user `biUser` is authenticated against the `imf` database. If you are using Username and Password (`SCRAM-SHA-1`) authentication, the expected authenticating database is `admin`. If you are using LDAP (`PLAIN`) authentication, the expected authenticating database is `$external`.
Password	Type the password associated with the Username.

Click Sign In.

Set an Environment Variable¶

1

Start Tableau.¶

OS X

Open a terminal window and execute the following command:

copy

LIBMYSQL_ENABLE_CLEARTEXT_PLUGIN=1 /Applications/Tableau.app/Contents/MacOS/Tableau

Windows

Add the LIBMYSQL_ENABLE_CLEARTEXT_PLUGIN=1 environment variable to your user environment.

To do this, open a Command Prompt. Press the Win key, type cmd.exe, and press Enter. Then execute the following command:

copy

SETX LIBMYSQL_ENABLE_CLEARTEXT_PLUGIN 1

SETX should respond with the following:

SUCCESS: Specified value was saved.

Then start Tableau.

2

Connect using Tableau.¶

Click on the MySQL named connection in Tableau’s left hand column. Enter the host and port on which mongosqld is listening, along with the username and password with which to authenticate. Click Sign In to connect.

By default, mongosqld binds to port 3307.

Screenshot of Tableau with the connection panel open

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