Database Connection Tips :: SAS(R) Visual Analytics 6.4: User's Guide

Common Fields

The following fields are used for connecting to most databases:

User ID
Password
Server
Port
Database

The Server field corresponds to the host name for the server. Some databases use connection information that is similar to ODBC. These databases often request a data source name instead of the combination of server and port. See the following sections for connection details for databases that have unique fields.

Note: After you have successfully imported a table, the connection information is saved, except for the password. This enables you to import additional tables quickly or to re-import the table as needed.

Additional Options for Importing Hadoop Tables

SAS Visual Analytics offers self-service options for importing data from Cloudera Hadoop, Hortonworks Data Platform, and InfoSphere BigInsights. Each of these platforms requires separate setup by your administrator.

A common connection type for all of these platforms is to connect to Hive or HiveServer2 and then import tables. The SAS system options field can be used to specify environment variables such as the following:

set=SAS_HADOOP_JAR_PATH="/path/to/files"

The options keyword is submitted with any options that you specify in the field.

If the Hadoop cluster is configured with the SAS Embedded Process, then you can perform parallel loading from HDFS to SAS LASR Analytic Server. In this case, the Configuration field must specify the path to a Hadoop configuration file, and you must specify at least the HDFS_METADIR= and HDFS_DATADIR= options in the Hadoop options field. More options might be necessary for your site. For information about setting up parallel loading from Hadoop, see SAS Visual Analytics: Administration Guide.

Additional Options for Importing Oracle Tables

The value for the Path field is related to the net service name in the tnsnames.ora file. The tnsnames.ora file is generated during the Oracle client installation on the machine for the SAS Application Server. The file is typically stored in an Oracle installation directory such as /opt/oracle/app/oracle/product/10.2.0/db_1/network/admin/tnsnames.ora. The net service name for the connection information is contained in this file. See the following figure:

Additional Options for Importing Teradata Tables

The Teradata Management Server field is used to determine whether the SAS LASR Analytic Server is co-located on the data appliance. If the SAS LASR Analytic Server and the Teradata database are on the same data appliance, then make sure that the Teradata Management Server field includes the host name that the SAS LASR Analytic Server uses.

SAS Visual Analytics and the Teradata database can be configured to transfer data in parallel when they are not co-located on the same data appliance. For information about setting up parallel loading, see SAS Visual Analytics: Administration Guide.