Once you have configured a data source with the right credentials, you will be able to connect directly to data in the connected warehouse. There are two ways to do this.
1. Use the Warehouse Discovery feature to scan the connected warehouse and connect to all datasets at once
2. Connect to individual data assets from the connected warehouse.
In this article, we will walk through the second approach.
The process of creating a virtual connection to an external warehouse allows the ThinkData Platform to access data tables within the warehouse. To use these tables in the Platform, we need to create them as data assets.
When using data virtualization, this does not create a copy of your data. Rather, it provides a lens to the data in the warehouse, allowing you to connect remotely.
There are two ways to do this
1. You can select the "Create Dataset" button from the Platform Search or Data tab. From here, you may select the connected warehouse.
2. You can select the appropriate data source and create a dataset directly from it. This is the approach we will walk you through below.
Step 1: Ensure that you have successfully connected to a data warehouse. This includes setting up the proper credentials and data connection. If you are unsure how to do this, please review the Adding Data to the Platform section of the Knowledge Base.
Step 2: Once you are sure the data source has been set up successfully, navigate to this source by selecting the "Data" tab in the sidebar, followed by the "Sources" tab.
Step 3: Select the source you are looking to create a data asset from. You can filter the list by connection type, and filter the sources by its title.
Step 4: Once you have found the data source you want to add an asset from, select this source. This will take you to the source page. If the source has a connection, you will see the connection in this page.
Step 5: In the connection section, there is a "+ Data" button. Select it. You may also select the button at the bottom of the page that says "create dataset from source"
Step 6: Selecting this workflow will open the create dataset workflow. The dataset edit screen will be on the left-hand side, and the data asset creation screen will be on the right hand side. In it, you should see a source configuration section that provides the source name, connection, and an option to "select external warehouse tables". Click this.
Step 7: Selecting that icon will rescan the connected data source and provide a list of all tables in the warehouse. From here, you will be able to select one or many tables that you'd like to virtualize into the platform. Next to the individual table names, you may see a plug icon. This represents how many times that table has already been virtualized into the platform. You may choose to virtualize another copy if you want.
Step 8: When you have selected the table(s) you want to virtualize, select done. This will take you back to the configuration section. Select done again. Finally, select "Create Dataset" to virtualize the table into the platform.
Step 9: Once the data asset has been successfully connected, add additional metadata and query the table as needed.