TIBCO Spotfire® Connectivity to TIBCO ComputeDB?

Table of Contents

Spotfire Version
ODBC Driver
Connector Install
Making a Connection
Approximate Query Processing
Advanced Properties
Licensing
Support
Known Issues
FAQ

TIBCO ComputeDB? is a high performance in-memory data platform for mixed workload applications, providing a unified programming model for streaming, transactions, machine learning and SQL Analytics in a single cluster.

Out of the box, the Apache Spark SQL Connector that is included with TIBCO Spotfire^® allows connecting to TIBCO ComputeDB. However this option does not currently allow the use of some of the more advanced features of TIBCO ComputeDB such as the Approximate Query Processing (AQP).

In addition to this option, TIBCO Engineering are working on a new GA Connector for TIBCO ComputeDB.

In the meantime, the Customer Success team have created a Custom Connector for using TIBCO ComputeDB with TIBCO Spotfire. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Spotfire Version

There are different versions of the Connector depending on which version of Spotfire you are using

Spotfire 10.x
Spotfire 7.14
Spotfire 7.13
Spotfire 7.8 through 7.12

The installation process is the same for each version, but you will need to make sure that you download and install the version that matches your Spotfire installation.

ODBC Driver

The TIBCO ComputeDB (Beta) Connector requires the TIBCO ComputeDB ODBC Driver to be installed. The driver can be downloaded as part of the TIBCO ComputeDB Enterprise Edition download on TIBCO eDelivery.

Once the installer has completed, there is no need to create an ODBC Data Source to use the Spotfire Connector.

Connector Install

To install the Connector, download and unzip the correct package for your version of Spotfire. You will find two folders:

Documentation - this contains the User Guide
For Spotfire Server - this contains the installation file which has the extension .sdn

EIther yourself or your Spotfire Administrator will have to add the .sdn file to your Spotfire Deployment. The exact steps may vary slightly depending upon your version of Spotfire but follow the same basic pattern:

Login to the Spotfire Administration UI as an Administrator
Go to the Deployments and Packages screen
Select Add Packages
Browse and select the .sdn file in the "For Spotfire Server" folder of the download package
Select Save
Restart Spotfire Analyst and accept the prompt for updates
Update any Web Server or Automation Services and Service Instances

Once you have completed these steps the TIBCO ComputeDB (Beta) Connector should appear in the list of Connectors in Spotfire Analyst.

Before you can use the Connector via Spotfire Web Player or Automation Services there is one additional step that is required. This involves editing the configuration file for the Service Instance(s) and is covered in detail in the User Guide along with screenshots.

If you have problems, the User Guide also contains some basic troubleshooting steps.

Making a Connection

Select TIBCO ComputDB (Beta) from the list of Connectors to bring up the Connection Dialog. Populate fields with the DNS name or IP Address of the TIBCO ComputeDB Cluster, the listening port (typically 1527 or 1528) and the username and password..

Click Connect to test the connection. If successful, the OK button will be enabled.

Click OK to bring up the usual Spotfire "Views in Connection" dialog. From here on, proceed as you would with any other Spotfire Connector.

Approximate Query Processing

Within TIBCO ComputeDB, queries can be executed directly on sample tables or on the base table. Any query executed directly on a sample table will always result in an approximate answer.

The AQP Parameters allow queries to be executed on the base table, but have TIBCO ComputeDB choose a sample table that satisfies the specified error tolerance and behavior settings, to return approximate answers.

The Engine will automatically figure out if the query can be executed by any of the available samples. If not, the query can be executed on the base table based on the behavior clause.

For more information on the AQP Parameters, see the TIBCO ComputeDB documentation on https://docs.tibco.com.

Advanced Properties

The Advanced page provides the ability to enter additional Connection Properties as might be instructed by TIBCO Support or to enable additional features as they are introduced into TIBCO ComputeDB.

For now, the Advanced tab just provides an indication of the Connection String being used, for Support and Diagnostic purposes.

Licensing

This Connector is shared with the TIBCO Community for free use by customers and partners under the TIBCO Component Exchange License (available in resources).

Support

Please note that this Connector is not supported through support.tibco.com. In the event of issues or to get help, please post questions in the TIBCO Community Forum here:

https://community.spotfire.com/s/global-search/%40uri#t=Discussions&sort=date%20descending

When submitting an issue, please make sure to include the exact version of TIBCO Spotfire and TIBCO ComputeDB you are using, including Hotfix level.