Aster Database

This topic describes how to connect Tableau to an Aster Database database and set up the data source.

1. Click Connect to Data.
   
2. On the Connect page, click Aster Database, and then do the following:
   
   1. Type the name of the server that hosts the database and the name of the database that you want to connect to.
      
   2. Type the user name and password, and then click Connect.
      If the connection is unsuccessful, verify that your user name and password are correct. If the connection continues to fail, your computer is having trouble locating the server. Contact your network administrator or database administrator.
      
3. On the data source page, do the following:
   
   1. (Optional) Click the default data source name at the top of the page, and then type a unique data source name for use in Tableau.
      
   2. From the Schema drop-down list, select a schema.
      
   3. Drag a table to the join area, and then click Go to Worksheet to start building the view. Alternatively, drag additional tables to the join area and use conditions to join them. You can choose to combine tables or use Custom SQL when you are working with multiple tables. You can also add joins later.
      Optionally, you can make the following configurations before building the view:
      
      • Preview the data – In the preview area, select Update Now to preview the first 10,000 rows of the data source. If you add tables, remove tables, or make changes to the join conditions, click Update Now. If you want changes to automatically reflect in the preview area, click Automatically Update.
        
      • Change data types – Change the data type of a column by clicking the data type icon.
        
      • Rename or hide columns – Rename or hide a column by clicking the column header drop-down menu and selecting the respective option.
        
      • Connect live or use an extract – At the top of the data source page, select a live or extract connection to the data source. If you choose to take an extract, an Edit link displays allowing you to set up filters that define a subset of the data to include in the extract.
        
      • Add data source filters – Add data source filters to restrict the visibility and use of the fields in the data source.
        

Initial SQL

When connecting to Aster databases, you can optionally specify a SQL command that will be run once upon connection. To do this, select Data > Initial SQL. See Initial SQL to learn more about adding these commands to your connection.
In Aster, the Initial SQL can be used to generate an output table. This can improve performance of subsequent database access. Intial SQL in Aster also supports SQL-MapReduce, a framework created by Teradata Aster to allow developers to write powerful and highly expressive SQL-MapReduce functions. For details, see MapReduce, SQL-MapReduce Resources & Learning.

An example of an Aster Database data source is shown below.