External Tools¶
This section allows users to manage external tool servers within the Data Catalog. The External Tool Servers tab contains a table where users can view the external tool servers that have already been registered in the Data Catalog. From this dialog, you can:
List the registered external tool servers.
Add, edit, or delete external tool servers.
Synchronize the external tool servers with the Data Catalog.
External Tool Servers page of the Data Catalog¶
The table contains a list of the registered external tool servers with the following columns:
The Name, preceded by the icon of the external tool server type.
An optional Description to provide extra details of the server.
A button to access a modal window with the following actions:
Edit: Modify the name, description, or connection parameters.
Synchronize: The synchronization is a process where elements from the external server are imported into the Data Catalog as external elements. See The synchronization section for more details.
Delete: Remove the external tool server and all related external elements.
Important
If you Delete an external tool server, all of its external elements imported into the Data Catalog will also be removed. This process is not reversible. While you can re-register a deleted external tool server and synchronize all of the removed elements, any categories, tags, descriptions, endorsements, or property groups they previously had will be lost.
Register a Tableau External Tool Server¶
Important
Before creating a new Tableau External Tool Server in the Data Catalog, make sure the Tableau environment is properly configured and you have the connection details. Check the section Set Up Tableau for further information and detailed steps.
To create a Tableau server, you need to provide the following details:
Create a new Tableau external server¶
Name: This is a user-defined name for the Tableau server connection. It helps you identify this specific connection among others in the Data Catalog.
Host: The hostname or IP address of the Tableau server, including the protocol (e.g., http:// or https://). This is where the server is located and can be accessed.
Description: A brief description of the Tableau server connection. This can include details about the server’s purpose or any other relevant information.
API version: The version of the Tableau Server REST API that you are using. To ensure compatibility between your Tableau Server version and the API version used by the Data Catalog, refer to the official Tableau documentation. In the section Tableau Server versions and REST API versions, Tableau provides a reference table that maps each Tableau Server version to its corresponding API version.
Note
The minimum version of Tableau Server supported is 2023.1 that matches with the API version 3.19.
To check the current version of your Tableau Server instance, follow these steps:
Log in to Tableau Server through the web interface using your credentials.
In the upper-right corner, click on the information icon and select About Tableau Server from the dropdown menu.
The version of Tableau Server is listed in the About Tableau Server dialog box.
Site: The specific site on the Tableau server you want to connect to. Tableau servers can host multiple sites, and this field specifies which one to use. This field is optional. If not provided, the connection will be established with the default site.
Authentication: The method used to authenticate with the Tableau server. You can choose between:
Username/Password: Standard authentication using a username and password.
Username: The username for authenticating with the Tableau server. This is required if you choose the Username/Password authentication method.
Password: The password for the specified username. This is required if you choose the Username/Password authentication method.
Personal Access Token (PAT): A token-based authentication method that provides secure access without using a password.
PAT name: The name of the Personal Access Token (PAT). This is required if you choose the PAT authentication method.
PAT secret: The secret key associated with the Personal Access Token (PAT). This is required if you choose the PAT authentication method.
Register a Microsoft Power BI External Tool Server¶
Important
Before creating a new Microsoft Power BI External Tool Server in the Data Catalog, make sure the Microsoft Power BI environment is properly configured and you have the connection details. Check the section Set Up Power BI for further information and detailed steps.
To connect to a Power BI server, you need to provide the following details:
Create a new Microsoft Power BI external server¶
Name: This is a user-defined name for the Power BI server connection. It helps you identify this specific connection among others in the Data Catalog.
Host: The hostname or IP address of the Power BI server. The default value is
https://api.powerbi.com, and it is recommended not to change it. This is the location where the server is hosted and can be accessed.Description: A brief description of the Power BI server connection. This can include details about the server’s purpose or any other relevant information.
API version: The version of the Power BI REST API that you are using. The default value is
v1.0, and it is recommended not to change it in order to maintain compatibility between the Data Catalog and the Power BI API.Directory (tenant) ID: The unique identifier for the Azure Active Directory (AAD) tenant. This is required to authenticate and authorize access to the Power BI server.
Scope: Defines the level of access the application is requesting from the authentication server.
https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api/.defaultis the scope required for accessing the Power BI API, granting the app the necessary permissions to interact with Power BI resources (reports, datasets, and workspaces). The suffix.defaultindicates that the application requests all permissions previously granted in Azure AD for the authenticated client.Authentication: The method used to authenticate with the Power BI server. You can choose between:
Service Principal: A method that uses an application identity to authenticate. If selected, you need to provide:
Application (client) ID: The unique identifier for the application registered in Azure AD.
Application (client) secret: The secret key associated with the application ID.
Username/Password: Standard authentication using a username and password. If selected, you need to provide:
Application (client) ID: The unique identifier for the application registered in Azure AD.
Application (client) secret: The secret key associated with the application ID.
Username: The username for authenticating with the Power BI server.
Password: The password for the specified username.
Synchronization¶
For the Data Catalog to effectively integrate with external systems, it creates internal representations of external elements within its metadata. Synchronization is the process of importing elements from external servers into the Data Catalog as external entities. To maintain accurate and up-to-date representations, regular synchronization between the Data Catalog and registered servers is essential.
During synchronization, the Data Catalog performs the following steps:
Server Connection and Element Retrieval: The Data Catalog connects to the external server and retrieves a list of all importable elements.
Comparison and Change Detection: The retrieved server elements are compared against existing Data Catalog elements to identify new, modified, and deleted items.
Workspace Grouping and User Selection: The identified elements are grouped by workspace and presented to the user in a dialog. The user can then select the specific workspaces to synchronize.
The following image illustrates the workspace selection dialog. Each workspace is categorized into three groups:
New elements.
Modified elements.
Deleted elements.
Synchronize Tableau external elements¶
After synchronizing external elements, you can navigate to the Metadata Search page to discover them. Be aware of the metadata permission considerations for search.