Denodo Platform for Azure 7.0 - Quick Start Guide

Denodo Platform, the data virtualization leader for unifying enterprise data and delivering data services for the business, is available on Azure as a pay as you go (PAYG) virtual machine (VM). The VM contains the latest version of Denodo Platform, optimized for use with the Azure Virtual Machines service.

Thank you for your confidence in Denodo and for choosing the Denodo Platform for Azure as your data virtualization technology!

This quick start guide will give you an overview of the Denodo Platform and how to quickly start building data virtualization solutions on Azure.

Denodo Platform for Azure VM PYAG Offerings Usage Instructions

Overview

These Azure offerings are based on a pay per hour model (pay as you go, PAYG) under your Azure subscription.

Therefore it is expected that you already have an Azure subscription that you can use to logon to the Azure Marketplace in order to create and launch the Denodo Platform virtual machine through the Azure Portal.

As a summary of the instructions you will need to complete the following steps:

Subscribe to Denodo Platform for Azure
Create the service principal
Start the VDP service
Install the Denodo client
Review the Security Configuration
Subscribe to Denodo Support

Step 1 - Subscribe to Denodo Platform for Azure

Log on to the Azure Marketplace, search for the Denodo Platform for Azure offers you prefer, and launch the VM through the Azure Portal. All the VMs are Linux based.

Once the Denodo Platform for Azure virtual machine instance is running you must follow the step-by-step installation instructions located in your running Denodo Platform for Azure virtual machine instance's web server. To access the instructions just point your Internet browser to your Azure virtual machine instance's public Internet name or IP address (screenshot below).

Step 2 - Create the Service Principal

Running Denodo Platform for Azure requires you to create a Service Principal that allows the server to determine from which Azure product the current virtual machine was created. This ensures the Denodo license recognizes the Azure virtual machine as a valid product.

Step 3 - Start the VDP Service

Denodo Virtual DataPort server is not configured to be started at boot time - it wouldn't work without having the Service Principal configured as you have already done - so you must start it manually following step-by-step installation instructions described in your running Azure virtual machine instance's web server.

Remember to follow the recommended security configuration settings below, in particular changing the default administrator password.

Step 4 - Install the Denodo Client

You must download and install the Denodo Platform client to connect to the Denodo Platform server.

The Denodo Platform follows a client-server architecture, with the server (VDP) running in the Azure virtual machine instance, and the client (VDP Administration Tool) running in your local computer.

The client installer is distributed from the running Azure virtual machine instance; you can find links to the installers in step-by-step installation instructions described in your running Azure virtual machine instance's web server.

Once the graphical administration tool starts, it will prompt you for the connection details for the remote Denodo Platform server in the Azure virtual machine instance.

Step 5 - Review the Security Configuration

There are a couple of optional steps that we recommend you to take in order to improve the security of your Azure deployment.

Changing the Default VDP Administration Password

As the first step of the configuration of your new Denodo Platform virtual machine you should change the default administrator password. It is extremely important that you change this default password to ensure that you are operating under a secure environment.

Configuring the Security Groups

Please, check first the list of Denodo Platform default ports to review which ones are needed for operating your environment.

When a new virtual image is started Azure creates by default a new security group. This group contains all TCP ports that the Denodo Platform may need to use plus the ssh (for server administration) and http (for the installation instructions and client installers). The default configuration specifies that all those ports can be reached from any IP addresses - our strong recommendation is to modify the groups to:

Remove access to the HTTP port once you have completed the installation instructions, including the download of the Denodo client installer.
Configure the rest of security groups so they can only be accessed from the range of authorized IP addresses that you control instead of being publicly accessible.

To do this, follow the steps in the Azure guide located at: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-network-manage-nsg-arm-portal

Disabling the Public Web Server

The Denodo instance that you are currently connected to is using a public httpd server to host the step-by-step installation instructions and client installers. When you are done setting up your Azure virtual machine instance and Denodo client installation we recommend you to disable the public web server. This is accomplished in two steps:

Connect to the Denodo instance using ssh.
After opening a remote command line through ssh, type these commands to disable the httpd server:

sudo systemctl stop httpd
sudo systemctl disable httpd

Step 6 - Register for Denodo Support

Denodo is committed to helping you succeed with the Denodo Platform through our comprehensive network of technical support and services.

Denodo Platform for Azure Premium Support is available for all subscribers. To access this service, you must first register on our website. After you have signed-up, you will have access to the Denodo Support Site where you can get web-based support, software updates and DenodoConnects, which will improve your data virtualization experience. Denodo version upgrades are not available as version upgrades require migration between Azure instances.

Denodo web-based support may be subject to reduced availability for hourly based subscriptions. You can always post your question directly on the Q&A section, a moderated forum on our Community Site, where data virtualization professionals and enthusiasts will assist you. Our community is knowledgeable and tenacious and there is no question without a valid answer. Technical resources such as product documentation, Knowledge Base articles, step-by-step tutorials, and how-to videos are also available.

Customer will use commercially reasonable efforts to resolve issues before escalating them to Denodo. Denodo will make a commercially reasonable effort to provide support to customer and reserves the right to refuse providing Maintenance and Support Services for customers who do not reach a minimum commercially reasonable level of monthly usage of any of the Denodo Platform for Azure products.

Further Steps

Once you are all set to start building your data virtualization solutions on Azure, we recommend that you check out all the available Denodo information:

If you want to move on to professionally guided training you can always check our course offerings on our training site.

To get up and running on the Denodo Platform for Azure 7.0 in the quickest time, we recommend you to take advantage of Denodo Professional Services.