Denodo 8.0 Standard for Azure Quick Start Guide

Last modified on: 21 Mar 2022

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Starting in February 2022, the Denodo for Azure Marketplace subscriptions have been updated.

This document refers to the Denodo Standard for Azure Marketplace subscription that was launched in February 2022.

Please refer to Denodo Standard for Azure Marketplace if you are using a version previous to February 2022.

Overview

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).

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 Denodo and how to quickly start building data virtualization solutions on Azure.

Marketplace Offering Overview

The Denodo Standard for Azure VM is based on a pay as you go (PAYG) model under your Azure account.

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

The Denodo Standard offer on Windows Server consists of:

The Denodo Virtual DataPort (VDP), the core Denodo Data Virtualization engine, to integrate data from any data source and deliver it to any consumer in any format allowing to connect up to 5 data sources.
The Denodo Scheduler, for scheduling data pipelines and cache loads among other tasks.
Additional tools for administering and developing like the Denodo Design Studio and the Denodo VDP Administration Tool.

In the sections below you can find more information on how to deploy.

NOTE: this offering does not require a Denodo Solution Manager with a Denodo License Server to run the VDP services in the VM.

Deploy the Denodo Standard VM

Overview

You must have an Azure subscription with a valid payment method. You are responsible for operating your own Azure subscription. You can create and launch your Denodo Standard for Azure PAYG VM using that Azure subscription.

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

Use your Azure Subscription to subscribe to the Denodo Standard on the Azure Marketplace
Create the VM
Log into the Design Studio Web Tool
Log into the Scheduler Admin Web Tool
Register for Denodo Support

Note: The Azure Portal interface is subject to change and the exact options you see may change depending on your Azure account profile.

Step 1 - Subscribe to Denodo Platform for Azure on Windows Server

You are responsible for operating your own Azure subscription.

You can create and launch your Denodo Standard for Azure solution app using your Azure subscription.

Log on to the Azure Marketplace, search for the Denodo Standard for Azure (Hourly) offer and click on the Get It Now button.

Then you will go to Azure Portal

We recommend that for an initial evaluation or testing you follow the “Start with a pre-set configuration” path. Next chapters will be based on that option.

Step 2 - Denodo Standard VM Creation

You have to complete some few configuration steps in order to launch the Denodo VM through the Azure console.

Select Dev/Test and General Purpose. Then “Continue to create a VM”.

Parameters you will need to introduce:

Resource Group. The resource group name will be the initial password set for the Denodo administrator user admin.
VM name.
Region. Select one of the regions where you have quota available to launch the virtual machine.
Availability. No infrastructure redundancy required.
Security. Standard.
Size. You can choose one of the recommended virtual machine sizes.
Username for the Windows Administrator.
Password for the Windows Administrator.

Then click “Review + Create”

If all validations pass, then click “Create”.

In around 10 minutes your VM will be ready.

Step 3 - Log into the Design Studio Web Tool

The Design Studio provides a web interface to the developers to create data sources, base views, derived views, publish web services, etc.

Check first the list of Supported Browsers for the Design Studio tool.

Then use a supported browser to point to the following URL of the Design Studio Web Tool following the pattern:

http://<server_ip>:9090/denodo-design-studio/

Where <server_ip> is the IP address or DNS name for the Denodo VM that you can find in the information about the VM in the Azure Portal. The default user is admin and the default password is the resource group.

Note that Denodo Services require some time to start, meanwhile you could get a 404 message page, in that case wait some minutes and try again.

Refer to Main Areas of the Design Studio for more information.

Note that certain administrative tasks like cache configuration, setting-up the authentication, user management, etc can be done graphically only by using the Virtual Dataport Administration tool (desktop based).

Step 4 - Log into the Denodo Scheduler Admin Web Tool

The Scheduler Admin provides a web interface to administrators to create jobs.

http://<vm_ip>:9090/webadmin/denodo-scheduler-admin/

Where <vm_ip> is the IP address or DNS name for the Denodo VM. The default user is admin and the default password is the name of the Resource Group.

Refer to Denodo Scheduler Administration Guide for more information.

Step 5 - 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 Standard 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.

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.

Optional Actions after Deploying

Review the Security Configuration

There are some 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 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 RDP (for server administration). The default configuration specifies that all those ports can be reached from any IP addresses - our strong recommendation is to modify the 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

VDP Client Access from Outside of VM

You have to configure the Virtual DataPort server in order to receive connections from external clients to the VM.

The default ports for the Denodo Platform based on the connection protocol are:

JDBC: TCP 9999.
ODBC and ADO.NET: TCP 9996.
Web Container: TCP 9090.

VM must be configured to allow the connections to ports enumerated above according to the connection protocol needed:

Update the Azure network Security Group associated with the VM network interface using the Azure Portal.
Update the Windows firewall in The Denodo for Azure VM. You have to set up the appropriate Windows firewall rules. Log in the VM, start Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Firewall (or open PowerShell or Command Prompt and enter ‘firewall.cpl’), clicking the advanced settings button, and create the Inbound Rules needed.

As a side note, take into account that by default an ephemeral external IP address is assigned to the VM instance. If you require a static external IP address, you may promote the address to static. Be sure that the VDP server is set correctly for accepting connections through that IP by changing the Host Name in the VDP server.

Using the Denodo Client for Remote VDP Administration

You can administer the Denodo server from the Denodo Design Studio web tool.

Alternatively, you can download and install the Denodo client to connect and administer the Denodo server from a remote host.

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 the installers in the following folder:

C:\Denodo\VDP Client Installers

Download one of the installers to your local host and start the installation. You can find more information in the following page - https://community.denodo.com/docs/html/browse/latest/vdp/administration/installation_and_execution/installation_and_execution

Once the VDP graphical administration tool starts, it will prompt you for the connection details for the remote Denodo VDP server in the Azure virtual machine instance. You can find more detailed information in the following page - https://community.denodo.com/docs/html/browse/latest/vdp/administration/installation_and_execution/launching_the_virtual_dataport_administration_tool/launching_the_virtual_dataport_administration_tool

Remember that the VM with VDP Server must be configured to accept connections from outside. Please, review the Security Configuration section in this guide.

Start & Stop Denodo Services

Logged in with your Administrator Account user through Remote Desktop Connection and once a Denodo license is installed you can start enjoying Denodo software.

Launch the Services app to start Denodo Servers in the following order:

Start Denodo Virtual DataPort Server, wait until getting status Running.
Start Denodo Scheduler Server, wait until getting status Running.
Start Denodo Index Engine Server, wait until getting status Running.
Start Denodo Web Design Studio, wait until getting status Running.
Start Denodo Scheduler Web Admin Tool, wait until getting status Running.

The same way, you can stop the Denodo services.

Migrate Existing Metadata from Another Denodo Installation

If you wish to migrate data from an existing Denodo installation to a new VM, proceed with the steps below. Note that each existing environment should be migrated to a different instance.

Start by exporting the metadata from the existing Virtual DataPort and importing it in the new one. The steps are detailed in the Virtual DataPort metadata export and import guide.

A similar approach is to be taken to migrate Scheduler metadata. The steps are detailed in the Scheduler metadata export and import guide.

Deploying the Denodo Solution Manager

This is optional and may be needed if you are planning to use SSO configuration with Denodo webtools (Design Studio, Scheduler Admin...) using a third party IDP such as Okta.

You need to sign-up for Denodo Support and request a license key for the Denodo Solution Manager. Later, you can use the license key with the Solution Manager BYOL instance on the Marketplace.

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 in the quickest time, we recommend that you take advantage of Denodo Professional Services.