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INSTALLATION AND BOOTSTRAPPING

Welcome to the Denodo Tutorials!

In this tutorial, Installation & Bootstrapping, we will show the prerequisites to start using Denodo and the instructions for configuring your local environment for doing the Denodo tutorials.

The Denodo Platform sits on top of traditional data sources, enabling access to multiple, diverse data sources while appearing as one "logical" data source to users. Essentially, it is an analytical data architecture that optimizes both traditional data sources (databases, enterprise data warehouses, data lakes, etc.) and other data sources (applications, big data files, web service, and the cloud) to meet every use case.

The diagram below shows the general architecture of the Denodo Platform:

For that reason, in order to play with Denodo, you will also need access to some data sources. This tutorial covers the installation of both Denodo and data sources in order to have your system ready for doing the rest of the Denodo Tutorials.

What you'll need

  • Of course, the Denodo Platform 😀 You will need, at least, a Denodo license file. Some tutorials can be completed using Denodo Express, so feel free to use that version!
  • You also need to download the Denodo Lab Environment which includes the data sources used in the tutorials and other useful components, like a sample chatbot to use the Denodo AI SDK. You may download the project or use a Git client to clone the project.
  • An installation and basic knowledge of Docker.

Click Next to start installing the data sources!

Get the Denodo Lab Environment code

We've put everything you need for running the data sources needed for doing the tutorials into the Denodo Lab Environment Git repository. This project is a docker compose project that you can use to run a set of pre configured data sources such as PostgreSQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, Apache Tomcat, and more.

For using the Denodo Lab Environment you need an installation of Docker in your system.

To get started, you'll need to grab the code. If you are familiar with Git, just open a command prompt and execute this command:

~$ git clone https://github.com/denodo/denodocommunity-lab-environment.git

Finally, once you have downloaded the project, you will have a directory with the following folders:

Configuration

Ok, now you have the Denodo Lab Environment (DLE) files, you need to configure the project. For this configuration, it uses a standard docker environment file (.env).

To make things easier, we have included a configuration template file (.env.template), so you only need to make a copy of that file and rename it to .env.

~$ cd denodocommunity-lab-environment/lab-environment-containers/build/
~$ cp .env.template .env

You can check the contents of that file, but at this point, it is not necessary to do any modifications to it.

For installing Denodo, you can select one of the following options:

  • ⭐ RECOMMENDED - Use a Denodo docker container (see section below)
  • Downloading and Installing Denodo locally (scroll down to the "Using a local installation of Denodo" section)

Using Denodo Containers

Get a key for the Denodo Container Registry

This is the recommended approach because using a Denodo Docker container you don't need to install Denodo in your system, simply run it!.

You need to have a Denodo Community user in order to have access to the Denodo Containers registry from your docker installation, so if you don't have a Denodo account, it's time to create it! You can use this link for creating your Denodo User Account.

For now, let's assume you have a Denodo Community user. In that case, you have access to the Denodo Containers in Harbor (https://harbor.open.denodo.com).

Open Harbor

Create a CLI secret

With your Denodo Community user account you can sign in and navigate the repositories available to you in Harbor..

After you have authenticated via Denodo Account and logged into the Harbor web interface for the first time, you can use the Docker CLI or Helm CLI to access the registry and artifacts.

To be able to do so, the registry provides a CLI secret for use when logging in from Docker or Helm. To create the secret click your username at the top of the screen and select User Profile:

Then generate and/or copy your CLI secret.

Configure your CLI secret in Docker

Now let's authenticate in Docker CLI with the CLI Secret. Use docker login and provide the credentials:

~$ docker login harbor.open.denodo.com
   Username: <harbor_username>
   Password: <harbor_cli_secret>

Configure your Denodo License in the Denodo Lab Environment project

For running the Denodo container you need a valid Denodo license. If you are using Denodo Express, you can download your license from here: https://community.denodo.com/express/

As you have seen in a previous section, we will use the Denodo Lab Environment project for running some containers with the data sources needed for the tutorials. For running the Denodo containers we can use the same Denodo Lab Environment project as it is also configured to launch Denodo containers, really cool!

For using the Denodo containers in the Denodo Lab Environment project, you only have to edit the /lab-environment-containers/build/.env file that you created in the previous section and configure:

  • The path to your Denodo License file in the DENODO_SA_LIC property
  • The Denodo Platform container
  • The Denodo AI SDK container

Using a local installation of Denodo

As an alternative, instead of using the Denodo Docker container, you can have a local installation of Denodo. Of course, you can download a Denodo installation package from the Denodo Express section of this Community Site.

The installation package is a .zip file. After decompressing the package you will see the files shown in the image below:

To start the installation GUI:

  • Windows OS: right-click the install.exe file and select Run as administrator.
  • Linux OS: execute install.sh.

The installer will show up.

After accepting the terms of the license, you have to select the installation directory (for example: C:\denodo\denodo-platform in Windows or /opt/denodo/ in Linux).

If you already have a Denodo license file, you can select it by clicking on the "Browse" button. Otherwise, you can install the license later from the Denodo Control Center.

In the next step you have to select the modules to be installed. The Denodo Community tutorials cover every module so we suggest installing them all!

You can leave the rest of the options with their default values and complete the installation.

Once the installation is complete, you can choose to create a desktop shortcut that can be used to start the Denodo Control Center.

If you did not select any Denodo license during the installation process, you can do it from the Denodo Control Center when you first start the program (by first clicking on the Configure button and then selecting Use a license file, a new dialog will be opened to select the license file and confirm its installation).

The Denodo Express installation includes the Denodo AI SDK files in this folder: /samples/ai-sdk

That's all!

Thanks for installing Denodo! Now it's time to start playing with the software.

Depending on the option you followed for installing Denodo, you can select one of the following options:

  • ⭐ RECOMMENDED - Launch the Denodo docker container (see section below)
  • Launching the Denodo servers of your local installation (scroll down to the "Launching Denodo in a Local Installation" section)

Launching the Denodo Container

If you have followed the steps for using the Denodo Docker container, you only have to go to the build folder of the Denodo Common Lab project and execute the following command:

~$ docker compose --profile denodo --profile ds up

Once it is started (it could take some minutes), you can connect to the Denodo Design Studio in this URL: http://localhost:19090/denodo-design-studio/?uri=%2F%2Fvdp:9999%2F#/

Launching Denodo in a Local Installation

If you are using a local Denodo installation, a desktop icon was generated in your desktop for launching Denodo Platform.

First, we have to double-click on that icon to launch the Denodo Platform Control Center.

  1. Click on Virtual DataPort in the top-left.
  2. Click on the blue play button next to Virtual DataPort Server (the first one from the top) to start the Virtual Dataport Server.
  3. When the text before that play button says "Running", start the Web Design Studio by clicking the "Start" button and click on the URL to open it in your browser. The default URL is http://localhost:9090/denodo-design-studio/

Launching the Denodo AI SDK and Sample Chatbot Containers

In case you want to use the Denodo AI SDK in a local environment, after starting the servers please read the "Using a Local Python Installation" section of the Building an AI Chatbot with Denodo tutorial, which explains how to use it, as it uses a specific environment with some precreated views in Denodo to be used by the Chatbot.

Finally, as the last step, you only have to start the data sources.

If you are using the Denodo container, you already have the data sources running along with the Denodo Platform but, if you have installed Denodo locally, you have to open a new command prompt, go to the build folder of the Denodo Lab Environment project and execute the following command for starting only the data sources:

~$ docker compose --profile ds up

The Denodo Design Studio allows the development and administration of your Data Virtualization projects. Specifically, you can perform the following tasks:

  • Create/Edit/Drop Denodo Virtual Databases.
  • Create/Edit/Drop Data Sources.
  • Create/Edit/Drop Views.
  • Publish Data Services.
  • Execute Queries.
  • Add Extensions.
  • Configure the Denodo Server.
  • Import/Export Metadata.
  • etc.

At the end of the previous section you launched the Design Studio. The first screen that the application shows is a login dialog; the credentials you type here will be used to connect to a running Denodo server.

The installation process of the Denodo Platform creates one user by default: admin / admin

Input those credentials now to connect to the Denodo Server.

Once you fill the login form, click on the Sign in button. The Web Design Studio will show an empty admin database.

Now you can see the four main areas of the Web Design Studio:

  1. Menu Bar: where you can find the options for all the sections of the administration tool.
  2. Elements Tree: this panel on the left will show a tree with the different components (data sources, views, etc.) created in the database.
  3. Quick Search: this box allows the user to filter specific elements in the Elements Tree.
  4. Workspace: this is the main panel where the selected element from the Elements Tree and opened views will be shown.

Creating a Virtual Database

For grouping all the elements that we are going to create in the tutorials, let's create a new database in Denodo instead of using the default admin database.

The Denodo server can contain different virtual databases. A virtual database is a schema composed of data sources, views, stored procedures, web services, etc. Each virtual database is independent of the rest of the virtual databases created in the Denodo server (and different users can have different privileges for each virtual database).

We are going to create a new database called tutorial.

  1. First, click on Administration in the Menu Bar and select the Database management option.

  1. In the workspace, you will see the predefined Denodo database admin. It is the default database for Denodo Virtual DataPort and it cannot be deleted.

Now let's create the new database:

  1. Click on the +New button.
  2. Specify the name of the database: tutorial.
  3. Description: Database for Denodo Community Tutorials
  4. Click Ok.

Now, you can see in the Elements Tree the new database. Simply select it to start using it.

That's all!

Congratulations! You have completed the Installation Tutorial.

This is just the first step for using the Denodo software. Now, you are prepared to go even further with the rest of our tutorials and become a Master Data Ninja!