MySQL SSH Connector

Intro

MySQL is a widely used open-source relational database management system. You can use Domo's MySQL SSH Connector to pull data from your MySQL database and compile custom reports. You indicate the data you want by inputting an SQL query. For more information about the MySQL API, visit their website. (http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/c-api.html)

The MySQL SSH connector is a "Database" connector, meaning it retrieves data from a database using a query. In the Data Center, you can access the connector page for this and other Database connectors by clicking Database in the toolbar at the top of the window.

You connect to your MySQL database in the Data Center. This topic discusses the fields and menus that are specific to the MySQL SSH connector user interface. General information for adding DataSets, setting update schedules, and editing DataSet information is discussed in Adding a DataSet Using a Data Connector.

Primary Use Cases	Pulling data mart and data warehouse SQL queries
Primary Metrics	N/A
Primary Company Roles	CIO CTO
Average Implementation Time	5-40+ hours
Ease of Use (on a 1-to-10 scale with 1 being easiest)	7

Best Practices

Limit the results set size is much as possible.
Keep the number of columns to a minimum.

Prerequisites

To connect to a MySQL database via an SSH server and create a DataSet, you must have the following:

The hostname of the UNIX server you are SSH-tunneling through
The SSH username for your UNIX account
The host name for the database
The SSH private key (either DES or RSA)
The database name
The username and password you use to log into your MySQL database

Creating MySQL Accounts

You can create MySQL accounts two ways:

By using account management statements intended for creating accounts and establishing their privileges, such as CREATE USER and GRANT. These statements cause the server to make appropriate modifications to the underlying grant tables.
By manipulating the MySQL grant tables directly with statements such as INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE.

The preferred method is to use account management statements because they are more concise and less error-prone than manipulating the grant tables directly.

Another option for creating accounts is to use the GUI tool MySQL Workbench. Also, several third-party programs offer capabilities for MySQL account administration, such as phpMyAdmin.

Whitelisting

Before you can connect to a MySQL database, you must also whitelist a number of IP addresses on your database server on the port you want to connect to. For the full list of IP addresses, see Whitelisting IP Addresses for Connectors.

Connecting to Your MySQL Database

This section enumerates the options in the Credentials and Details panes in the MySQL Connector page. The components of the other panes in this page, Scheduling and Name & Describe Your DataSet, are universal across most connector types and are discussed in greater length in Adding a DataSet Using a Data Connector.

Credentials Pane

This pane contains fields for entering credentials to connect to your database. The following table describes what is needed for each field:

Field	Description
SSH Server Hostname	Enter the hostname of the UNIX server to SSH-tunnel through.
SSH Username	Enter the SSH username for your UNIX account.
Database Hostname	Enter the hostname or IP address for the SQL database. For example: db.company.com
SSH Private Key	Enter the SSH private key (either DES or RSA).
Database Name	Enter the name of the SQL database or schema.
Database Username	Enter your MySQL username.
Database Password	Enter your MySQL password.

Once you have entered valid credentials, you can use the same account any time you go to create a new MySQL SSH DataSet. You can manage connector accounts in the Accounts tab in the Data Center. For more information about this tab, see Managing User Accounts for Connectors.

Details Pane

In this pane you create an SQL query to pull data from your database as well as specify a few options.

Menu	Description
SQL Query	Structured Query Language (SQL) query to use in selecting the data you want. For example: select * from Employee
TINYINT Values Treated as Bit (Boolean) Values?	Select Yes if you want TINYINT values to be treated as Boolean values.
Keen Connection Alive For Large Queries	Select Yes if the connection should be kept running for very large queries.

Menu

Description

SQL Query

Structured Query Language (SQL) query to use in selecting the data you want. For example:

select * from Employee

TINYINT Values Treated as Bit (Boolean) Values?

Select Yes if you want TINYINT values to be treated as Boolean values.

Keen Connection Alive For Large Queries

Select Yes if the connection should be kept running for very large queries.

Other Panes

For information about the remaining sections of the connector interface, including how to configure scheduling, retry, and update options, see Adding a DataSet Using a Data Connector.

Troubleshooting

Verify the credentials using MySQL Workbench.
Confirm the server supports encrypted connections.
Confirm the Domo IPs are whitelisted.