Working with data in databases requires Oracle Analytics administrators to create connections. There are two types of connections:
- "Regular" connections connect Oracle Analytics to databases and allow users to retrieve data.
- "System" connections are used to create and maintain semantic models and metadata repositories.
In Oracle Analytics, both connection types are required.
Regular Connections
I'm using the term "regular" here, as Oracle does not use a specific label for this type of connection. It simply refers to a connection that allows users to retrieve data and analyze it using Data Visualization.
Oracle Bootcamp uses the following tables:
To create such a connection, navigate to Data in the Navigator menu in Oracle Analytics. Under the second tab, all connections are listed. In our case, the list is empty:
To create a new connection, click Create in the top-right corner and select Connection:
The Create Connection dialog appears. Select the database type—in our example, we are using Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse.
Once the database type is selected, the dialog proceeds to the second step: entering connection details.
Provide a meaningful connection name and description. For Autonomous Data Warehouse:
- Select Mutual TLS as the Encryption Type
- Choose the Wallet file downloaded from your database console
- Enter your username and password
- Select _high as the Service Name
- Leave Authentication set to Always use these credentials
Click Save, and the connection should be successfully created.
This connection can now be used to retrieve data from the database—for example, when creating datasets. However, it cannot be used in the Semantic Modeler to create or manage semantic models or repositories. For that, you must create a System Connection.
System Connections
System Connections are required when creating or updating semantic models using the Semantic Modeler. Creating one is similar to creating a "regular" connection, with one important difference: you must explicitly declare it as a System Connection by checking the corresponding box in the Create Connection dialog.
So, we need to create another connection and, in the final step, check the System Connection checkbox:
The connections list should now show two entries:
One final note: if you're using an earlier version of Oracle Analytics, you may experience issues when connecting to a database from Semantic Modeler. In such cases, try using a shorter connection name—8 characters or fewer usually works best.
In our labs, we will use the system connection.