How to Build Power BI Reports on IBM Db2 Data using the DataDirect Db2 Driver for ODBC
Introduction
In this blog, we will walk you through the steps on how to make an ODBC connection from Power BI Desktop to IBM Db2, followed by importing the data from IBM Db2 to Power BI.
With the DataDirect suite of ODBC drivers, you can connect to a wide variety of high-value data sources in the market today. Whether you are using a traditional Relational Database Management System or Big Data, Cloud, or REST-based sources, DataDirect has you covered.
Progress DataDirect ODBC drivers are the industry standard for ODBC drivers, providing the advanced functionality, performance, and reliability developers need to quickly deliver high-quality, database-independent applications.
Connecting to a Progress DataDirect ODBC driver from Power BI is very straightforward. In this tutorial, we walk you through connecting Power BI to IBM Db2. These same steps can be used to connect Power BI to any DataDirect ODBC driver.
Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you have ODBC drivers installed and a data source configured. If you have not yet done these steps, please follow these instructions.
- Download and install the Progress DataDirect ODBC driver using the 15-day trial software. In this tutorial, we are connecting to Db2 Database.
- Configure a data source for your database. See the DataDirect documentation for assistance with setting up your data source. You will learn how to configure a Db2 Data source in the following steps.
Configure Connection to Db2 ODBC Driver Using the ODBC Administrator
1. After the DataDirect DB2 ODBC driver has been installed, open ODBC Administrator to configure the connection and click on “Add”.
2. Choose the “DataDirect X.X DB2 Wire Protocol” and click on “Finish.”
3. The ODBC Db2 Wire Protocol Driver Setup window will pop up.
Enter your credentials, click on “Apply” and then click on “Test Connect.”
4. The Logon dialog will pop up. Provide logon credentials and click on “OK.”
5. A dialog box will confirm that the connection is established.
Connecting to an ODBC Data Source using DataDirect Db2 ODBC driver
1. In Power BI, click on Get Data > More > All > ODBC. Click on “Connect.”
2. You should now see the form shown below where it will ask for the DSN name. Select the “DSN” from the dropdown. Choose the data source previously configured to connect to IBM Db2 and click on “OK.”
3. Authenticate using your credentials under Database and click on Connect.
4. The Navigator window will open.
5. Choose your database, select table, and click on Load to continue.
6. You should now see your data in Power BI as shown below:
Conclusion
We hope this article helped you learn how you can build Power BI reports on IBM Db2 data using the Progress DataDirect DB2 ODBC driver. Feel free to try these for your projects. If you have any questions or issues, contact us.