| --- |
| { |
| "title": "Tableau", |
| "language": "en", |
| "description": "Connect to Apache Doris through Tableau's official MySQL connector and the MySQL JDBC Driver to enable data source integration, visual analytics, and dashboard development.", |
| "keywords": [ |
| "Tableau", |
| "Apache Doris", |
| "BI", |
| "Data Visualization", |
| "MySQL JDBC", |
| "Data Source Integration" |
| ], |
| "sidebar_label": "Tableau" |
| } |
| --- |
| |
| <!-- Knowledge Type: Operational Steps --> |
| <!-- Applicable Scenario: Connect to Apache Doris in Tableau for data visualization and dashboard development --> |
| |
| # Tableau |
| |
| [Tableau](https://www.tableau.com/) is a leading business intelligence (BI) and data visualization tool. Apache Doris is compatible with the MySQL protocol, so you can connect to it directly through Tableau's official **MySQL connector** (based on the MySQL JDBC Driver), without any dedicated plugin. |
| |
| This document targets the following typical scenarios: |
| |
| - You have an existing Apache Doris cluster and want to perform data exploration and report development in Tableau. |
| - You need to use detail data or aggregated results from Doris as the data source for Tableau workbooks. |
| - You want to publish analytical results from Doris through Tableau dashboards. |
| |
| After completing the steps in this document, you will be able to: |
| |
| 1. Install and configure Tableau Desktop and the MySQL JDBC driver in your local environment. |
| 2. Create a data source connection from Tableau to Apache Doris. |
| 3. Build visual charts and dashboards in Tableau on top of Doris data sources. |
| |
| ## Prerequisites |
| |
| Before you start, make sure the following requirements are met: |
| |
| | Item | Requirement | |
| | ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | |
| | Apache Doris cluster | Accessible, with the FE MySQL protocol port (default `9030`) open | |
| | Database account | Has read permission on the target database | |
| | Tableau Desktop | Latest version installed ([download page](https://www.tableau.com/products/desktop/download)) | |
| | MySQL JDBC Driver | Version 8.3.0 ([download link](https://velodb-bi-connector-1316291683.cos.ap-hongkong.myqcloud.com/Tableau/latest/mysql-connector-j-8.3.0.jar)) | |
| |
| ## Step 1: Install Tableau and the JDBC driver |
| |
| 1. Download and install [Tableau Desktop](https://www.tableau.com/products/desktop/download). |
| 2. Download [MySQL JDBC Driver 8.3.0](https://velodb-bi-connector-1316291683.cos.ap-hongkong.myqcloud.com/Tableau/latest/mysql-connector-j-8.3.0.jar). |
| 3. Place the JDBC driver jar file in the directory designated by Tableau: |
| |
| | Operating System | Driver Path | |
| | -------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
| | macOS | `~/Library/Tableau/Drivers` | |
| | Windows | `%tableau_path%\Drivers\` (default `tableau_path = C:\Program Files\Tableau`) | |
| |
| 4. Restart Tableau Desktop so that the driver takes effect. |
| |
| ## Step 2: Configure the Apache Doris data source in Tableau |
| |
| After installing the driver, you can create a data source in Tableau that connects to Doris (the example uses the `tpch` database). |
| |
| ### 1. Prepare connection information |
| |
| The parameters required to connect to Apache Doris through JDBC are as follows: |
| |
| | Parameter | Description | Example | |
| | ------------------ | --------------------------------- | --------------------------------- | |
| | Server | Host address of the Doris FE | `127.0.0.1` | |
| | Port | MySQL protocol port of the Doris FE | `9030` | |
| | Database | Database name | `tpch` | |
| | Username | User name | `testuser` | |
| | Password | Password | (fill in based on your account) | |
| | Init SQL Statement | Initialization SQL automatically executed after the connection is established | `select * from database.table` | |
| |
| ### 2. Create the connection |
| |
| 1. Start Tableau Desktop. If it is already running, restart it to load the driver. |
| 2. In the left-hand menu, under **To a Server**, click **More**, then search for **MySQL** in the connector list: |
| |
|  |
| |
| 3. Click **MySQL** to open the connection configuration dialog: |
| |
|  |
| |
| 4. Fill in the connection information you prepared in the previous step, following the prompts in the dialog. |
| 5. Click **Sign In**. After the connection succeeds, a new Tableau workbook opens: |
| |
|  |
| |
| ## Step 3: Build visualizations in Tableau |
| |
| The following example uses the TPC-H dataset to demonstrate how to build visualizations on top of a Doris data source. For instructions on building TPC-H data, see the [TPC-H Benchmark documentation](../../lakehouse/best-practices/tpch.md). |
| |
| ### 1. Join the data tables |
| |
| 1. Drag the `customer` and `orders` tables into the workbook, and set the join field to `Custkey` in the panel below: |
| |
|  |
| |
| 2. Drag the `nation` table into the workbook and set the join field with `customer` to `Nationkey`: |
| |
|  |
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| 3. After joining the three tables, you have a data source ready for analysis. Click the `Sheet 1` tab at the bottom of the workbook to enter the worksheet: |
| |
|  |
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| ### 2. Scenario A: Annual customer count summary (line chart) |
| |
| Drag `OrderDate` (from `orders`) into `Columns`, and drag `customer(count)` (from `customer`) into `Rows`. Tableau then generates a line chart: |
| |
|  |
| |
| :::note |
| The TPC-H dataset is generated by a script using default rules and is not real business data. The results are intended only for feature demonstration and connectivity verification. |
| ::: |
| |
| ### 3. Scenario B: Average order amount by region and year |
| |
| 1. Click `New Worksheet` to create a new sheet. |
| 2. Drag `Name` (from `nation`) into `Rows`. |
| 3. Drag `OrderDate` (from `orders`) into `Columns`. |
| |
| At this point, the table shows `Abc` placeholder values because no aggregated measure has been specified. |
| |
| 4. Drag `Totalprice` (from `orders`) into the center of the table. The default aggregation is `SUM`: |
| |
|  |
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| 5. Click `SUM` and change `Measure` to `Average`: |
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|  |
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| 6. In the same drop-down menu, choose `Format`, then set `Numbers` to `Currency (Standard)`: |
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|  |
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| 7. The final report matches the expected output: |
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|  |
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| At this point, you have successfully connected Tableau to Apache Doris and built data analysis and visualization dashboards. |
| |
| ## Best practices |
| |
| ### Performance optimization |
| |
| - **Design table schemas carefully**: Design partitioning and bucketing for Doris tables based on query patterns to reduce the volume of scanned data and the cost of data transfer. |
| - **Use materialized views**: For high-frequency aggregation queries, create materialized views in Doris to precompute aggregations and speed up Tableau dashboard responses. |
| - **Set a reasonable refresh schedule**: Balance refresh frequency against compute resource consumption to keep dashboards timely while controlling cluster load. |
| |
| ### Security configuration |
| |
| - **Network isolation**: Use VPC private connections instead of accessing Doris directly over the public network. |
| - **Access control**: Restrict the source of access to Doris ports through security groups. |
| - **Transport encryption**: Enable SSL/TLS encrypted connections. |
| - **Principle of least privilege**: Configure Doris user roles and permissions in a fine-grained way to avoid over-authorization. |
