Load Snowflake Data to a Database Using Embulk

Use CData JDBC drivers with the open source ETL/ELT tool Embulk to load Snowflake data to a database.

Embulk is an open source bulk data loader. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for Snowflake, Embulk easily loads data from Snowflake to any supported destination. In this article, we explain how to use the CData JDBC Driver for Snowflake in Embulk to load Snowflake data to a MySQL dtabase.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Snowflake data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Snowflake, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Snowflake and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations).

About Snowflake Data Integration

CData simplifies access and integration of live Snowflake data. Our customers leverage CData connectivity to:

Reads and write Snowflake data quickly and efficiently.
Dynamically obtain metadata for the specified Warehouse, Database, and Schema.
Authenticate in a variety of ways, including OAuth, OKTA, Azure AD, Azure Managed Service Identity, PingFederate, private key, and more.

Many CData users use CData solutions to access Snowflake from their preferred tools and applications, and replicate data from their disparate systems into Snowflake for comprehensive warehousing and analytics.

For more information on integrating Snowflake with CData solutions, refer to our blog: https://www.cdata.com/blog/snowflake-integrations.

Getting Started

Configure a JDBC Connection to Snowflake Data

Before creating a bulk load job in Embulk, note the installation location for the JAR file for the JDBC Driver (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for Snowflake\lib).

Embulk supports JDBC connectivity, so you can easily connect to Snowflake and execute SQL queries. Before creating a bulk load job, create a JDBC URL for authenticating with Snowflake.

To connect to Snowflake:

Set User and Password to your Snowflake credentials and set the AuthScheme property to PASSWORD or OKTA.
Set URL to the URL of the Snowflake instance (i.e.: https://myaccount.snowflakecomputing.com).
Set Warehouse to the Snowflake warehouse.
(Optional) Set Account to your Snowflake account if your URL does not conform to the format above.
(Optional) Set Database and Schema to restrict the tables and views exposed.

See the Getting Started guide in the CData driver documentation for more information.

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Snowflake JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.


java -jar cdata.jdbc.snowflake.jar

Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for Snowflake:


jdbc:snowflake:User=Admin;Password=test123;Server=localhost;Database=Northwind;Warehouse=TestWarehouse;Account=Tester1;

Load Snowflake Data in Embulk

After installing the CData JDBC Driver and creating a JDBC connection string, install the required Embulk plugins.

Install Embulk Input & Output Plugins

Install the JDBC Input Plugin in Embulk.
https://github.com/embulk/embulk-input-jdbc/tree/master/embulk-input-jdbc


embulk gem install embulk-input-jdbc

In this article, we use MySQL as the destination database. You can also choose SQL Server, PostgreSQL, or Google BigQuery as the destination using the output Plugins.
https://github.com/embulk/embulk-output-jdbc/tree/master/embulk-output-mysql embulk gem install embulk-output-mysql

With the input and output plugins installed, we are ready to load Snowflake data into MySQL using Embulk.

Create a Job to Load Snowflake Data

Start by creating a config file in Embulk, using a name like snowflake-mysql.yml.

For the input plugin options, use the CData JDBC Driver for Snowflake, including the path to the driver JAR file, the driver class (e.g. cdata.jdbc.snowflake.SnowflakeDriver), and the JDBC URL from above
For the output plugin options, use the values and credentials for the MySQL database

Sample Config File (snowflake-mysql.yml)


in:
	type: jdbc
	driver_path: C:\Program Files\CData[product_name] 20xx\lib\cdata.jdbc.snowflake.jar
	driver_class: cdata.jdbc.snowflake.SnowflakeDriver
	url: jdbc:snowflake:User=Admin;Password=test123;Server=localhost;Database=Northwind;Warehouse=TestWarehouse;Account=Tester1;
	table: "Products"
out: 
	type: mysql
	host: localhost
	database: DatabaseName
	user: UserId
	password: UserPassword
	table: "Products"
	mode: insert

After creating the file, run the Embulk job.


embulk run snowflake-mysql.yml

After running the the Embulk job, find the Salesforce data in the MySQL table.

Load Filtered Snowflake Data

In addition to loading data directly from a table, you can use a custom SQL query to have more granular control of the data loaded. You can also perform increment loads by setting a last updated column in a SQL WHERE clause in the query field.


in:
	type: jdbc
	driver_path: C:\Program Files\CData[product_name] 20xx\lib\cdata.jdbc.snowflake.jar
	driver_class: cdata.jdbc.snowflake.SnowflakeDriver
	url: jdbc:snowflake:User=Admin;Password=test123;Server=localhost;Database=Northwind;Warehouse=TestWarehouse;Account=Tester1;
	query: "SELECT Id, ProductName FROM Products WHERE [RecordId] = 1"
out: 
	type: mysql
	host: localhost
	database: DatabaseName
	user: UserId
	password: UserPassword
	table: "Products"
	mode: insert

More Information & Free Trial

By using CData JDBC Driver for Snowflake as a connector, Embulk can integrate Snowflake data into your data load jobs. And with drivers for more than 200+ other enterprise sources, you can integrate any enterprise SaaS, big data, or NoSQL source as well. Download a 30-day free trial and get started today.

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