Data Sources & Connections¶
Last updated: 2026-04-27 Tags: connections, data sources, PAC, remote data gateway, database, cloud
📖 Full Oracle Documentation: Connecting OAC to Your Data
Summary¶
OAC can connect to virtually any data source — 80+ supported types across cloud databases, on-premise databases, files, REST APIs, big-data engines, and SaaS applications. Connections are managed centrally and can be shared or private.
For the complete, always-current list of supported data sources, see Oracle's official documentation: Supported Data Sources.
Connection Types — Full Reference¶
Oracle Databases¶
| Type | Protocol | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Oracle Database (on-premise) | JDBC/TNS | Native, best performance |
| Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse (ADW) | mTLS wallet or TLS | Recommended for cloud DW |
| Oracle Autonomous Transaction Processing (ATP) | mTLS wallet or TLS | OLTP workloads |
| Oracle Database Cloud Service | JDBC/TNS | Older Oracle Cloud DB |
| Oracle Essbase | Native API | Multidimensional / OLAP |
| Oracle MySQL HeatWave | JDBC | Cloud MySQL with analytics acceleration |
| Oracle TimesTen | JDBC | In-memory database |
Open-Source / Third-Party Databases¶
| Type | Protocol |
|---|---|
| MySQL | JDBC |
| PostgreSQL | JDBC |
| Microsoft SQL Server | JDBC |
| MariaDB | JDBC |
| IBM DB2 | JDBC |
| IBM Informix | JDBC |
| Sybase ASE / IQ | JDBC |
| Teradata | JDBC |
| Vertica | JDBC |
| Greenplum | JDBC |
| Apache Drill | JDBC |
| Apache Pinot | JDBC |
| Cassandra | JDBC |
| MongoDB | JDBC (BI Connector) |
| ClickHouse | JDBC |
| YugabyteDB | JDBC (PostgreSQL-compatible) |
Cloud Data Warehouses¶
| Type | Notes |
|---|---|
| Snowflake | JDBC |
| Google BigQuery | JDBC |
| Amazon Redshift | JDBC |
| Amazon Aurora (MySQL/PostgreSQL) | JDBC |
| Amazon RDS | JDBC |
| Microsoft Azure SQL Database | JDBC |
| Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics | JDBC |
| SAP HANA | JDBC |
| SAP S/4 HANA Cloud | JDBC |
| Databricks | JDBC |
Big Data Engines¶
| Type | Notes |
|---|---|
| Apache Hive | JDBC (HiveServer2) |
| Apache Spark SQL | JDBC (Thrift Server) |
| Apache Impala | JDBC |
| Cloudera CDP | JDBC |
| Hortonworks (legacy) | JDBC |
| Amazon EMR | JDBC |
File-Based Sources¶
| Type | Notes |
|---|---|
| Excel (.xlsx, .xls) | Upload directly → creates Dataset |
| CSV / TSV | Upload → creates Dataset (auto-detect delimiter) |
| JSON | Flat file upload, schema inferred |
| Apache Parquet | Columnar, used heavily for object storage data |
| Apache Avro | For Hadoop ecosystems |
Cloud File Storage¶
- OCI Object Storage — native, recommended for OAC
- Dropbox — personal/team file integration
- Google Drive — personal/team file integration
- Box — enterprise file storage
- Microsoft OneDrive / SharePoint — via REST connector
- Amazon S3 — via JDBC or generic connectors
Cloud Applications (SaaS)¶
| Application | Connector Type |
|---|---|
| Oracle Fusion ERP | Preconfigured Oracle Fusion connector |
| Oracle Fusion HCM | Preconfigured Oracle Fusion connector |
| Oracle Fusion SCM | Preconfigured Oracle Fusion connector |
| Oracle Fusion CX (Sales/Service/Marketing) | Preconfigured Oracle Fusion connector |
| Oracle NetSuite | REST API connector |
| Oracle Eloqua | REST API connector |
| Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) | JDBC + Subject Area |
| Oracle JD Edwards | JDBC |
| Oracle Siebel CRM | JDBC |
| Oracle PeopleSoft | JDBC |
| Salesforce | REST API connector (with OAuth) |
| Salesforce Commerce Cloud | REST API |
| ServiceNow | REST API connector |
| Workday | REST API + WSDL |
| SAP S/4 HANA | JDBC + REST |
| SAP BW | JDBC |
| HubSpot | REST connector |
| Marketo | REST connector |
| Zendesk | REST connector |
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 | OData/REST |
REST API & Web Services¶
- Generic REST connector — any HTTP/HTTPS endpoint with JSON/XML response
- Generic OAuth REST connector — for OAuth 2.0 authenticated APIs
- OData v4 — built-in for OData-compliant APIs
- SOAP Web Services — XML-based legacy APIs
Oracle Fusion Analytics Warehouse (FAW) Sources¶
When OAC is paired with FAW, additional pre-built connections include Fusion ERP/HCM/SCM/CX with auto-pipelined data into Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse.
Streaming / Real-Time Sources¶
- Kafka (via Hive/Drill bridges)
- OCI Streaming (via REST)
- For true streaming, use Oracle GoldenGate to land into a connected DB
Connection Scope¶
| Scope | Visible to | Created by |
|---|---|---|
| Shared | All users with permission | Admin or authorized user |
| Private | Creator only | Any user |
⚠️ Warning: Credentials in shared connections are stored encrypted in OAC's credential store. Do not share private DB user credentials through shared connections.
Private Access Channel (PAC)¶
Used to connect OAC to data sources inside a private VCN (Virtual Cloud Network) or on-premise network.
Architecture¶
Setup Steps¶
- In Service Console → Private Access Channel → Create
- Provide VCN and subnet details (must be in same region)
- DNS zones: add private DNS entries for your on-premise hostnames
- Connection uses PAC automatically when the hostname matches a configured DNS zone
PAC DNS Zones¶
- Configure private DNS zones so OAC resolves internal hostnames through PAC
- Example:
db.internal.company.com→ routes through PAC
💡 Tip: PAC is the preferred method for on-premise connectivity. It does not require opening inbound firewall ports.
Remote Data Gateway (RDG)¶
An agent installed on-premise that proxies data requests from OAC.
When to Use¶
- Legacy databases not reachable via PAC
- File system data sources
- Windows-only JDBC drivers
Architecture¶
Installation¶
- Download RDG agent from Service Console
- Install on a Windows/Linux server with network access to the data source
- Register agent in Service Console with a token
- Configure connections to use the RDG agent
Creating a Connection (UI Steps)¶
- Home → Create → Connection
- Select connection type
- Enter host, port, service name / SID
- Enter credentials (username/password or wallet)
- Test connection
- Save as shared or private
Connection Security¶
- Credentials stored in Oracle Vault (encrypted)
- Connection passwords never visible after save
- Row-level security can be applied at the Subject Area level using connection pool credentials
- See Security & Row-Level Security
Connection Pools (Semantic Model)¶
In the Semantic Model, connection pools define how the BI Server connects to a physical database:
- Shared login — all users use one DB account (most common)
- Individual login — each OAC user maps to a DB account
- Session variables — pass user context (e.g.,
VALUEOF(NQ_SESSION.USER)) to DB for VPD/RLS
Troubleshooting Connections¶
| Error | Likely Cause |
|---|---|
Connection refused |
Wrong host/port, firewall blocking |
ORA-12541 |
TNS listener not running or wrong port |
Invalid credentials |
Wrong username/password |
Wallet error |
Wallet not uploaded or wrong wallet for ADW |
| PAC timeout | DNS zone not configured or PAC not deployed |