Redash

Redash is a powerful business intelligence tool that allows you to create and share data visualizations. You can connect Redash to many data sources, including the MySQL server. Let’s explore how to set up the connection.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have the following:

• A working installation of Anyquery
• A Redash account

Step 1: Set up the connection

First, launch the Anyquery server:

anyquery server

Because Redash is a web-based tool, and anyquery binds locally, you need to expose the server to the internet. You can use a tool like ngrok to create a secure tunnel to your local server.

ngrok tcp 8070

Copy the forwarding URL (e.g., tcp://0.tcp.ngrok.io:12345) and use it as the hostname in the next step.

Step 2: Connect Redash

1. Open your redash instance in your browser.

2. Go to {your-redash-url}/data_sources/new.

3. Select MySQL as the data source.

4. Fill in the following details:

   • Name: A memorable name for the connection.
   • Host: The forwarding URL from ngrok (e.g., 0.tcp.ngrok.io).
   • Port: The port from ngrok (e.g., 12345).
   • Database Name: main.
   • Username: Set root unless you have set an auth-file.
   • Password: Leave it empty unless you have set an auth-file.

5. Click on the Create button to save the connection. Then click on Test Connection to verify that the connection is successful.

Creating your first visualization

1. Go to the Redash dashboard and click on the + New Query button.
2. Select the data source you just created.
3. Write your query in the SQL editor. Often, you simply want to SELECT * FROM table_name. Then, click on the Execute button. Finally, click on the Publish button to save the query.
4. Go to the dashboard and click on the + New Dashboard button. Input a name for the dashboard.
5. Add a new widget to the dashboard and select the query you just created.

Conclusion

You have successfully connected Redash to Anyquery. Now you can explore and visualize data from any source using Redash.