dbt core self hosted (via Direct Connect method)

This page will walkthrough the setup of dbt core (self hosted dbt) in K.

Integration details

Step 1) Extract from dbt

• Generate the Manifest using the dbt compile command for each project. This will ensure the manifest file contains compiled SQL. The following docs (and filenames are expected):

  • manifest.json reference

  • Must contain compiled SQL which is generated following DBT run / compile

  • filename: <project_id>_manifest_YYYYMMDDhhmmss.json

• (Optional) Generate the Catalog file using the dbt docs generate command:

  • catalog.json reference

  • file name: <project_id>_catalog.json

• Run results are generated after each dbt run:

  • run_results.json reference

  • file name: <project_id>_run_results_YYYYMMDDHHmmss.json

• Use an orchestration tool like Airflow to align the filenames and push the docs (manifest, catalog, run_results) to the landing folder created in Step 3.

The inclusion of the project_id in the filename is to support multiple dbt projects.

Step 2) Add dbt Core as a New Source

• Select Platform Settings in the side bar

• In the pop-out side panel, under Integrations click on Sources

• Click Add Source and select DBT_CORE

• Select Load from File and add your dbt core details and click Next

• Fill in the Source Settings and click Next

  • Name: Give the dbt source a name in K

  • Host: Enter the dbt server name

  • Project Mapping: A mapping is required to map dbt project IDs to KADA source hosts.

• Click Finish Setup

Step 3) Configure the dbt extracts

• Click Edit on the dbt core source you just created

• Note down the storage location

• Schedule the dbt extracts to land in this directory.

For details about how to push files to landing — see the Collectors documentation.

Step 4) Schedule the dbt core source load

• Select Platform Settings in the side bar

• In the pop-out side panel, under Integrations click on Sources

• Locate your new dbt core Source and click on the Schedule Settings (clock) icon to set the schedule

Step 5) Push your extracts to K

• Complete the following steps to load your latest manifest.json file

• Push your manifest.json, catalog.json, mapping.json and run_results.json files to the K landing directory.

  • For example, you can use Azure Storage Explorer if you want to initially do this manually.

Step 6) Manually run an ad hoc load to test dbt core setup

• Next to your new Source, click on the Run manual load icon

• Confirm how you want the source to be loaded

• After the source load is triggered, a pop up bar will appear taking you to the Monitor tab in the Batch Manager page. This is the usual page you visit to view the progress of source loads

A manual source load will also require a manual run of

• DAILY

• GATHER_METRICS_AND_STATS

To load all metrics and indexes with the manually loaded metadata. These can be found in the Batch Manager page.

Troubleshooting failed loads

• If the job failed at the extraction step

  • Check the error. Contact KADA Support if required.

  • Rerun the source job

• If the job failed at the load step, the landing folder failed directory will contain the file with issues.

  • Find the bad record and fix the file

  • Rerun the source job