Create a New Database Connection

Summary of Content

Requirements
Create a Connection
Connection Credential Terms
Whitelisting IPs
Write Access
Permissions
Query Timeouts

Requirements

  • Admin privileges in your Sigma organization. Learn about account types.
  • A Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift or Postgres data warehouse.

Create a Connection

  1. Open your Admin Portal by selecting Administration in the user menu at the top right of your screen.
  2. Select the Connections page from the left hand panel.
  3. Click the Create Connection button.
    Screen_Shot_2020-10-28_at_8.12.06_PM.png
  4. Name your connection.
  5. Select your warehouse type.
    Screen_Shot_2020-05-13_at_3.55.20_PM.png
  6. Each warehouse type requires different input. Use the following instructions for your warehouse:
    - Connect to Snowflake
    - Connect to BigQuery
    - Connect to Redshift or Postgres
  7. [optional] Under Connection Features, you can set a connection timeout and/or enable write access.
  8. After completing the form, click the Create button in the top right of your screen. 

Connection Credential Terms

Term Definition Warehouse(s)
Name The name of the connection that Sigma will display in the connection list All
Account The account path where your database is located Snowflake
Host The host path where your database is located Redshift, Postgres
Port The port Sigma will use to connect to the host Redshift, Postgres
User The username you use when connecting to the database Snowflake, Redshift, Postgres
Warehouse The name of the warehouse you would like to query using Sigma Snowflake
Database The name of the database you would like to query using Sigma Redshift, Postgres
Role The Snowflake user role to be used for the connection Snowflake
Billing Project ID Your BigQuery Project ID BigQuery
Service Account A JSON key associated with your Service Account BigQuery

 
Whitelisting IPs

In some cases, you may need to whitelist Sigma's IP addresses to successfully connect to your data. This step is required when your warehouse is closed to external connections (ie you have firewalls, security groups, or other IP-based security policies). 

Sigma's egress IP addresses are listed on all individual connection pages in your Sigma Admin Portal. To view them, (1) Open your Admin Portal to the Connection page. (2)  Select any connection or click 'Create Connection' (3) Look for the IP addresses listed under connection credentials. 

Write Access

You may want to enable write access on your connection. Write access is required for materialization, CSV uploads, and Dataset Warehouse Views.

Permissions

After creating a connection, you will likely want to selectively share access with other people in your organization. Learn more about permissions.

Query Timeouts

By default, Sigma sets query timeouts to 120 seconds (2 minutes). When queries hit the timeout limit, Sigma will cancel the query. Under 'Connection Features', you can set a custom query timeout for your connection.

Related Resources

Connect to Snowflake
Connect to BigQuery
Connect to Redshift or Postgres