How to connect to Amazon Neptune in Talend Studio

Introduction

You can connect to your Amazon Neptune data from Talend Studio via the high-performance Amazon Neptune ODBC Driver (powered by ZappySys JDBC-ODBC Bridge Driver). We'll walk you through the entire setup.

Let's not waste time and get started!

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you meet the following prerequisite: Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java Development Kit (JDK) must be installed on your system.

• Minimum required version: Java 8
  • Amazon Corretto 8
  • Oracle JRE 8
• Recommended Java version: Java 21
  • Amazon Corretto 21
  • Oracle JRE 21

If your JDBC Driver targets a different Java version (e.g., 11 / 17 / 21), install the corresponding or newer Java version.

Download Amazon Neptune JDBC driver

To connect to Amazon Neptune, you will have to download JDBC driver for it, which we will use in later steps. Let's perform these little steps right away:

1. Visit Amazon Neptune website or MVN Repository.

2. Select the appropriate JDBC driver version in Latest Versions section in MVN Repository:

   

3. Download the JDBC driver, and save it locally, e.g. to C:\ZappySys\Jdbc\Amazon Neptune\amazon-neptune-jdbc-driver-3.0.3-all.jar.

   

4. Done! That was easy, wasn't it? Let's proceed to the next step.

Create data source in ZappySys Data Gateway

In this section we will create a data source for Amazon Neptune in the Data Gateway. Let's follow these steps to accomplish that:

1. Download and install ODBC PowerPack (if you haven't already).

2. Search for gateway in the Windows Start Menu and open ZappySys Data Gateway Configuration:

   

3. Go to the Users tab and follow these steps to add a Data Gateway user:

   • Click the Add button
   • In the Login field enter a username, e.g., john
   • Then enter a Password
   • Check the Is Administrator checkbox
   • Click OK to save
   

4. Now we are ready to add a data source:

   • Click the Add button
   • Give the Data source a name (have it handy for later)
   • Then select Native - ZappySys JDBC Bridge Driver
   • Finally, click OK
   AmazonNeptuneDSN

   ZappySys JDBC Bridge Driver

   

5. Now, we need to configure the JDBC connection in the new ODBC data source. Simply enter the Connection string, credentials, configure other settings, and then click Test Connection button to test the connection:

   AmazonNeptuneDSN

   jdbc:neptune:sqlgremlin://hostname;port=8182;authScheme=None;enableSsl=true

   software.amazon.neptune.jdbc.NeptuneDriver

   C:\ZappySys\Jdbc\Amazon Neptune\amazon-neptune-jdbc-driver-3.0.3-all.jar

   optional for Amazon Neptune

   optional for Amazon Neptune

   optional for Amazon Neptune

   

   For None (no IAM), use these values when setting parameters:

   • Connection string: jdbc:neptune:sqlgremlin://hostname;port=8182;authScheme=None;enableSsl=true
   • Driver class: software.amazon.neptune.jdbc.NeptuneDriver
   • JDBC driver file(s): C:\ZappySys\Jdbc\Amazon Neptune\amazon-neptune-jdbc-driver-3.0.3-all.jar
   • User name:
   • Password:

     Amazon Neptune JDBC (SQL-Gremlin) from Power BI, SQL Server Linked Server via ZappySys Data Gateway, Crystal Reports, SSRS, Azure Data Factory, and other ODBC tools. Neptune is VPC-only. Use this Auth when IAM DB authentication is off, or when you already opened an SSH tunnel to port 8182.

     1. Confirm the cluster endpoint in the Neptune console (not a public hostname). Default port is 8182.
     2. From outside the VPC, open an SSH tunnel through a bastion in the same VPC, or run JDBC Bridge on an EC2 host that can reach the cluster.
     3. Enable SSL on the cluster. After Finish, replace the hostname on the DSN Main UI. Keep authScheme=None for this profile.
     4. Prefer SQL-Gremlin (jdbc:neptune:sqlgremlin://) for Power BI and other ODBC tools. Gremlin / openCypher / SPARQL URLs are for graph-native clients.
     5. Finish the wizard. Then click Test Connection on the DSN Main UI (the wizard does not run Test Connection).
     6. Done. You can query from C#, Python, PowerShell, and ODBC apps.

   For IAM SigV4, use these values when setting parameters:

   • Connection string: jdbc:neptune:sqlgremlin://hostname;port=8182;authScheme=IAMSigV4;enableSsl=true;serviceRegion=us-east-1
   • Driver class: software.amazon.neptune.jdbc.NeptuneDriver
   • JDBC driver file(s): C:\ZappySys\Jdbc\Amazon Neptune\amazon-neptune-jdbc-driver-3.0.3-all.jar
   • Access key ID:
   • Secret access key:
   • Service region: us-east-1

     IAM SigV4 for Neptune JDBC. SSL is required. Create IAM access keys in the console (same idea as a Stripe secret key), or rely on the default credential chain on an EC2 instance / role.

     1. Sign in to the IAM console.
     2. Create (or reuse) an IAM user or role with Neptune connect/query permissions. Do not use a personal employee login for unattended Linked Server or Power BI refresh.
     3. Open Security credentials and create an access key. Copy Access key ID into User name and Secret access key into Password. Alternatively leave them empty and use an instance profile / AWS_PROFILE.
     4. Set Service region to the cluster region (for example us-east-1). Keep enableSsl=true.
     5. Neptune has no public endpoint. After Finish, replace the hostname (and SSH-tunnel port if you forwarded 8182 locally).
     6. Finish the wizard. Then click Test Connection on the DSN Main UI (the wizard does not run Test Connection).
     7. Done. You can query from C#, Python, PowerShell, and ODBC apps.

6. You should see a message saying that connection test is successful:

   

7. Otherwise, if you are getting an error, start by troubleshooting the JDBC connection with DBeaver in the section below:

   Jump to troubleshooter

8. We are at the point where we can preview a SQL query. For more SQL query examples visit JDBC Bridge documentation:

   AmazonNeptuneDSN

   SELECT * FROM country

   

   SELECT * FROM country

   You can also click on the <Select Table> dropdown and select a table from the list.

   The ZappySys JDBC Bridge Driver acts as a transparent intermediary, passing SQL queries directly to the JDBC driver, which then handles the query execution. This means the JDBC-ODBC Bridge Driver simply relays the SQL query without altering it.

   Some JDBC drivers don't support INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE statements, so you may get an error saying "action is not supported" or a similar one. Please, be aware, this is not the limitation of ZappySys JDBC Bridge Driver, but is a limitation of the specific JDBC driver you are using.

9. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

10. Once done, go to the Network Settings tab and Add a firewall rule for inbound traffic:

    
    • This will initially allow all inbound traffic.
    • Click Edit IP filters to restrict access to specific IP addresses or ranges.

11. Crucial Step: After creating or modifying the data source, you must:

    • Click the Save button to persist your changes.
    • Hit Yes when prompted to restart the Data Gateway service.

    This ensures all changes are properly applied:

    
    Skipping this step may cause the new settings to fail, preventing you from connecting to the data source.

Read Amazon Neptune data in Talend Studio

To read Amazon Neptune data in Talend Studio, we'll need to complete several steps. Let's get through them all right away!

Create connection for input

1. First of all, open Talend Studio
2. Create a new connection:
3. Select Microsoft SQL Server connection:
4. Name your connection:
5. Fill-in connection parameters and then click Test connection:
   AmazonNeptuneDSN

   
6. If the List of modules not installed for this operation window shows up, then download and install all of them:
   Review and accept all additional module license agreements during the process
7. Finally, you should see a successful connection test result at the end:

Add input

1. Once we have a connection to ZappySys Data Gateway created, we can proceed by creating a job:

   

2. Simply drag and drop ZappySys Data Gateway connection onto the job:

   

3. Then create an input based on ZappySys Data Gateway connection:

   

4. Continue by configuring a SQL query and click Guess schema button:

   

5. Finish by configuring the schema, for example:

   

Add output

Run the job

Troubleshooting

Validating JDBC connection in DBeaver

If you are experiencing JDBC connection issues, start by testing your JDBC driver in a JDBC client tool like DBeaver. If the JDBC connection fails in DBeaver, it naturally will not work in your ODBC data source either.

Create generic JDBC driver

1. Download and install DBeaver Community Edition.

2. Open DBeaver.

3. Click Database in the top menu and select Driver Manager:

   

4. Click the New button to start adding a custom JDBC driver:

   

5. Configure the connection settings by entering the Driver Name and Class Name (software.amazon.neptune.jdbc.NeptuneDriver):

   

   software.amazon.neptune.jdbc.NeptuneDriver

6. Go to the Libraries tab, click Add File, and select your Amazon Neptune driver library file(s), e.g. C:\ZappySys\Jdbc\Amazon Neptune\amazon-neptune-jdbc-driver-3.0.3-all.jar:

   
   Make sure to add all the required library dependencies.

7. Your JDBC driver jar library is now added:

   

   C:\ZappySys\Jdbc\Amazon Neptune\amazon-neptune-jdbc-driver-3.0.3-all.jar

8. (Optional). If required by your JDBC driver, add additional properties by going to the Default properties tab, Right-clicking on the background, and selecting Add new property:

   

9. Click on a value to modify it, then click OK to finish:

   

We are now ready to test the connection. Let's proceed!

Test connection

1. Click the New Database Connection icon in the toolbar:

   

2. Select your newly created JDBC driver from the list and click Next:

   

3. Enter your JDBC URL (e.g. jdbc:neptune:sqlgremlin://hostname;port=8182;authScheme=None;enableSsl=true), click Test Connection to verify it works, and then click Finish:

   

   jdbc:neptune:sqlgremlin://hostname;port=8182;authScheme=None;enableSsl=true

4. Finally, expand the database and table list to check the connection status:

   

There are two possible outcomes from the connection test:

• Reason:
  The JDBC driver works perfectly, meaning the issue lies within your ODBC data source configuration.
• Action:
  Double-check your ODBC data source configuration and ensure it matches the settings that successfully connected in DBeaver.

• Reason:
  There is likely an issue with the JDBC driver configuration or the connection details provided.
• Action:
  Contact the ZappySys Support Team for assistance.

If you are still experiencing issues or need further help, please contact us:

Frequent issues and solutions

Below are some useful community articles to help you troubleshoot and configure the ZappySys JDBC Bridge Driver:

• How to combine multiple JAR files
  Learn how to merge multiple .jar dependencies when your JDBC driver requires more than one file.
• How to fix JBR error: “Data lake is not available / Unable to verify trust for server certificate chain”
  Resolve SSL or certificate validation issues encountered during JDBC connections.
• System Exception: “Java is not installed or not accessible”
  Fix Java path or environment issues that prevent the JDBC Bridge from launching Java.
• JDBC Bridge Driver disconnect from Java host error
  Troubleshoot unexpected disconnection problems between your client application and the Java process.
• Error: Could not open jvm.cfg while using JDBC Bridge Driver
  Resolve JVM configuration path errors during driver initialization.
• How to enable JDBC Bridge Driver logging
  Enable detailed driver logging for better visibility during troubleshooting.
• How to pass JDBC connection parameters (not by URL)
  Learn how to specify connection properties programmatically instead of embedding them in the JDBC URL.
• How to fix JDBC Bridge error: “No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it”
  Troubleshoot firewall or local port binding issues preventing communication with the Java host.
• How to use JDBC Bridge options (System Property for Java command line, e.g., classpath, proxy)
  Configure custom Java options like classpath and proxy using JDBC Bridge system properties.