Looker

This article outlines the integration with the Looker connector, enabling streamlined metadata management through features such as crawling, report preview, and lineage building (Auto & Manual). It also ensures secure authentication via Credential Manager.

Overview

Connector Details

Connector Category	Reporting Tools
Connector Version	Release6.3.x
Releases Supported (Available from)	Release6.3.x
Connectivity [How the connection is established with Looker]	REST APIs
Verified Looker Version	Looker API Version: 4.0

The Looker connector validates with the listed “Verified Looker Version” and supports other compatible Looker versions. If there are any issues with validation or metadata crawling, please submit a support ticket for investigation and feedback.

Connector Features

Feature	Availability
Crawling	✅
Profiling	NA
Query Sheet	❌
Report Preview	✅
Auto Lineage	✅
Manual Lineage	✅
Secure Authentication via Credential Manager	✅
Data Quality	❌
DAM (Data Access Management)	❌
Bridge	✅

'NA' indicates that the respective feature is 'Not Applicable.'

Metadata Mapping

The following objects are crawled from Looker and mapped to the corresponding UI assets.

Source Object	Source Attribute	OvalEdge Attribute	OvalEdge Category	OvalEdge Type
Folders	Folders	Report Group/Domain	Report Group/Domain	Report Group
Dashboard, Look	Dashboard, Look	Report	Report	Dashboard, Look
Dashboard Elements/Tiles (Various Types: Charts, Tables, Text, Merge Queries, etc.)	Dashboard Elements/Tiles (Various Types: Charts, Tables, Text, Merge Queries, etc.)	Report	Report	Dashboard Elements/Tiles

Set up a Connection

Prerequisites

The prerequisites to establish a connection:

Whitelisting Ports

Whitelist the inbound port to allow OvalEdge to connect to the Looker server.

When any port is configured, specify the port number during connection setup, whitelist the port, and establish proper communication between the system and the Looker Server.

To enable embed functionality, ensure that Server IP whitelisting is configured under Admin > Server > IP Allowlist, and Domain whitelisting is configured under Admin > Embed Settings.

Service Account User Permissions

It is recommended to use a separate service account to establish the connection to the data source, configured with the following minimum set of permissions.

👨‍💻 Who can provide these permissions? The Looker administrator grants these permissions, since users may not have sufficient access to assign them.

Objects	Permissions
Connector Validation	Validation = API3 Credentials Only
Crawling	See_looks See_user_dashboards See_lookml_dashboards Model Set Access Connection Access Folder Access
Folders/Dashboards/Looks/Dashboard childs	See_looks See_user_dashboards See_lookml_dashboards Model Set Access Connection Access Folder Access
Views	Create_embed_url

Connection Configuration Steps

Users must have the Connector Creator role to configure a new connection.

1. Log into OvalEdge, go to Administration > Connectors, click + (New Connector), search for Looker, and enter the required parameters.

Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are mandatory for establishing a connection.

Field Name	Description
Connector Type	By default, "Looker" is displayed as the selected connector type.
Credential Manager*	Select the desired credentials manager from the drop-down list. Relevant parameters will be displayed based on the selection. Supported Credential Managers: OE Credential Manager AWS Secrets Manager HashiCorp Azure Key Vault
License Add-On	Auto Lineage Supported Data Quality Not Supported Data Access Not Supported Select the Auto Lineage Add-On checkbox to automatically build data lineage.
Connector Name*	Enter a unique name for the Looker connection (Example: "Looker_Prod").
Connector Environment	Select the environment (Example: PROD, STG) configured for the connector.
Connector Description	Enter the description related to the connector.
Looker API Host Name*	Enter the Looker API Host Name.
Looker Host Name	Enter the Looker Host Name that should contain the base URL of the Looker instance without the protocol (for example, company.looker.com)
Client Id*	Enter the Looker Client ID generated from the Looker Admin → API3 settings. This value uniquely identifies the API client configured for the connector.
Client Secret*	Enter the OAuth client secret generated in the Looker admin console when creating the API credentials.
Port	Enter the required port number to connect with the Looker database.
Connection String*	Configure the connection string for the Looker server: Automatic Mode: The system generates a connection string based on the provided credentials. Manual Mode: Enter a valid connection string manually. Replace placeholders with actual server details: {server} refers to the Looker host or Domain. Authentication Plugins: https://{server}/api/4.0/ This is the default connection string used for connecting to the Looker API.
Proxy Enabled*	Select Yes to route the connection through a configured proxy, or No to connect directly without a proxy.

Default Governance Roles

Default Governance Roles*	Select the appropriate users or teams for each governance role from the drop-down list. All users and teams configured in OvalEdge Security are displayed for selection.

Admin Roles

Admin Roles*	Select one or more users from the dropdown list for Integration Admin and Security & Governance Admin. All users configured in OvalEdge Security are available for selection.

No of Archive Objects

No Of Archive Objects*	This shows the number of recent metadata changes to a dataset at the source. By default, it is off. To enable it, toggle the Archive button and specify the number of objects to archive. Example: Setting it to 4 retrieves the last four changes, displayed in the 'Version' column of the 'Metadata Changes' module.

Bridge

Select Bridge*	If applicable, select the bridge from the drop-down list. The drop-down list displays all active bridges configured in OvalEdge. These bridges enable communication between data sources and OvalEdge without altering firewall rules.

1. After entering all connection details, the following actions can be performed:

   1. Click Validate to verify the connection.

   2. Click Save to store the connection for future use.

   3. Click Save & Configure to apply additional settings before saving.

2. The saved connection will appear on the Connectors home page.

Manage Connector Operations

Crawl

To perform crawl operations, users must be assigned the Integration Admin role.

The Crawl/Profile button allows users to select one or more schemas for crawling.

1. Navigate to the Connectors page and click Crawl/Profile.

2. Select the schemas to crawl.

3. Click Run to collect metadata from the connected source and load it into the Data Catalog.

4. After a successful crawl, the information appears in the Data Catalog > Report / Report Column tab.

The Schedule checkbox allows automated crawling for a selected timeframe, from a minute to a year.

1. Click the Schedule checkbox to enable the Select Period drop-down.

2. Select a time period for the operation from the drop-down menu.

3. Click Schedule to initiate metadata collection from the connected source.

4. The system will automatically execute the crawl operation at the scheduled time.

Other Operations

The Connectors page provides a centralized view of all configured connectors and their health status.

Managing connectors includes:

• Connectors Health: Displays the current status of each connector, with a green icon for active connections and a red icon for inactive connections, helping monitor connectivity to data sources.

• Viewing: Click the Eye icon next to the connector name to view connector details, including Reports, Report Columns, Sheets, Dashboards, Analyses, Datasets, and Visuals

Nine Dots Menu Options:

To view, edit, validate, build lineage, configure, or delete connectors, click on the Nine Dots menu.

• Edit Connector: Update and revalidate the data source.

• Validate Connector: Check the integrity of the connection.

• Settings: Modify connector settings.

  • Crawler: Configure data extraction.

  • Access Instructions: Add notes on how data can be accessed.

  • Business Glossary Settings: Manage term associations at the connector level.

  • Lineage: Select server dialects for parsing and setting connector priority for table lineage.

  • Others: Configure notification recipients for metadata changes.

• Build Lineage: Automatically build data lineage using source code parsing.

• Delete Connector: Remove a connector with confirmation.

Connectivity Troubleshooting

If incorrect parameters are entered, error messages may appear. Ensure all inputs are accurate to resolve these issues. If issues persist, contact the assigned support team.

S.No.	Error Message(s)	Error Description & Resolution
1	Error while validating LOOKER connection Error occurred while logging in to Looker	Error Description: The system could not validate the Looker connection because the login request failed. This occurs when authentication details, API credentials, or Looker server settings are incorrect or unreachable. Resolution: Verify the Looker API credentials, host URL, and authentication method configured in the connector. Ensure the Looker instance is accessible and retry validation after correcting any incorrect settings.

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