KB247588: In MicroStrategy 10.0.0, error message “Database error <5>: Catalog Get Columns failed" is seen when performing data import from an Impala database table containing a varchar datatype column

SYMPTOM
In Strategy 10.0.0, when performing a data import against an Impala database, the following error is encountered:
 

Database error <5>: Catalog Get Columns failed. Error type: Odbc error. Odbc operation attempted: SQLColumns’ 

1. On Strategy Web 10.0.0, click “Add External data”, then click “Hadoop”

1. Click  “Build a Query” or “Type a Query” or ”Pick Tables” in the “Select Import Options” dialog.

1. Click “Add new data source”, in DSN-less mode, choose database: Impala, Version: Impala 2.x or Impala 1.x, import Server Name, Port Number, user name, password. Then click OK.

1. Click the new created data source, click the triangle icon in front of table(which contains a column with data type “varchar”) to see the column information or drag the table to the right panel. The error information dump out, as below:

 
 
CAUSE
This is a known issue with the Strategy ODBC Driver for Impala Wire Protocol, when doing a Data Import from a table containing columns of varchar datatype.
 
WORKAROUND
To workaround this issue the JDBC driver can be used to retrieve the table information. Steps to use the JDBC driver have been outlined below:
 

1. Download the Impala JDBC driver with version 2.5.22.1040 or higher and put the driver under the location “c:\driver”
2. On Strategy Web 10.0.0, click “Add External data”, then click “Hadoop”, then click any one of “Build a Query/Type a Query/Pick Tables”.
3. Click “Add new data source”, choose Database:Impala, Version: Impala 1.x, Impala 2.x and Choose ”Edit connection string”, and input the connection string given below:

JDBC;DRIVER={com.cloudera.impala.jdbc41.Driver};URL={jdbc:impala://hostname:port}; driver="com.cloudera.impala.jdbc41.Driver"; MSTR_JDBC_JAR_FOLDER=C:\driver; driverFile="ImpalaJDBC41.jar";

1. After this, it is possible to import data from tables which contain varchar columns successfully.

 
ACTION
Contact Strategy Technical Support for an update on the status of this issue.
 
The Strategy internal reference number for the issue discussed in this document is: DE13480