Qlik Sense On-Prem

Qlik Sense On-prem is a self-managed platform for data visualization and analytics that empowers users to create, share, and access interactive visualizations and reports within their organization's infrastructure. Dataedo can help Qlik Sense users enhance data understanding and promote better data governance and management practices.

Catalog and Documentation

Qlik analytics apps with their sheets are imported to Dataedo as reports. Users can browse visualizations and fields (dimensions and measures) used by particular app sheets. Application tables that were created from data files or uploaded from external sources in the Dataedo repository are visible as dataset tables. Dataedo also imports connections as linked sources.

Qlik Sense On-prem connector supports creating Data lineage to enable tracking data flows to visualizations created in the app's sheets. Column level lineage is created between apps tables and apps to find out which columns are the sources of data used by a given sheet. App tables are matched to table objects from external source defined by connection (if that source is documented in Dataedo repository).

Other features include:

• running Data Classification to find potentially sensitive data in Qlik Sense data fields.
• adding and changing descriptions in Dataedo Desktop and Dataedo Portal
• linking Business Glossary entries to any documented Qlik Sense object
• building lookups for columns and views and feeding them with distinct values from a column

Required permissions

Qlik user account used for import must possess access to objects to be documented. If the user has not created the app then he must have access to Stream to which given app is added. During import, Dataedo uses only methods that imports metadata from Qlik Sense APIs.

Connecting to Qlik Sense

Prerequisites

Currently Qlik Sense On-Prem connector supports three types of authentication that differ in terms of required connection parameters:

• Direct - Datedo connects directly to server where Qlik Sense Engine Service (QES) is running. User must previously export certificates from Qlik Management Console: Exporting certificates through the QMC, add them to Certificate store and know the QES listen port (default is 4747).
• NTLM - Connection is estabilished via proxy using user credentials: User directory, User id and User password.
• Existing session - If you already authenticated to Qlik's hub on the web browser you can use existing Session id to connect. It can be found by inspecting web browser cookies. You also need Session cookie header name that was set in Qlik's authentication proxy.

Connection

To connect to a Qlik Sense On-prem instance, click the Add button in the upper left corner and choose New connection.

From the sources, choose Qlik Sense On-prem.

Now data necessary to establish a connection between Dataedo and the Qlik Sense must be provided.

Firstly, connection type needs to be chosen from: Direct, NTML, Existing Session (They are described in prerequisites)

Independent of chosen connecion type, the following must be provided:

• Host (Proxy, QES) - Hostname of Qlik proxy or Qlik Engine Service used for authentication
• Post (Proxy, QES) - Port on which authentication proxy or Qlik engine listens
• Validate certificate - If checked, Dataedo is going to validate Qlik certificates
• Timeout - Duration of connection attempt. If set up to 0 no timeout will be applied.

Additional fields for specific connection types are described below :

NTLM

• User directory - Directory of Qlik user specified in QMC
• User id - Id of Qlik user specified in QMC
• User password - Password of the logging user

Direct

• QRS Host - Hostname of Qlik Repository service
• QRS Port - Port of Qlik Repository Service
• User directory - Directory of Qlik user specified in QMC
• User id - Id of Qlik user specified in QMC
• Certificates path - Path to certificates exported from QMC
• Certificates password - Password specified when exporting certificates

Existing Session

• Session cookie header - Name of session cookie
• Session id - Value of session cookie

After clicking Connect, Dataedo will start retrieving a list of available Streams. When it finishes, it will display a window that allows filtering objects by them. Users can also specify here if unpublished objects will be imported. Selecting the Use advanced filters radio button allows to define more complex filters.

Click Next to confirm which objects are to be imported. You will then see a window that allows you to change the default title of the documentation, under which it will be visible in the Dataedo repository.

Click Import to start the import process. Wait until the import process is complete.

Close the import window using Finish button. Qlik Sense objects has been imported to new documentation in the repository.

Connector specification

Imported metadata

Supported features

Data Lineage

Known issues and limitations

• When connection to some Qlik application fails it won't be imported and will be marked as deleted when importing changes. Reason of fail will be displayed at the end of the import.
  • Only Direct, NTLM and Existing session authentication types are now supported
  • Column level lineage is now avaliable only between apps and apps tables.
  • Currently Data files e.g. csv files that are stored inside Qlik are not imported
  • Sheets of applications can be imported only if they are made public
  • If some objects are missing, check if you have access to them from your Qlik Sense account
  • Some visualizations titles may not be imported
  • Limitations concerning data lineage are available here: https://dataedo.com/docs/qlik-sense-on-prem-data-lineage#toc_1