How Splunk ODBC Driver fits into your Splunk Enterprise environment

ODBC is a mechanism that enables ODBC-compliant apps to access data sources such as database management systems and now—using the Splunk ODBC Driver—a Splunk Enterprise server.

The following diagram illustrates how Excel or Tableau accesses Splunk Enterprise through the Splunk ODBC Driver. Within Excel or Tableau, you configure the ODBC Driver Manager, which uses the Splunk ODBC Driver to access your Splunk Enterprise Server.

The main advantage of using the Splunk ODBC Driver to connect an app to Splunk Enterprise is the ability to use a familiar interface (such as Excel or Tableau) to perform actions that you might not be as comfortable doing with Splunk. For example, you don't have to use the Search Processing Language (SPL) to interact with a Splunk Enterprise server. You can instead use the Query Wizard in Excel or the interface in Tableau. The Splunk ODBC Driver then translates your actions in the app to SPL behind the scenes.