Design and Manage Apache Drill Databases Visually with DbSchema

DbSchema lets you design, manage, and document Apache Drill databases. Create ER diagrams, define tables and columns, and generate SQL scripts - with or without a live database connection.

Use Git to share the design, compare it with the Apache Drill database, and deploy changes. DbSchema also includes a data editor, query builder, and HTML5 documentation - everything you need in one tool.

DbSchema Database Designer

Download DbSchema Download Apache Drill JDBC Driver

Exploring Heterogeneous Data Sources with Apache Drill and DbSchema

Apache Drill provides schema-free SQL over a wide range of data sources — Hadoop HDFS, HBase, Amazon S3, MongoDB, and local file systems — without requiring pre-defined schema definitions. This flexibility makes Drill powerful for ad-hoc analytics, but also makes it challenging to maintain a clear picture of what data is available and how sources relate to each other. DbSchema connects via the Drill JDBC driver, discovers available storage plugins and their schemas, and provides a SQL client for running Drill queries across your data infrastructure.

Visual Query Builder for Drill Data Sources

DbSchema's query builder helps you construct queries against Apache Drill tables and file-based sources using a graphical interface, reducing the need to write raw Drill SQL for every exploratory query. This is practical for data engineers who are familiar with Drill's storage plugin model but prefer a visual tool for initial data exploration.

Building queries against Apache Drill data sources using DbSchema's query builder

Interactive Data Explorer for Drill Results

DbSchema's data explorer lets you browse result sets from Drill queries interactively, paginate through data, and apply filters without modifying the underlying query. This is useful for data engineers exploring file-based or HBase data sources through Drill without writing complex filter predicates by hand.

Browsing Apache Drill query results in DbSchema's data explorer

SQL Editor for Drill Queries Across Multiple Sources

The DbSchema SQL editor connects directly to Apache Drill and supports Drill's SQL dialect, including cross-source joins, file system queries, and Drill-specific functions. Write and run queries against HDFS files, HBase tables, and MongoDB collections from a single desktop interface without managing separate client tools for each source.

Running Apache Drill SQL queries across multiple data sources in DbSchema

Connecting DbSchema to Apache Drill

Apache Drill's default JDBC port is 31010. The JDBC URL for a direct Drillbit connection is: jdbc:drill:drillbit=host:31010. For Drill deployed on YARN with ZooKeeper coordination, use: jdbc:drill:zk=host:2181/drill/cluster. Download the Drill JDBC driver from the Apache Drill download page and add it via DbSchema's driver manager under Connections > Manage Drivers.

Why DbSchema for Apache Drill

  • Discover and browse available Drill storage plugins and their schema objects visually
  • Run Drill SQL queries across HDFS, HBase, S3, and MongoDB from a desktop client
  • Explore query results interactively with filtering and pagination
  • Document the Drill data model for analytics and data engineering teams
  • Use the query builder to construct Drill queries without writing raw SQL