Redash is a collaboration tool that lets you query, visualize, and share your data. When paired with
CData Connect AI, Redash gets access to live Azure Synapse data. This article demonstrates how to connect to Azure Synapse
using Connect AI and work with live Azure Synapse data in Redash.
CData Connect AI provides a pure SQL Server interface for Azure Synapse, allowing you to query data from
Azure Synapse without replicating the data to a natively supported database.
Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations
(filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to Azure Synapse, leveraging server-side processing to return the
requested Azure Synapse data quickly.
Configure Azure Synapse Connectivity for Redash
Connectivity to Azure Synapse from Redash is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Azure Synapse data in Redash, we start by creating and configuring a Azure Synapse connection.
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Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
👁 Adding a Connection
- Select "Azure Synapse" from the Add Connection panel
👁 Selecting a data source
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Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Azure Synapse.
Connecting to Azure Synapse
In addition to providing authentication (see below), set the following properties to connect to a Azure Synapse database:
- Server: The server running Azure. You can find this by logging into the Azure portal and navigating to Azure Synapse Analytics -> Select your database -> Overview -> Server name.
- Database: The name of the database, as seen in the Azure portal on the Azure Synapse Analytics page.
Authenticating to Azure Synapse
Connect to Azure Synapse using the following properties:
- User: The username provided for authentication with Azure.
- Password: The password associated with the authenticating user.
👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
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Click Save & Test
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Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Azure Synapse Connection page and update the User-based permissions.
👁 Updating permissions
Add a Personal Access Token
When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.
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Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
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On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
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Give the PAT a name and click Create.
👁 Creating a new PAT
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The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.
With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Azure Synapse data from Redash.
Connect to Azure Synapse from Redash using Connect AI
To establish a connection from Redash to CData Connect AI using the Virtual SQL Server, follow these steps:
- Log into Redash.
- Click the settings widget on the top right.
- Click New Data Source.
- Select Microsoft SQL Server as the Data Source Type.
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On the configuration tab, set the following properties:
- Database Name: enter the Connection Name of the CData Connect AI data source you want to connect to (for example, Salesforce1).
- Server: enter the virtual SQL Server host name (tds.cdata.com)
- User: enter your CData Connect AI username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect AI interface. For example, [email protected].
- Password: enter the PAT you generated on the Settings page.
- Port: enter 14333
👁 Configuring the connection to Connect AI from Redash.
- Click Create.
- Click Test Connection to ensure that the connection is configured properly.
You can now work with live Azure Synapse data in Redash.
Get CData Connect AI
To get live data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from Redash,
try CData Connect AI today!
