Query Microsoft Exchange Data as a SQL Server Database in Node.js

You can use CData Connect AI to query Microsoft Exchange data through a SQL Server interface. Follow the procedure below to create a virtual database for Microsoft Exchange in Connect AI and start querying using Node.js.

CData Connect AI provides a pure MySQL, cloud-to-cloud interface for Microsoft Exchange, allowing you to easily query live Microsoft Exchange data in Node.js — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you query data in Node.js, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Microsoft Exchange, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Microsoft Exchange data.

Configure Microsoft Exchange Connectivity for NodeJS

Connectivity to Microsoft Exchange from NodeJS is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Microsoft Exchange data from NodeJS, we start by creating and configuring a Microsoft Exchange connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
👁 Adding a Connection

2. Select "Microsoft Exchange" from the Add Connection panel
👁 Selecting a data source

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Microsoft Exchange.

   Specify the User and Password to connect to Exchange. Additionally, specify the address of the Exchange server you are connecting to and the Platform associated with the server.

   👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Microsoft Exchange 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.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create. 👁 Creating a new PAT
   
4. 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 Microsoft Exchange data from Node.js.

Query Microsoft Exchange from Node.js

The following example shows how to define a connection and execute queries to Microsoft Exchange with the SQL Server module. You will need the following information:

• server: tds.cdata.com
• port: 14333
• user: a Connect AI user (e.g. [email protected])
• password: the PAT for the above user
• database: The connection you configured for Microsoft Exchange (Exchange1)

Connect to Microsoft Exchange data and start executing queries with the code below:

var sql = require('mssql')
var config = {
	server: 'tds.cdata.com',
	port: 14333, 
	user: '[email protected]', //update me
	password: 'CONNECT_USER_PAT', //update me	
	options: {
		encrypt: true,
		database: 'Exchange1'
	}
}

sql.connect(config, err => { 
 if(err){
 throw err ;
 }
 new sql.Request().query('SELECT * FROM Contacts', (err, result) => {
 console.dir(result)
 })
 
});

sql.on('error', err => {
 console.log("SQL Error: " ,err);
})