Connect to SingleStore Data as a SQL Server Linked Server

SQL Server Linked Servers enable the SQL Server Database Engine to read data from remote data sources and execute commands against the remote database servers outside of the instance of SQL Server. Typically, linked servers are configured to enable the execution of a T-SQL statement that includes tables in another instance of SQL Server, or another database product such as Oracle. When paired with CData Connect AI, linked servers provides instant access to SingleStore data from your SQL Server database. This article demonstrates how to connect to SingleStore using Connect AI and query SingleStore data in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).

CData Connect AI provides a pure SQL Server interface for SingleStore, allowing you to query data from SingleStore 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 SingleStore, leveraging server-side processing to return the requested SingleStore data quickly.

Configure SingleStore Connectivity for SQL Server

Connectivity to SingleStore from SQL Linked Servers is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with SingleStore data from SQL Linked Servers, we start by creating and configuring a SingleStore connection.

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

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

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SingleStore.

   The following connection properties are required in order to connect to data.

   • Server: The host name or IP of the server hosting the SingleStore database.
   • Port: The port of the server hosting the SingleStore database.
   • Database (Optional): The default database to connect to when connecting to the SingleStore Server. If this is not set, tables from all databases will be returned.

   Connect Using Standard Authentication

   To authenticate using standard authentication, set the following:

   • User: The user which will be used to authenticate with the SingleStore server.
   • Password: The password which will be used to authenticate with the SingleStore server.

   Connect Using Integrated Security

   As an alternative to providing the standard username and password, you can set IntegratedSecurity to True to authenticate trusted users to the server via Windows Authentication.

   Connect Using SSL Authentication

   You can leverage SSL authentication to connect to SingleStore data via a secure session. Configure the following connection properties to connect to data:

   • SSLClientCert: Set this to the name of the certificate store for the client certificate. Used in the case of 2-way SSL, where truststore and keystore are kept on both the client and server machines.
   • SSLClientCertPassword: If a client certificate store is password-protected, set this value to the store's password.
   • SSLClientCertSubject: The subject of the TLS/SSL client certificate. Used to locate the certificate in the store.
   • SSLClientCertType: The certificate type of the client store.
   • SSLServerCert: The certificate to be accepted from the server.

   Connect Using SSH Authentication

   Using SSH, you can securely login to a remote machine. To access SingleStore data via SSH, configure the following connection properties:

   • SSHClientCert: Set this to the name of the certificate store for the client certificate.
   • SSHClientCertPassword: If a client certificate store is password-protected, set this value to the store's password.
   • SSHClientCertSubject: The subject of the TLS/SSL client certificate. Used to locate the certificate in the store.
   • SSHClientCertType: The certificate type of the client store.
   • SSHPassword: The password that you use to authenticate with the SSH server.
   • SSHPort: The port used for SSH operations.
   • SSHServer: The SSH authentication server you are trying to authenticate against.
   • SSHServerFingerPrint: The SSH Server fingerprint used for verification of the host you are connecting to.
   • SSHUser: Set this to the username that you use to authenticate with the SSH server.
   👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add SingleStore 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 SingleStore data from .

Connect to SingleStore from SQL Server using Connect AI

To establish a connection from SQL Server Linked Server to the CData Connect AI Virtual SQL Server API, follow these steps.

1. Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.
2. In the Object Explorer pane, open Server Objects, right-click Linked Servers, and select New Linked Server.
👁 Selecting new linked server

3. The New Linked Server dialogue opens. On the General page, enter the following information:
   • Enter a name for the server in the Linked server field.
   • Select the radio button Other data source and select SQL Server Native Client 11.0 as the provider.
   • In the Data source field, enter tds.cdata.com,14333
   • In the Catalog field, enter enter the Connection Name of the CData Connect AI data source you want to connect to (for example, SingleStore1).
   👁 Configuring the new linked server
   
4. Select the Security page. At the bottom, select the radio button labeled Be made using this security context and enter the following information:
   • Remote login - enter your CData Connect AI username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect AI interface. For example, [email protected].
   • With password - enter the PAT you generated on the Settings page.
   👁 Entering credentials
   
5. Click OK to create the server.
Your linked server can now be used to access the data in the data source you specified. If you need to access data from more sources, create another linked server for each one.

Execute Queries

You can now execute queries to the SingleStore linked server from any tool that can connect to SQL Server. An example SQL query would be:

		SELECT * FROM [CDATA CONNECT CLOUD].[SingleStore1].[SingleStore].[Orders]
	

👁 Querying live data in SQL Server Management Studio (Excel Online is shown)
We have successfully created a linked server that allows us to query SingleStore data.

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