Connect to SQL Server Data in the Denodo Platform

Denodo Platform is a data virtualization product providing a single point of contact for enterprise database data. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for SQL Server, Denodo users can work with live SQL Server data alongside other enterprise data sources. This article explains how to create a virtual data source for SQL Server in the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live SQL Server data. When you issue complex SQL queries to SQL Server, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to SQL Server and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying allows you to work with and analyze SQL Server data using native data types.

Create the SQL Server Virtual Port

To connect to live SQL Server data from Denodo, you need to copy the JDBC Driver JAR file to the external library directory for Denodo and create a new JDBC Data Source from the Virtual DataPort Administrator tool.

1. Download the CData JDBC Driver for SQL Server installer, unzip the package, and run the JAR file to install the driver.
2. Copy the JAR File (and license file if it exists) from the installation location (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for SQL Server\lib\) to the Denodo external library directory (C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-sql-19).
3. Open the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator tool and navigate to the Server Explorer tab.
4. Right-click "admin" and select New -> Data source -> JDBC. 👁 Creating a new JDBC data source.
   
5. Configure the JDBC Connection:
   • Name: your choice, e.g.: sql
   • Database adapter: Generic
   • Driver class path: C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-sql-19
   • Driver class: cdata.jdbc.sql.SQLDriver

   • Database URI: Set this to a JDBC URL using the necessary connection properties. For example,

     jdbc:sql:User=myUser;Password=myPassword;Database=NorthWind;Server=myServer;Port=1433;

     👁 Configuring the JDBC connection (NetSuite is shown).
     

     Information on creating the Database URI follows:

     Built-In Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the SQL Server JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     	java -jar cdata.jdbc.sql.jar
     	

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

     Connecting to Microsoft SQL Server

     Connect to Microsoft SQL Server using the following properties:

     • Server: The name of the server running SQL Server.
     • User: The username provided for authentication with SQL Server.
     • Password: The password associated with the authenticating user.
     • Database: The name of the SQL Server database.

     Connecting to Azure SQL Server and Azure Data Warehouse

     You can authenticate to Azure SQL Server or Azure Data Warehouse by setting the following connection properties:

     • Server: The server running Azure. You can find this by logging into the Azure portal and navigating to "SQL databases" (or "SQL data warehouses") -> "Select your database" -> "Overview" -> "Server name."
     • User: The name of the user authenticating to Azure.
     • Password: The password associated with the authenticating user.
     • Database: The name of the database, as seen in the Azure portal on the SQL databases (or SQL warehouses) page.

     SSH Connectivity for SQL Server

     You can use SSH (Secure Shell) to authenticate with SQL Server, whether the instance is hosted on-premises or in supported cloud environments. SSH authentication ensures that access is encrypted (as compared to direct network connections).

     SSH Connections to SQL Server in Password Auth Mode

     To connect to SQL Server via SSH in Password Auth mode, set the following connection properties:

     • User: SQL Server User name
     • Password: SQL Server Password
     • Database: SQL Server database name
     • Server: SQL Server Server name
     • Port: SQL Server port number like 3306
     • UserSSH: "true"
     • SSHAuthMode: "Password"
     • SSHPort: SSH Port number
     • SSHServer: SSH Server name
     • SSHUser: SSH User name
     • SSHPassword: SSH Password

     SSH Connections to SQL Server in Public Key Auth Mode

     To connect to SQL Server via SSH in Password Auth mode, set the following connection properties:

     • User: SQL Server User name
     • Password: SQL Server Password
     • Database: SQL Server database name
     • Server: SQL Server Server name
     • Port: SQL Server port number like 3306
     • UserSSH: "true"
     • SSHAuthMode: "Public_Key"
     • SSHPort: SSH Port number
     • SSHServer: SSH Server name
     • SSHUser: SSH User name
     • SSHClientCret: the path for the public key certificate file
     👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
     
6. Click the "Test connection" button to confirm the configuration and click Save.

View SQL Server Data in the VirtualPort Administrator Tool

After creating the data source, you can create a base view of SQL Server data for use in the Denodo Platform.

1. Click the "Create base view" button in the newly created VirtualPort (admin.SQL).
2. Expand the object tree and select the objects (tables) you wish to import. 👁 Selecting objects to import (NetSuite is shown).
   
3. Click the "Create selected" button to create views of the SQL Server data.
   Optional: Click "Create associations from foreign keys" to define relationships between the objects.
4. With the view(s) created, navigate to a table (cdata_sql_orders) in the Server Explorer and double-click the selected table.
5. In the new tab, click "Execution panel" to open a query panel.
6. Customize the query in the "Execute" tab or use the default:

   SELECT * FROM cdata_sql_orders CONTEXT ('i18n'='us_est', 'cache_wait_for_load'='true')
   

   👁 Configuring the query to view the data.
   
7. Click Execute to view the data. 👁 Viewing the data.
   

With the base view created, you can now work with live SQL Server data like you would any other data source in Denodo Platform, for example, querying SQL Server in the Denodo Data Catalog.

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for SQL Server and start working with your live SQL Server data in Denodo Platform. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.