Load SQL Server Data to a Database Using Embulk

Embulk is an open source bulk data loader. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for SQL Server, Embulk easily loads data from SQL Server to any supported destination. In this article, we explain how to use the CData JDBC Driver for SQL Server in Embulk to load SQL Server data to a MySQL dtabase.

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).

Configure a JDBC Connection to SQL Server Data

Before creating a bulk load job in Embulk, note the installation location for the JAR file for the JDBC Driver (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for SQL Server\lib).

Embulk supports JDBC connectivity, so you can easily connect to SQL Server and execute SQL queries. Before creating a bulk load job, create a JDBC URL for authenticating with SQL Server.

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

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.

👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for SQL Server:

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

Load SQL Server Data in Embulk

After installing the CData JDBC Driver and creating a JDBC connection string, install the required Embulk plugins.

Install Embulk Input & Output Plugins

1. Install the JDBC Input Plugin in Embulk.
   https://github.com/embulk/embulk-input-jdbc/tree/master/embulk-input-jdbc

embulk gem install embulk-input-jdbc

2. In this article, we use MySQL as the destination database. You can also choose SQL Server, PostgreSQL, or Google BigQuery as the destination using the output Plugins.
   https://github.com/embulk/embulk-output-jdbc/tree/master/embulk-output-mysql

   embulk gem install embulk-output-mysql
   

With the input and output plugins installed, we are ready to load SQL Server data into MySQL using Embulk.

Create a Job to Load SQL Server Data

Start by creating a config file in Embulk, using a name like sql-mysql.yml.

1. For the input plugin options, use the CData JDBC Driver for SQL Server, including the path to the driver JAR file, the driver class (e.g. cdata.jdbc.sql.SQLDriver), and the JDBC URL from above
2. For the output plugin options, use the values and credentials for the MySQL database

Sample Config File (sql-mysql.yml)

in:
	type: jdbc
	driver_path: C:\Program Files\CData[product_name] 20xx\lib\cdata.jdbc.sql.jar
	driver_class: cdata.jdbc.sql.SQLDriver
	url: jdbc:sql:User=myUser;Password=myPassword;Database=NorthWind;Server=myServer;Port=1433;
	table: "Orders"
out: 
	type: mysql
	host: localhost
	database: DatabaseName
	user: UserId
	password: UserPassword
	table: "Orders"
	mode: insert

After creating the file, run the Embulk job.

embulk run sql-mysql.yml

After running the the Embulk job, find the Salesforce data in the MySQL table.

Load Filtered SQL Server Data

In addition to loading data directly from a table, you can use a custom SQL query to have more granular control of the data loaded. You can also perform increment loads by setting a last updated column in a SQL WHERE clause in the query field.

in:
	type: jdbc
	driver_path: C:\Program Files\CData[product_name] 20xx\lib\cdata.jdbc.sql.jar
	driver_class: cdata.jdbc.sql.SQLDriver
	url: jdbc:sql:User=myUser;Password=myPassword;Database=NorthWind;Server=myServer;Port=1433;
	query: "SELECT ShipName, Freight FROM Orders WHERE [RecordId] = 1"
out: 
	type: mysql
	host: localhost
	database: DatabaseName
	user: UserId
	password: UserPassword
	table: "Orders"
	mode: insert

More Information & Free Trial

By using CData JDBC Driver for SQL Server as a connector, Embulk can integrate SQL Server data into your data load jobs. And with drivers for more than 200+ other enterprise sources, you can integrate any enterprise SaaS, big data, or NoSQL source as well. Download a 30-day free trial and get started today.