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MS SQL Server Connection

Create a source

First, create a new data source.

  1. Navigate to Catalog > Sources.

  2. Select Create.

  3. Provide the following:

    • Name: The source name.

    • Description: A description of the source.

    • Deployment (Optional): Choose the deployment type.

      You can add new values if needed.
    • Stewardship: The source owner and roles. For more information, see Stewardship.

  4. Save your changes to proceed.

You do not always need to create a new data source. You can also add connections to existing sources.

Add a connection

  1. Select the Connections tab of your source.

  2. Select Add Connection.

  3. In Select connection type, choose Relational Database > MS SQL Server.

  4. Provide the following:

    • Name: A meaningful name for your connection. This is used to indicate the location of catalog items.

    • Description (Optional): A short description of the connection.

    • JDBC: A JDBC connection string pointing to the IP address or the URL where the data source can be reached.

      Example JDBC connection strings

      Username and password authentication

      jdbc:sqlserver://server_name:1433;database=database_name;encrypt=true;trustServerCertificate=false

      Entra ID authentication

      jdbc:sqlserver://server_name:1433;database=database_name;authentication=ActiveDirectoryServicePrincipal;encrypt=true;trustServerCertificate=false

      For Azure-hosted SQL Server, use the full domain: server_name.database.windows.net

Add credentials

  1. Select Add Credentials.

  2. Choose an authentication method and proceed with the corresponding step:

    • Username and password: Basic authentication using your username and a password.

    • Entra ID: Authentication using Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory).

Username and password

  1. Select Username and password.

  2. Provide the following:

    • Name (Optional): A name for this set of credentials.

    • Description (Optional): A description for this set of credentials.

    • Username: The username for the data source.

    • Password: The password for the data source.

  3. If you want to use this set of credentials by default when connecting to the data source, select Set as default.

    One set of credentials must be set as default for each connection. Otherwise, DQ evaluation fails and previewing data in the catalog is not possible.
  4. Proceed with Test the connection.

Entra ID

  1. Select Entra ID.

  2. Provide the following:

    • Name (Optional): A name for this set of credentials.

    • Description (Optional): A description for this set of credentials.

    • Client ID: The application (client) ID registered in the Microsoft Entra portal.

    • Client Secret: The secret value generated for the application in the Microsoft Entra portal.

    • Tenant ID: The directory (tenant) ID of your Microsoft Entra instance.

  3. If you want to use this set of credentials by default when connecting to the data source, select Set as default.

    One set of credentials must be set as default for each connection. Otherwise, DQ evaluation fails and previewing data in the catalog is not possible.
  4. Proceed with Test the connection.

Add write credentials

Write credentials are required if you want to export data to this source.

To configure these, in Write credentials, select Add Credentials and follow the corresponding step depending on the chosen authentication method (see Add credentials).

Make sure to set one set of write credentials as default. Otherwise, this connection isn’t shown when configuring data export.

Test the connection

To test and verify whether the data source connection has been correctly configured, select Test Connection.

If the connection is successful, continue with the following step. Otherwise, verify that your configuration is correct and that the data source is running.

Save and publish

Once you have configured your connection, save and publish your changes. If you provided all the required information, the connection is now available for other users in the application.

In case your configuration is missing required fields, you can view a list of detected errors instead. Review your configuration and resolve the issues before continuing.

Next steps

You can now browse and profile assets from your connection.

In Catalog > Sources, find and open the source you just configured. Switch to the Connections tab and select Import or run Term detection.

Or, to import or profile only some assets, select Browse on the Connections tab. Choose the assets you want to analyze and then the appropriate profiling option.

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