Use the CData JDBC Driver for SQL Server in MicroStrategy Desktop

MicroStrategy is an analytics and mobility platform that enables data-driven innovation. When you pair MicroStrategy with the CData JDBC Driver for SQL Server, you gain database-like access to live SQL Server data from MicroStrategy, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. In this article, we walk through adding SQL Server as a data source in MicroStrategy Desktop and creating a simple visualization of SQL Server data.

The CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live SQL Server data in MicroStrategy due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from MicroStrategy 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 (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can use native MicroStrategy data types to visualize and analyze SQL Server data.

Connect to and Visualize SQL Server Data using MicroStrategy Desktop

In addition to connecting to SQL Server in MicroStrategy enterprise products, you can connect to SQL Server in MicroStrategy Desktop. Follow the steps below to add SQL Server data as a dataset using JDBC and create visualizations and reports of SQL Server data.

1. Open MicroStrategy Desktop and create a new dossier.
2. In the datasets panel, click New Data, select Databases, and choose Select a Table as the Import Option.
3. Add a new data source and choose the DSN-less data sources option.
4. Choose Generic in the Database menu and Generic DBMS in the Version menu.
5. Click the link to show the connection string and opt to edit the connection string. In the Driver menu, select MicroStrategy Cassandra ODBC Driver. (MicroStrategy requires a certified driver to interface through JDBC; the actual driver will not be used.)
6. Set the connection string as follows and click OK:
   • Add the JDBC keyword to the connection string.
   • Set MSTR_JDBC_JAR_FOLDER to the path of the JAR file for the JDBC driver. (C:\Program Files\CData JDBC Driver for SQL Server\lib\ on Windows.)
   • Set DRIVER to cdata.jdbc.sql.SQLDriver, the driver class.
   • Set URL to the JDBC URL for the SQL Server driver, setting the necessary connection properties.

     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.

     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.

     When you configure the JDBC URL, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

   A typical connection string follows:

   JDBC;MSTR_JDBC_JAR_FOLDER=PATH\TO\JAR\;DRIVER=cdata.jdbc.sql.SQLDriver;URL={jdbc:sql:User=myUser;Password=myPassword;Database=NorthWind;Server=myServer;Port=1433;};
7. Right-click on the new data source, and choose Edit catalog options.
8. Edit the SQL Statement to SELECT * FROM SYS_SCHEMAS to read the metadata from the JDBC Driver.
9. Select the new data source to view the available tables. You may need to manually click the search icon in the Available Tables section to see the tables.
10. Drag tables into the pane to import them. Note: Since we create a live connection, we can import whole tables and utilize the filtering and aggregation features native to the MicroStrategy products.
11. Click Finish and choose the option to connect Live. Live connections are possible and effective, thanks to the high-performance data processing native to CData JDBC Drivers.
12. Choose a visualization, choose fields to display, and apply any filters to create a new visualization of SQL Server data. Data types are discovered automatically through dynamic metadata discovery. Where possible, the complex queries generated by the filters and aggregations will be pushed down to SQL Server, while any unsupported operations (which can include SQL functions and JOIN operations) will be managed client-side by the CData SQL engine embedded in the driver.
13. Once you are finished configuring the dossier, click File -> Save.

Using the CData JDBC Driver for SQL Server in MicroStrategy Desktop, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on SQL Server data. Read our other articles for connecting to SQL Server data in MicroStrategy Developer and connecting to SQL Server data in MicroStrategy Web for more examples.