Query SQL Analysis Services Data in MySQL Workbench

MySQL Workbench allows users to administer MySQL environments and gain better visibility into databases. When paired with CData Connect (on-premise or Connect Server), you get live access to SQL Analysis Services data as if it were a MySQL database. This article shows how to create a virtual database for SQL Analysis Services in Connect and work with live SQL Analysis Services data in MySQL Workbench.

Create a Virtual MySQL Database for SQL Analysis Services Data

CData Connect uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources and generate APIs.

1. Login to Connect and click Connections.
2. Select "SQL Analysis Services" from Available Data Sources.
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SQL Analysis Services.

   To connect, provide authentication and set the Url property to a valid SQL Server Analysis Services endpoint. You can connect to SQL Server Analysis Services instances hosted over HTTP with XMLA access. See the Microsoft documentation to configure HTTP access to SQL Server Analysis Services.

   To secure connections and authenticate, set the corresponding connection properties, below. The data provider supports the major authentication schemes, including HTTP and Windows, as well as SSL/TLS.

   • HTTP Authentication

     Set AuthScheme to "Basic" or "Digest" and set User and Password. Specify other authentication values in CustomHeaders.

   • Windows (NTLM)

     Set the Windows User and Password and set AuthScheme to "NTLM".

   • Kerberos and Kerberos Delegation

     To authenticate with Kerberos, set AuthScheme to NEGOTIATE. To use Kerberos delegation, set AuthScheme to KERBEROSDELEGATION. If needed, provide the User, Password, and KerberosSPN. By default, the data provider attempts to communicate with the SPN at the specified Url.

   • SSL/TLS:

     By default, the data provider attempts to negotiate SSL/TLS by checking the server's certificate against the system's trusted certificate store. To specify another certificate, see the SSLServerCert property for the available formats.

   You can then access any cube as a relational table: When you connect the data provider retrieves SSAS metadata and dynamically updates the table schemas. Instead of retrieving metadata every connection, you can set the CacheLocation property to automatically cache to a simple file-based store.

   See the Getting Started section of the CData documentation, under Retrieving Analysis Services Data, to execute SQL-92 queries to the cubes.

4. Click Save Changes
5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions.

With the virtual database created, you are ready to connect to SQL Analysis Services from MySQL Workbench.

Query SQL Analysis Services from MySQL Workbench

The steps below outline connecting to the virtual SQL Analysis Services database in Connect from MySQL Workbench and issuing basic queries to work with live SQL Analysis Services data.

Connect to SQL Analysis Services through Connect

1. In MySQL Workbench, click to add a new MySQL connection.
2. Name the connection (CData Connect).
3. Set the Hostname, Port, and Username parameters to connect to the SQL Gateway.
4. Click Store in Vault to set and store the password.
5. Click Test Connection to ensure the connection is configured properly and click OK.

Query SQL Analysis Services Data

1. Open the connection you just created (CData Connect).
2. Click File -> New Query Tab.
3. Write a SQL query to retrieve SQL Analysis Services data, like SELECT * FROM ssasdb.Adventure_Works;

With access to live SQL Analysis Services data from MySQL Workbench, you can easily query and update SQL Analysis Services, just like you would a MySQL database. Request a demo of the CData Connect and start working with SQL Analysis Services just like a MySQL database today.