Azure Active Directory ADO.NET Provider
 
ADO.NET
Azure Active Directory Logo

Azure Active Directory ADO.NET Provider

SQL-based Access to Azure Active Directory through ADO.NET for your custom .NET applications and SSAS.

download buy now

Other Microsoft Azure Technologies

Other Microsoft Azure Drivers

The Azure Active Directory ADO.NET Data Provider enables user to easily connect to Azure Active Directory data from .NET applications. Rapidly create and deploy powerful .NET applications that integrate with Azure Active Directory.

ADO architecture

Azure Active Directory .NET Connectivity Features

  • Fully compatible with all hosted versions of Azure Active Directory
  • Powerful metadata querying enables SQL-like access to non-database sources
  • Push down query optimization pushes SQL operations down to the server whenever possible, increasing performance
  • Client-side query execution engine, supports SQL-92 operations that are not available server-side
  • Connect to live Azure Active Directory data, for real-time data access with the Azure Active Directory JDBC Driver
  • Full support for data aggregation and complex JOINs in SQL queries
  • Secure connectivity through modern cryptography, including TLS 1.2, SHA-256, ECC, etc.
  • Seamless integration with leading BI, reporting, and ETL tools and with custom applications via the Azure Active Directory Connector.

Target Service, API

The driver connects to Microsoft Graph API for Azure AD. Identity management access.

Schema, Data Model

Models Azure AD objects as relational tables. Full directory structure exposed.

Key Objects

Users, Groups, Applications, Service Principals, and Devices. Complete Azure AD access.

Operations

Full CRUD operations on directory objects. Complex queries with filters. Role assignments.

Authentication

OAuth 2.0 with Azure AD. Application or delegated permissions. Admin consent required.

Start a 30-day Free Trial Today

Azure Active Directory ADO.NET Download

See what you can do with Azure Active Directory ADO.NET provider

SSAS Cube
SSAS Cube

Use Azure Active Directory from SQL Server Analysis Service (SSAS) multi-dimensional cubes. Keep your analytical data modeling and access to any source including cloud and on-premises.

Custom .NET Application
Custom .NET Application

The Azure Active Directory ADO.NET Provider allows developers to build applications that connect to Azure Active Directory using familiar SQL and Entity Framework. Integrate Azure Active Directory to your mission -critical applications or create easy side-by-side applications.

Reporting & BI
Low-Code Dev Platforms

You can connect from ADO.NET compliant low-code development tools:

Reporting & BI
Reporting Tools

You can connect Azure Active Directory from .NET-based reporting and analytics tools:

Standard ADO.NET Access to AzureActiveDirectory

The Azure Active Directory ADO.NET Provider offers the most natural way to access Azure Active Directory data from any .NET application. Simply use Azure Active Directory Data Provider objects to connect and access data just as you would access any traditional database. You will be able to use the Azure Active Directory Data Provider through Visual Studio Server Explorer, in code through familiar classes, and in data controls like DataGridView, GridView, DataSet, etc.

The CData ADO.NET Provider for Azure Active Directory hides the complexity of accessing data and provides additional powerful security features, smart caching, batching, socket management, and more.

Working with DataAdapters, DataSets, DataTables, etc.

The Azure Active Directory Data Provider has the same ADO.NET architecture as the native .NET data providers for SQL Server and OLEDB, including: AzureActiveDirectoryConnection, AzureActiveDirectoryCommand, AzureActiveDirectoryDataAdapter, AzureActiveDirectoryDataReader, AzureActiveDirectoryDataSource, AzureActiveDirectoryParameter, etc. Because of this you can now access Azure Active Directory data in an easy, familiar way.

For example:

using (AzureActiveDirectoryConnection conn = new AzureActiveDirectoryConnection("...")) {
	string select = "SELECT * FROM Devices";
	AzureActiveDirectoryCommand cmd = new AzureActiveDirectoryCommand(select, conn);
	AzureActiveDirectoryDataAdapter adapter = new AzureActiveDirectoryDataAdapter(cmd);
	using (adapter) {
		DataTable table = new DataTable();
		adapter.Fill(table);		
		...
	}
}

More Than Read-Only: Full Update/CRUD Support

Azure Active Directory Data Provider goes beyond read-only functionality to deliver full support for Create, Read, Update, and Delete operations (CRUD). Your end-users can interact with the data presented by the Azure Active Directory Data Provider as easily as interacting with a database table. 

using (AzureActiveDirectoryConnection connection = new AzureActiveDirectoryConnection(connectionString)) {
	AzureActiveDirectoryDataAdapter dataAdapter = new AzureActiveDirectoryDataAdapter(
	"SELECT Id, Where FROM Devices", connection);
  
	dataAdapter.UpdateCommand = new AzureActiveDirectoryCommand(
		"UPDATE Devices SET Where = @Where " +
		"WHERE Id = @ID", connection);

	dataAdapter.UpdateCommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@Where", "Where");
	dataAdapter.UpdateCommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@Id", "80000173-1387137645");

	DataTable DevicesTable = new DataTable();
	dataAdapter.Fill(DevicesTable);

	DataRow firstrow = DevicesTable.Rows[0];
	firstrow["Where"] = "New Location";

	dataAdapter.Update(DevicesTable);
}

ADO.NET Provider Performance

With traditional approaches to remote access, performance bottlenecks can spell disaster for applications. Regardless if an application is created for internal use, a commercial project, web, or mobile application, slow performance can rapidly lead to project failure. Accessing data from any remote source has the potential to create these problems. Common issues include:

  1. Network Connections - Slow network connections and latency issues are common in mobile applications.
  2. Service Delays - Delays due to service interruptions, resulting in server hardware or software updates.
  3. Large Data - Intentional or unintentional requests for large amounts of data.
  4. Disconnects - Complete loss of network connectivity.

The CData ADO.NET Provider for Azure Active Directory solves these issues by supporting powerful smart caching technology that can greatly improve the performance and dramatically reduce application bottlenecks.

Smart Caching

Smart caching is a configurable option that works by storing queried data into a local database. Enabling smart caching creates a persistent local cache database that contains a replica of data retrieved from the remote source. The cache database is small, lightweight, blazing-fast, and it can be shared by multiple connections as persistent storage.

Caching with our ADO.NET Providers is highly configurable, including options for:

  • Auto Cache - Maintain an automatic local cache of data on all requests. The provider will automatically load data into the cache database each time you execute a SELECT query. Each row returned by the query will be inserted or updated as necessary into the corresponding table in the cache database.
  • Explicit Cache - Cache only on demand. Developers decide exactly what data gets stored in the cache and when it is updated. Explicit caching provides full control over the cache contents by using explicit execution of CACHE statements.
  • No Cache - All requests access only live data and no local cache file is created.

This powerful caching functionality increases application performance and allows applications to disconnect and continue limited functioning without writing code for additional local storage and/or data serialization/deserialization.

More information about ADO.NET Provider caching and best caching practices is available in the included help files.

Visual Studio Integration & Server Explorer

Working with the new Azure Active Directory ADO.NET Provider is easy. As a fully-managed .NET Data Provider, the Azure Active Directory Data Provider integrates seamlessly with the Visual Studio development environment as well as any .NET application.

As an ADO.NET Data Provider, Azure Active Directory ADO.NET Provider can be used to access and explore Azure Active Directory data directly from the Visual Studio Server Explorer.

It's easy. As a standard ADO.NET adapter, developers can connect the Server Explorer to Azure Active Directory ADO.NET Provider just like connecting to any standard database.

  • Add a new Data Connection from the Server Explorer and select the Azure Active Directory Data Source
  • Configure the basic connection properties to access your Azure Active Directory account data.

Explore all of the data available! Azure Active Directory ADO.NET Provider makes it easy to access live Azure Active Directory data from Visual Studio.

  • After configuring the connection, explore the feeds, views, and services provided by the Azure Active Directory Data Source.
  • These constructs return live Azure Active Directory data that developers can work with directly from within Visual Studio!

Developer Integration: Databind to Azure Active Directory

Connecting Web, Desktop, and Mobile .NET applications with Azure Active Directory is just like working with SQL Server. It is even possible to integrate Azure Active Directory ADO.NET Provider into applications without writing code.

Developers are free to access the Azure Active Directory ADO.NET Provider in whatever way they like best. Either visually through the Visual Studio Winforms or Webforms designers, or directly through code.

  • Developers can connect the Azure Active Directory Data Source directly to form components by configuring the object's smart tags.
  • Add a new Data Connection from the Server Explorer and select the Azure Active Directory Data Source. Then, select the feed, view, or services you would like to connect the object to.

Done! It's just like connecting to SQL Server.

  • Once the object is bound to the data source, applications can easily interact with Azure Active Directory data with full read/write (CRUD) support.

Popular ADO Videos:

Connecting to Live Data from ADO Apps

Download the Azure Active Directory ADO.NET driver today!

download
buy now