Model Context Protocol (MCP) finally gives AI models a way to access the business data needed to make them really useful at work. CData MCP Servers have the depth and performance to make sure AI has access to all of the answers.
Try them now for free →
Connect to Dynamics CRM Data as a SQL Server Linked Server
Use CData Connect Cloud to create a linked server for live Dynamics CRM data.
SQL Server Linked Servers enable the SQL Server Database Engine to read data from remote data sources and execute commands against the remote database servers outside of the instance of SQL Server. Typically, linked servers are configured to enable the execution of a T-SQL statement that includes tables in another instance of SQL Server, or another database product such as Oracle. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, linked servers provides instant access to Dynamics CRM data from your SQL Server database. This article demonstrates how to connect to Dynamics CRM using Connect Cloud and query Dynamics CRM data in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).
CData Connect Cloud provides a pure SQL Server interface for Dynamics CRM, allowing you to query data from Dynamics CRM without replicating the data to a natively supported database. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to Dynamics CRM, leveraging server-side processing to return the requested Dynamics CRM data quickly.
About Dynamics CRM Data Integration
CData simplifies access and integration of live Microsoft Dynamics CRM data. Our customers leverage CData connectivity to:
- Read and write data in the Dynamics CRM 2011+ Services and Dynamics CRM Online.
- Extend the native features of Dynamics CRM with customizable caching and intelligent query aggregation and separation.
- Authenticate securely with Dynamics CRM in a variety of ways, including Azure Active Directory, Azure Managed Service Identity credentials, and Azure Service Principal using either a client secret or a certificate.
CData customers use our Dynamics CRM connectivity solutions for a variety of reasons, whether they're looking to replicate their data into a data warehouse (alongside other data sources) or analyze live Dynamics CRMa data from their preferred data tools inside the Microsoft ecosystem (Power BI, Excel, etc.) or with external tools (Tableau, Looker, etc.).
Getting Started
Configure Dynamics CRM Connectivity for SQL Server
Connectivity to Dynamics CRM from SQL Linked Servers is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Dynamics CRM data from SQL Linked Servers, we start by creating and configuring a Dynamics CRM connection.
- Log into Connect Cloud, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
- Select "Dynamics CRM" from the Add Connection panel
-
Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Dynamics CRM.
The connection string options meet the authentication and connection requirements of different Dynamics CRM instances. To connect to your instance, set the User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, to valid Dynamics CRM user credentials and set the Url to a valid Dynamics CRM server organization root. Additionally, set the CRMVersion property to 'CRM2011+' or 'CRMOnline'. IFD configurations are supported as well; set InternetFacingDeployment to true.
Additionally, you can provide the security token service (STS) or AD FS endpoint in the STSURL property. This value can be retrieved with the GetSTSUrl stored procedure. Office 365 users can connect to the default STS URL by simply setting CRMVersion.
- Click Create & Test
-
Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Dynamics CRM Connection page and update the User-based permissions.
Add a Personal Access Token
When connecting to Connect Cloud through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect Cloud. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.
- Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect Cloud app to open the settings page.
- On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
-
Give the PAT a name and click Create.
- The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.
With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Dynamics CRM data from .
Connect to Dynamics CRM from SQL Server using Connect Cloud
To establish a connection from SQL Server Linked Server to the CData Connect Cloud Virtual SQL Server API, follow these steps.
- Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.
- In the Object Explorer pane, open Server Objects, right-click Linked Servers, and select New Linked Server.
-
The New Linked Server dialogue opens. On the General page, enter the following information:
- Enter a name for the server in the Linked server field.
- Select the radio button Other data source and select SQL Server Native Client 11.0 as the provider.
- In the Data source field, enter tds.cdata.com,14333
- In the Catalog field, enter enter the Connection Name of the CData Connect Cloud data source you want to connect to (for example, DynamicsCRM1).
-
Select the Security page. At the bottom, select the radio button labeled Be made using this security
context and enter the following information:
- Remote login - enter your CData Connect Cloud username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect Cloud interface. For example, [email protected].
- With password - enter the PAT you generated on the Settings page.
- Click OK to create the server. Your linked server can now be used to access the data in the data source you specified. If you need to access data from more sources, create another linked server for each one.
Execute Queries
You can now execute queries to the Dynamics CRM linked server from any tool that can connect to SQL Server. An example SQL query would be:
SELECT * FROM [CDATA CONNECT CLOUD].[DynamicsCRM1].[DynamicsCRM].[Account]
We have successfully created a linked server that allows us to query Dynamics CRM data.
Get CData Connect Cloud
To get live data access to 100+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your SQL Server database, try CData Connect Cloud today!
