Back Up Outlook data to SQL Server through SSIS

Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Effortlessly backup data to SQL Server by utilizing the CData API Driver for ADO.NET. In this article, we will employ an SSIS workflow to populate a database with Outlook data data.

This article illustrates using the Outlook ADO.NET Data Provider within a SQL Server SSIS workflow for the direct transfer of Outlook data to a Microsoft SQL Server database. It's worth noting that the identical process detailed below is applicable to any CData ADO.NET Data Providers, enabling the direct connection of SQL Server with remote data through SSIS.

  1. Open Visual Studio and create a new Integration Services project.
  2. Add a new Data Flow task from the toolbox onto the Control Flow screen.
  3. In the Data Flow screen, add an ADO.NET Source and an OLE DB Destination from the toolbox.

  4. Add a new connection and select .NET Providers\CData ADO.NET Provider for Outlook.
  5. In the connection manager, enter the connection details for Outlook data.

    Using OAuth Authentication

    Microsoft Graph API uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication. You must register an application in the Microsoft Azure Portal to obtain OAuth credentials (Client ID and Client Secret).

    Obtaining OAuth Credentials

    1. Log in to the Azure Portal.
    2. Navigate to Azure Active Directory > App registrations.
    3. Click New registration to create a new application.
    4. Enter an application name and select the appropriate account types.
    5. Set the Redirect URI to your application's callback URL (e.g., http://localhost:33333 for desktop apps).
    6. Click Register to create the application.
    7. On the application overview page, copy the Application (client) ID - this is your OAuthClientId.
    8. Navigate to Certificates & secrets and create a new client secret.
    9. Copy the client secret value - this is your OAuthClientSecret.
    10. Navigate to API permissions and add the required Microsoft Graph API permissions:
      • Mail.Read - For accessing email messages
      • Contacts.Read - For accessing contacts
      • Calendars.Read - For accessing calendar events
      • Tasks.Read - For accessing To Do tasks
      • offline_access - For obtaining refresh tokens
    11. Click Grant admin consent to grant these permissions.

    Connecting with OAuth

    After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

    • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
    • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. The CData API Profile for Outlook will automatically walk through the OAuth process in order to obtain the access token.
    • OAuthClientId: Set this to the Application (client) ID from Azure Portal.
    • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the client secret value from Azure Portal.
    • TenantId: Set this to your Azure AD tenant identifier (GUID or domain name like 'contoso.onmicrosoft.com').
    • CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI you specified in your app registration (e.g., http://localhost:33333 for desktop apps).

    Example connection string

    Profile=C:\profiles\Outlook.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;TenantId=your_tenant_id;CallbackUrl=http://localhost:33333;
    
  6. Open the DataReader editor and set the following information:

    • ADO.NET connection manager: In the Connection Managers menu, select the Data Connection you just created.
    • Data access mode: Select 'SQL command'.
    • SQL command text: In the DataReader Source editor, open the Component Properties tab and enter a SELECT command, such as the one below:
      SELECT ,  FROM CalendarGroupCalendars WHERE CalendarGroupId = 'group_id'
  7. Close the DataReader editor and drag the arrow below the DataReader Source to connect it to the OLE DB Destination.
  8. Open the OLE DB Destination and enter the following information in the Destination Component Editor.

    • Connection manager: Add a new connection. Enter your server and database information here. In this example, SQLExpress is running on a separate machine.
    • Data access mode: Set your data access mode to "table or view" and select the table or view to populate in your database.
  9. Configure any properties you wish on the Mappings screen.

  10. Close the OLE DB Destination Editor and run the project. After the SSIS task has finished executing, your database will be populated with data obtained from Outlook data.

Ready to get started?

Connect to live data from Outlook with the API Driver

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