How to connect PolyBase to Reckon

PolyBase for SQL Server allows you to query external data by using the same Transact-SQL syntax used to query a database table. When paired with the CData ODBC Driver for Reckon, you get access to your Reckon data directly alongside your SQL Server data. This article describes creating an external data source and external tables to grant access to live Reckon data using T-SQL queries.

NOTE: PolyBase is only available on SQL Server 19 and above, and only for Standard SQL Server.

The CData ODBC drivers offer unmatched performance for interacting with live Reckon data using PolyBase due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from SQL Server to Reckon, the driver pushes down supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Reckon and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. And with PolyBase, you can also join SQL Server data with Reckon data, using a single query to pull data from distributed sources.

Connect to Reckon

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs. To create an external data source in SQL Server using PolyBase, configure a System DSN (CData Reckon Sys is created automatically).

When you are connecting to a local Reckon instance, you do not need to set any connection properties.

Requests to Reckon are made through the Remote Connector. The Remote Connector runs on the same machine as Reckon and accepts connections through a lightweight, embedded Web server. The server supports SSL/TLS, enabling users to connect securely from remote machines.

The first time you connect to your company file, you will need to authorize the Remote Connector with Reckon. See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide.

Click "Test Connection" to ensure that the DSN is connected to Reckon properly. Navigate to the Tables tab to review the table definitions for Reckon.

Create an External Data Source for Reckon Data

After configuring the connection, you need to create a master encryption key and a credential database for the external data source.

Creating a Master Encryption Key

Execute the following SQL command to create a new master key, 'ENCRYPTION,' to encrypt the credentials for the external data source.

CREATE MASTER KEY ENCRYPTION BY PASSWORD = 'password';

Creating a Credential Database

Execute the following SQL command to create credentials for the external data source connected to Reckon data.

NOTE: IDENTITY and SECRET correspond with the User and Password properties for Reckon.

CREATE DATABASE SCOPED CREDENTIAL reckon_creds
WITH IDENTITY = 'reckon_username', SECRET = 'reckon_password';

Create an External Data Source for Reckon

Execute a CREATE EXTERNAL DATA SOURCE SQL command to create an external data source for Reckon with PolyBase:

• Set the LOCATION parameter , using the DSN and credentials configured earlier.

For Reckon, set SERVERNAME to the URL or address for your server (e.g. 'localhost' or '127.0.0.1' for local servers; the remote URL for remote servers). Leave PORT empty. PUSHDOWN is set to ON by default, meaning the ODBC Driver can leverage server-side processing for complex queries.

CREATE EXTERNAL DATA SOURCE cdata_reckon_source
WITH ( 
  LOCATION = 'odbc://SERVER_URL',
  CONNECTION_OPTIONS = 'DSN=CData Reckon Sys',
  -- PUSHDOWN = ON | OFF,
  CREDENTIAL = reckon_creds
);

Create External Tables for Reckon

After creating the external data source, use CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE statements to link to Reckon data from your SQL Server instance. The table column definitions must match those exposed by the CData ODBC Driver for Reckon. You can refer to the Tables tab of the DSN Configuration Wizard to see the table definition.

Sample CREATE TABLE Statement

The statement to create an external table based on a Reckon Customers would look similar to the following:

CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE Customers(
  Name [nvarchar](255) NULL,
  CustomerBalance [nvarchar](255) NULL,
  ...
) WITH ( 
  LOCATION='Customers',
  DATA_SOURCE=cdata_reckon_source
);

Having created external tables for Reckon in your SQL Server instance, you are now able to query local and remote data simultaneously. Thanks to built-in query processing in the CData ODBC Driver, you know that as much query processing as possible is being pushed to Reckon, freeing up local resources and computing power. Download a free, 30-day trial of the ODBC Driver for Reckon and start working with live Reckon data alongside your SQL Server data today.