How to connect PolyBase to SAP

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 SAP ERP, you get access to your SAP data directly alongside your SQL Server data. This article describes creating an external data source and external tables to grant access to live SAP 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 SAP data using PolyBase due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from SQL Server to SAP, the driver pushes down supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to SAP 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 SAP data, using a single query to pull data from distributed sources.

Connect to SAP

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 SAP Sys is created automatically).

You can connect to SAP systems using either librfc32.dll, librfc32u.dll, NetWeaver, or Web Services (SOAP). Set the ConnectionType connection property to CLASSIC (librfc32.dll), CLASSIC_UNICODE (librfc32u.dll), NETWEAVER, or SOAP.

If you are using the SOAP interface, set the Client, RFCUrl, SystemNumber, User, and Password properties, under the Authentication section.

Otherwise, set Host, User, Password, Client, and SystemNumber.

Note: We do not distribute the librfc32.dll or other SAP assemblies. You must find them from your SAP installation and install them on your machine.

For more information, see this guide on obtaining the connection properties needed to connect to any SAP system.

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

Create an External Data Source for SAP 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 SAP data.

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

CREATE DATABASE SCOPED CREDENTIAL saperp_creds
WITH IDENTITY = 'saperp_username', SECRET = 'saperp_password';

Create an External Data Source for SAP

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

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

For SAP, 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_saperp_source
WITH ( 
  LOCATION = 'odbc://SERVER_URL',
  CONNECTION_OPTIONS = 'DSN=CData SAP Sys',
  -- PUSHDOWN = ON | OFF,
  CREDENTIAL = saperp_creds
);

Create External Tables for SAP

After creating the external data source, use CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE statements to link to SAP data from your SQL Server instance. The table column definitions must match those exposed by the CData ODBC Driver for SAP ERP. 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 SAP MARA would look similar to the following:

CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE MARA(
  MANDT [nvarchar](255) NULL,
  MBRSH [nvarchar](255) NULL,
  ...
) WITH ( 
  LOCATION='MARA',
  DATA_SOURCE=cdata_saperp_source
);

Having created external tables for SAP 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 SAP, freeing up local resources and computing power. Download a free, 30-day trial of the ODBC Driver for SAP and start working with live SAP data alongside your SQL Server data today.