Connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI Data from HeidiSQL

HeidiSQL is an open-source database administration tool that natively supports MariaDB, MySQL, SQL Server, and PostgreSQL. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, HediSQL reach extends to include access to live SAP BusinessObjects BI data. This article demonstrates how to connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI using Connect Cloud and query SAP BusinessObjects BI data in HeidiSQL.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure SQL Server interface for SAP BusinessObjects BI, allowing you to query data from SAP BusinessObjects BI 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 SAP BusinessObjects BI, leveraging server-side processing to return the requested SAP BusinessObjects BI data quickly.

Configure SAP BusinessObjects BI Connectivity for HeidiSQL

Connectivity to SAP BusinessObjects BI from HeidiSQL is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with SAP BusinessObjects BI data from HeidiSQL, we start by creating and configuring a SAP BusinessObjects BI connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection

2. Select "SAP BusinessObjects BI" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI.

   To connect to your SAP Business Objects BI instance, you must set the following connection properties:

   • Url: set this to the rest API URL. After logging into the Central Management Console, choose 'Applications' from the combo box. Double-click on 'RESTful Web Service' and you'll see the access URL. By default it is, http://{Server-Name}:6405/biprws.
   • User: set this to the username of your instance.
   • Password: set this to the password of your instance.
   
4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add SAP BusinessObjects BI Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your PAT a name and click Create.

4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

Connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI from HeidiSQL using Connect Cloud

To establish a connection from HeidiSQL to the CData Connect Cloud Virtual SQL Server API, follow these steps.

Create a new HeidiSQL Session

1. In the Session Manager, select New in the bottom-left
2. Give the new session a descriptive name, e.g. Connect-Cloud-SAP BusinessObjects BI

Configure a SQL Server Connection to Connect Cloud

1. In the session settings, set the Network type to Microsoft SQL Server (TCP/IP)
2. The Library DLL should automatically update to MSOLEDBSQL
3. Set the Hostname/IP to tds.cdata.com
4. Set the User to your CData Connect Cloud username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect Cloud interface. For example, [email protected]
5. Set the Password to your PAT created in Connect Cloud in the previous section.
6. Set the Port to 14333

Query SAP BusinessObjects BI from HeidiSQL

1. In the database listing on the left, find your connection to SAP BusinessObjects BI configured earlier.
2. Expand this connection to view individual tables or data objects present within SAP BusinessObjects BI.
3. Write custom SQL queries targeting these tables, treating the data source like any SQL Server database, or visually explore each tabular data set by selecting the relevant tables

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