Integrate ServiceDesk Plus with External Services using SnapLogic

Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Use CData JDBC drivers in SnapLogic to integrate ServiceDesk Plus with External Services.

SnapLogic is an integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) that allows users to create data integration flows with no code. When paired with the CData JDBC Drivers, users get access to live data from more than 250+ SaaS, Big Data and NoSQL sources, including ServiceDesk Plus, in their SnapLogic workflows.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live ServiceDesk Plus data. When platforms issue complex SQL queries to ServiceDesk Plus, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to ServiceDesk Plus and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying lets you work with ServiceDesk Plus data using native data types.

Connect to ServiceDesk Plus in SnapLogic

To connect to ServiceDesk Plus data in SnapLogic, download and install the CData ServiceDesk Plus JDBC Driver. Follow the installation dialog. When the installation is complete, the JAR file can be found in the installation directory (C:/Program Files/CData/CData API Driver for JDBC/lib by default).

Upload the ServiceDesk Plus JDBC Driver

After installation, upload the JDBC JAR file to a location in SnapLogic (for example, projects/Jerod Johnson) from the Manager tab.

Configure the Connection

Once the JDBC Driver is uploaded, we can create the connection to ServiceDesk Plus.

  1. Navigate to the Designer tab
  2. Expand "JDBC" from Snaps and drag a "Generic JDBC - Select" snap onto the designer
  3. Click Add Account (or select an existing one) and click "Continue"
  4. In the next form, configure the JDBC connection properties:
    • Under JDBC JARs, add the JAR file we previously uploaded
    • Set JDBC Driver Class to cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver
    • Set JDBC URL to a JDBC connection string for the ServiceDesk Plus JDBC Driver, for example:

      jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\ServiceDeskPlus.apip;ProfileSettings="Portal=itdesk;Domain=.in;Scope=SDPOnDemand.requests.READ SDPOnDemand.problems.READ SDPOnDemand.assets.READ SDPOnDemand.projects.READ";AuthScheme=OAuth;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;RTK=XXXXXX;

      NOTE: RTK is a trial or full key. Contact our Support team for more information.

      Built-In Connection String Designer

      For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the ServiceDesk Plus JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

      java -jar cdata.jdbc.api.jar

      Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

      Using OAuth Authentication

      ServiceDeskPlus uses Zoho OAuth 2.0 for secure authentication. To set up OAuth access:

      1. Register your application in the Zoho Developer Console at https://api-console.zoho.com
      2. Configure your redirect URI to match your application setup
      3. Note your Client ID and Client Secret from the application settings

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

      • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
      • OAuthClientId: Set this to your Zoho application Client ID.
      • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to your Zoho application Client Secret.
      • Scope: Set this to the required ServiceDeskPlus permissions (default includes read access to requests, problems, assets, and projects).
      • Domain: Set this to your ServiceDeskPlus domain
      • Portal: Set this to your ServiceDeskPlus portal

      Example Connection String

      Profile=C:\profiles\ServiceDeskPlus.apip;ProfileSettings="Portal=itdesk;Domain=.in;Scope=SDPOnDemand.requests.READ SDPOnDemand.problems.READ SDPOnDemand.assets.READ SDPOnDemand.projects.READ";AuthScheme=OAuth;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;
      

  5. After entering the connection properties, click "Validate" and "Apply"

Read ServiceDesk Plus Data

In the form that opens after validating and applying the connection, configure your query.

  • Set Schema name to "API"
  • Set Table name to a table for ServiceDesk Plus using the schema name, for example: "API"."AnnouncementComments" (use the drop-down to see the full list of available tables)
  • Add Output fields for each item you wish to work with from the table

Save the Generic JDBC - Select snap.

With connection and query configured, click the end of the snap to preview the data (highlighted below).

Once you confirm the results are what you expect, you can add additional snaps to funnel your ServiceDesk Plus data to another endpoint.

Piping ServiceDesk Plus Data to External Services

For this article, we will load data in a Google Spreadsheet. You can use any of the supported snaps, or even use a Generic JDBC snap with another CData JDBC Driver, to move data into an external service.

  1. Start by dropping a "Worksheet Writer" snap onto the end of the "Generic JDBC - Select" snap.
  2. Add an account to connect to Google Sheets
  3. Configure the Worksheet Writer snap to write your ServiceDesk Plus data to a Google Spreadsheet

You can now execute the fully configured pipeline to extract data from ServiceDesk Plus and push it into a Google Spreadsheet.

More Information & Free Trial

Using the CData API Driver for JDBC you can create a pipeline in SnapLogic for integrating ServiceDesk Plus data with external services. For more information about connecting to ServiceDesk Plus, check at our CData API Driver for JDBC page. Download a free, 30 day trial of the CData API Driver for JDBC and get started today.

Ready to get started?

Connect to live data from ServiceDesk Plus with the API Driver

Connect to ServiceDesk Plus