Search External SQL Analysis Services Objects in Salesforce Connect

CData Connect AI, enables you to access SQL Analysis Services data from cloud-based applications like the Salesforce console and mobile applications like the Salesforce Mobile App. In this article, you will use CData Connect AI and Salesforce Connect to access external SQL Analysis Services objects alongside standard Salesforce objects.

Connect to SQL Analysis Services from Salesforce

To work with live SQL Analysis Services data in Salesforce Connect, we need to connect to SQL Analysis Services from Connect AI, provide user access to the connection, and create a Workspace for the SQL Analysis Services data.

Connect to SQL Analysis Services from Connect AI

CData Connect AI uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "SQL Analysis Services" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SQL Analysis Services.

   To connect, provide authentication and set the Url property to a valid SQL Server Analysis Services endpoint. You can connect to SQL Server Analysis Services instances hosted over HTTP with XMLA access. See the Microsoft documentation to configure HTTP access to SQL Server Analysis Services.

   To secure connections and authenticate, set the corresponding connection properties, below. The data provider supports the major authentication schemes, including HTTP and Windows, as well as SSL/TLS.

   • HTTP Authentication

     Set AuthScheme to "Basic" or "Digest" and set User and Password. Specify other authentication values in CustomHeaders.

   • Windows (NTLM)

     Set the Windows User and Password and set AuthScheme to "NTLM".

   • Kerberos and Kerberos Delegation

     To authenticate with Kerberos, set AuthScheme to NEGOTIATE. To use Kerberos delegation, set AuthScheme to KERBEROSDELEGATION. If needed, provide the User, Password, and KerberosSPN. By default, the data provider attempts to communicate with the SPN at the specified Url.

   • SSL/TLS:

     By default, the data provider attempts to negotiate SSL/TLS by checking the server's certificate against the system's trusted certificate store. To specify another certificate, see the SSLServerCert property for the available formats.

   You can then access any cube as a relational table: When you connect the data provider retrieves SSAS metadata and dynamically updates the table schemas. Instead of retrieving metadata every connection, you can set the CacheLocation property to automatically cache to a simple file-based store.

   See the Getting Started section of the CData documentation, under Retrieving Analysis Services Data, to execute SQL-92 queries to the cubes.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add SQL Analysis Services Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the 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.

Configure SQL Analysis Services Endpoints for Salesforce Connect

After connecting to SQL Analysis Services, create a workspace for your desired table(s).

1. Navigate to the Workspaces page and click Add to create a new Workspace (or select an existing workspace).
2. Click Add to add new assets to the Workspace.
3. Select the SQL Analysis Services connection (e.g. SSAS1) and click Next.
4. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm.
5. Make note of the OData Service URL for your workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}

With the connection, PAT, and Workspace configured, you are ready to connect to SQL Analysis Services data from Salesforce Connect.

Connect to SQL Analysis Services Data as an External Data Sources

Follow the steps below to connect to the feed produced by Connect AI.

1. Log into Salesforce and click Setup -> Integrations -> External Data Sources.
2. Click Now External Data Sources.
3. Enter values for the following properties:
   • External Data Sources: Enter a label to be used in list views and reports.
   • Name: Enter a unique identifier.
   • Type: Select the option "Salesforce Connect: OData 4.0".
   • URL: Enter the URL to the OData endpoint of Connect AI: https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}
4. Select JSON in the Format menu.
5. In the Authentication section, set the following properties:
   • Identity Type: If all members of your organization will use the same credentials to access Connect AI, select "Named Principal". If the members of your organization will connect with their own credentials, select "Per User".
   • Authentication Protocol: Select Password Authentication to use basic authentication.
   • Certificate: Enter or browse to the certificate to be used to encrypt and authenticate communications from Salesforce to your server.
   • Username: Enter a CData Connect AI username (e.g. [email protected]).
   • Password: Enter the user's PAT.

Synchronize SQL Analysis Services Objects

After you have created the external data source, follow the steps below to create SQL Analysis Services external objects that reflect any changes in the data source. You will synchronize the definitions for the SQL Analysis Services external objects with the definitions for SQL Analysis Services tables.

1. Click the link for the external data source you created.
2. Click Validate and Scan.
3. Select the SQL Analysis Services tables you want to work with as external objects.

Access SQL Analysis Services Data as Salesforce Objects

After adding SQL Analysis Services data as an external data source and syncing SQL Analysis Services tables as external objects, you can use the external SQL Analysis Services objects just as you would standard Salesforce objects.

• Create a new tab with a filter list view:

  

• Create reports of external objects:

  

Simplified Access to SQL Analysis Services Data from Cloud Applications

At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live SQL Analysis Services data from Salesforce. For more information on gaining simplified access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources in cloud applications like Salesforce, refer to our Connect AI page.