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Microsoft Azure SQL Database (via JDBC) - Import

Availability-note AWS

Bridge Requirements

This bridge:
  • requires Internet access to https://repo.maven.apache.org/maven2/ and/or other tool sites to download drivers into <TDC_HOME>/data/download/MIMB/.

Bridge Specifications

Vendor Microsoft
Tool Name Azure SQL Database
Tool Version 12.x or newer
Tool Web Site http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/sql-database/
Supported Methodology [Relational Database] Multi-Model, Data Store (Physical Data Model, Stored Procedure Expression Parsing) via JDBC API
Data Profiling
Incremental Harvesting
Multi-Model Harvesting
Remote Repository Browsing for Model Selection

SPECIFICATIONS
Tool: Microsoft / Azure SQL Database version 12.x or newer via JDBC API
See http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/sql-database/
Metadata: [Relational Database] Multi-Model, Data Store (Physical Data Model, Stored Procedure Expression Parsing)
Component: JdbcMicrosoftAzureSqlDatabase version 11.2.0

DISCLAIMER
This import bridge requires internet access to download third-party libraries:
- such as https://repo.maven.apache.org/maven2/ to download open source third-party libraries,
- and more sites for other third-party software such as database specific JDBC drivers.

The downloaded third-party libraries are stored into $HOME/data/download/MIMB/
- If HTTPS fails, the import bridge then tries with HTTP.
- If a proxy is used to access internet, you must configure that proxy in the JRE (see the -j option in the Miscellaneous parameter).
- If the import bridge does not have full access to internet, that $HOME/data/download/MIMB/ directory can be copied from another server with internet access where the command $HOME/bin/MIMB.sh (or .bat) -d can be used to download all third-party libraries used by all bridges at once.

By running this import bridge, you hereby acknowledge responsibility for the license terms and any potential security vulnerabilities from these downloaded third-party software libraries.

OVERVIEW
This import bridge uses a JDBC connection to a Microsoft Azure SQL database server to extract all its metadata (e.g. Schemas, Tables, Columns, Data Types.) and parse any SQL (e.g. Views, Stored Procedures) to produce the data flow lineage.

This import bridge imports the database server metadata as multi models with one model per schema. Further imports (incremental harvesting) will detect changes in schema to only import changed schemas (reusing already harvested unchanged schemas).

REQUIREMENTS
See the driver Location parameter for any JDBC driver requirements
See the User parameter for any user permission requirements.

PERMISSIONS
- Azure Active Directory Token Authentication:
Automatic Method
This method is available when you run the bridge from a Data Catalog instance and use it to specify the Azure Cloud Identity for authentication. The identity must have the appropriate permissions to connect and read metadata from the specified Azure SQL database.
The Data Catalog utilizes the Azure Cloud Identity to generate a temporary access token that passes to the bridge using __$Secret_Azure_AccessToken_Sql_Database hidden bridge parameter.
To use the automatic method, leave the User and the Password parameters empty. E.g.
User=
Password=

Manual Method
To authenticate with Azure SQL database utilizing the Azure Active Directory by specifying an Azure Active Directory Token in the Password parameter and leave the User parameter empty. E.g.
User=
Password=<Azure Active Directory Token>

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: How to connect with Integrated Authentication On Windows?
A: The JDBC URL specified in the Host parameter must include 'integratedSecurity=true' or other settings required by your configuration
In addition, if the «driver location» value is empty (default), the bridge tries to download the mssql-jdbc_auth-<version>-<arch>.dll driver file from Maven.
Otherwise, use 'Miscellaneous' option to specify path for required files as described on docs.microsoft.com.
-Djava.library.path=C:\Microsoft JDBC driver 6.4 for SQL Server\sqljdbc_<version>\enu\auth\x86
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/connect/jdbc/building-the-connection-url?view=sql-server-2017#Connectingintegrated

LIMITATIONS
Refer to the current general known limitations at https://metaintegration.com/Products/MIMB/Help/#!Documents/mimbknownlimitations.html

Due to a limitation within Java, passwords should avoid using the "escape" characters such as the slash /.

SUPPORT
Provide a troubleshooting package with:
- the debug log (can be set in the UI or in conf/conf.properties with MIR_LOG_LEVEL=6)
- the metadata backup if available (can be set in the Miscellaneous parameter with -backup option, although this common option is not implemented on all bridges for technical reasons).


Bridge Parameters

Parameter Name Description Type Values Default Scope
Driver location The file directory where the JDBC driver files are located. When the value is empty (default), the bridge tries to download the driver files from Maven.

The default driver class name is 'com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.SQLServerDriver'.

If the driver specified has a different class name, specify that name using the -driver.className option in the Miscellaneous bridge parameter.
DIRECTORY      
Host The host name used by JDBC to connect to the database server (localhost by default) e.g.
MyDatabaseServer.com

or its IP address, e.g.
192.169.1.2

Pay close attention to semicolon and forward-slash placement within the Host URL specified.

or its fully qualified JDBC connection string, e.g.
jdbc:sqlserver://192.168.56.61:1433;databaseName=AdventureWorksDW;integratedSecurity=false;

Azure SQL database requires a hostNameInCertificate when specified encrypt=true, e.g. jdbc:sqlserver://abc.database.windows.net:1433;encrypt=true;trustServerCertificate=false;hostNameInCertificate=*.database.windows.net;loginTimeout=30;

If using Windows Integrated Security:
- When using the hostname only, the Integrated Security feature is not used and the driver needs a 'User' and 'Password'.
- When using the JDBC URL with Integrated Security turned on, the 'User' and 'Password' are not used (they should be left blank), and the driver automatically switches to using SSL.
STRING   localhost Mandatory
Port The port used by JDBC to connect to the database server (1433 by default for Microsoft SQL Server).
This parameter is ignored if the Host parameter is based on a fully qualified JDBC connection string that includes the port.

In case of the Microsoft SQL Server database:
For optimal connection performance, you should set the 'Port' option when you connect to a named instance.
This will avoid a round trip to the server to determine the port number.
If both a 'Port' option and 'Instance' option are used, the 'Port' option will take precedence and the 'Instance' option will be ignored.
NUMERIC      
Instance The SQL Server instance name.

SQL Server allow for the installation of multiple database instances per server.
Each instance is identified by a specific name.
To connect to a named instance of SQL Server, you can either specify the port number of the named instance (preferred),
or you can specify the instance name.
STRING      
User The user name used by JDBC to connect to the database server.

This parameter is ignored if the Host parameter is based on a fully qualified JDBC connection string that includes the username.

Refer to the PERMISSIONS section of this import bridge's main documentation.

Also, for the Microsoft SQL Server specific bridge, if this parameter is empty, then it is assumed that integrated security is being used (see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms378428.aspx#Connectingintegrated). In this case, this import bridge will attempt to connect with this type of signature:

jdbc:sqlserver://; integratedSecurity=true
instead of

jdbc:sqlserver://; user=userid;password=userpassword

However, in order for this to work, the user must have the sqljdbc_auth.dll available on the PATH environment variable. Also the version of the library must match the version of the sqljdbc4.jar that they are using.

If using Windows Integrated Security:
- When using the hostname only, the Integrated Security feature is not used and the driver needs a 'User' and 'Password'.
- When using the JDBC URL with Integrated Security turned on, the 'User' and 'Password' are not used (they should be left blank), and the driver automatically switches to using SSL.
STRING      
Password The user password used by JDBC to connect to the database server. PASSWORD      
Databases The subset of database instances to import expressed as a comma (,) or semicolon (;) separated list of databases' names, e.g.
database1; database2

All database instances are imported if that list is empty.

You can use SQL LIKE patterns to identify names of databases. See the Schema parameter documentation for details.
REPOSITORY_SUBSET      
Schemas The subset of schemas to import expressed as a semicolon separated list of schemas' names, e.g.
schema1; schema2

This parameter also supports the dot annotation in combination with * wildcards to enable specification of what groups of objects to import, e.g.
database1.schema1; database2.*;

All accessible user schemas are imported if that list is empty.

All system schemas (e.g. SysAdmin) and objects are ignored by default. If system schemas are needed, use the Miscellaneous parameter option -system.objects.import.

Schema name patterns using the syntax rules used by the LIKE operator in SQL:

- Inclusion syntax:
using % or *, e.g.
A%; %B; %C%; D
- start with A or
- end with B or
- contain C or
- equal D

- Exclusion syntax:
using NOT, e.g.
A%; %B; NOT %SYS; NOT 'SYS%'
- WHERE (name like A% or name like %B)
- and (name NOT like %SYS)
- and (name NOT like 'SYS%')

- Special characters:
^ $ * + ? | \ ( ) [ ] { } whitespace
enclose this name in square brackets and escape special characters, e.g.
OneWord%; [Two\sWords.*]; [Dollar\$]
REPOSITORY_SUBSET      
Tables The subset of "Tables" to import expressed as a semicolon separated list of objects in schemas, like table, view, function, e.g.
table1; table2; view1; function1

This parameter also supports the [database.][schema.]table dot annotation in combination with * wildcards to enable specification of what groups of objects to import, e.g.
database1.schema1.table1; database1.*.table2; database1.schema3.*;

All user objects that the bridge supports are imported if that list is empty.

All system tables (e.g. SysAdmin) and objects are ignored by default. If system tables are needed, use the Miscellaneous parameter option -system.objects.import.

Table name patterns using a SQL like expression syntax:

- Inclusion syntax:
using % or *, e.g.
A%; %B; %C%; D
- start with A or
- end with B or
- contain C or
- equal D

- Exclusion syntax:
using NOT, e.g.
A%; %B; NOT %SYS; NOT 'SYS%'
- WHERE (name like A% or name like %B)
- and (name NOT like %SYS)
- and (name NOT like 'SYS%')

- Special characters:
^ $ * + ? | \ ( ) [ ] { } whitespace
enclose this name in square brackets and escape special characters, e.g.
OneWord%; [Two\sWords.*]; [Dollar\$]
STRING      
Stored procedure details Controls the amount of details imported from stored procedures:

'Signature'
The name and parameters of stored procedures

'Code, signature'
The above plus code

'Lineage, code, signature'
The above plus data lineage derived from the code

'None'
stored procedure details are not included.
ENUMERATED
None
Signature
Code, signature
Lineage, code, signature
Signature  
Import indexes Controls the import of Indexes:

'False'
Indexes are not imported

'True'
Indexes are imported
BOOLEAN
False
True
False  
Miscellaneous
INTRODUCTION
Specify miscellaneous options starting with a dash and optionally followed by parameters, e.g.
-connection.cast MyDatabase1="MICROSOFT SQL SERVER"
Some options can be used multiple times if applicable, e.g.
-connection.rename NewConnection1=OldConnection1 -connection.rename NewConnection2=OldConnection2;
As the list of options can become a long string, it is possible to load it from a file which must be located in ${MODEL_BRIDGE_HOME}\data\MIMB\parameters and have the extension .txt. In such case, all options must be defined within that file as the only value of this parameter, e.g.
ETL/Miscellaneous.txt

JAVA ENVIRONMENT OPTIONS
-java.memory <Java Memory's maximum size> (previously -m)

1G by default on 64bits JRE or as set in conf/conf.properties, e.g.
-java.memory 8G
-java.memory 8000M

-java.parameters <Java Runtime Environment command line options> (previously -j)

This option must be the last one in the Miscellaneous parameter as all the text after -java.parameters is passed "as is" to the JRE, e.g.
-java.parameters -Dname=value -Xms1G
The following option must be set when a proxy is used to access internet (this is critical to access https://repo.maven.apache.org/maven2/ and exceptionally a few other tool sites) in order to download the necessary third-party software libraries.
Note: The majority of proxies are concerned with encrypting (HTTPS) the outside (of the company) traffic and trust the inside traffic that can access proxy over HTTP. In this case, an HTTPS request reaches the proxy over HTTP where the proxy HTTPS-encrypts it.
-java.parameters -java.parameters -Dhttp.proxyHost=127.0.0.1 -Dhttp.proxyPort=3128 -Dhttp.proxyUser=user -Dhttp.proxyPassword=pass

MODEL IMPORT OPTIONS
-model.name <model name>

Override the model name, e.g.
-model.name "My Model Name"

-prescript <script name>

This option allows running a script before the bridge execution.
The script must be located in the bin directory (or as specified with M_SCRIPT_PATH in conf/conf.properties), and have .bat or .sh extension.
The script path must not include any parent directory symbol (..).
The script should return exit code 0 to indicate success, or another value to indicate failure.
For example:
-prescript "script.bat arg1 arg2"

-postscript <script name>

This option allows running a script after successful execution of the bridge.
The script must be located in the bin directory (or as specified with M_SCRIPT_PATH in conf/conf.properties), and have .bat or .sh extension.
The script path must not include any parent directory symbol (..).
The script should return exit code 0 to indicate success, or another value to indicate failure.
For example:
-postscript "script.bat arg1 arg2"

-cache.clear

Clears the cache before the import, and therefore will run a full import without incremental harvesting.

If the model was not changed and the -cache.clear parameter is not used (incremental harvesting), then a new version will not be created.
If the model was not changed and the -cache.clear parameter is set (full source import instead of incremental), then a new version will be created.

-backup <directory>

Allows to save the input metadata for further troubleshooting. The provided <directory> must be empty.

-restore <directory>

Specify the backup <directory> to be restored.

DATA CONNECTION OPTIONS
Data Connections are produced by the import bridges typically from ETL/DI and BI tools to refer to the source and target data stores they use. These data connections are then used by metadata management tools to connect them (metadata stitching) to their actual data stores (e.g. databases, file system, etc.) in order to produce the full end to end data flow lineage and impact analysis. The name of each data connection is unique by import model. The data connection names used within DI/BI design tools are used when possible, otherwise connection names are generated to be short but meaningful such as the database / schema name, the file system path, or Uniform Resource Identifier (URI). The following option allows to manipulate connections. These options replaces the legacy options -c, -cd, and -cs.

-connection.cast ConnectionName=ConnectionType

Casts a generic database connection (e.g. ODBC/JDBC) to a precise database type (e.g. ORACLE) for SQL Parsing, e.g.
-connection.cast "My Database"="MICROSOFT SQL SERVER".
The list of supported data store connection types includes:
ACCESS
APACHE CASSANDRA
DB2/UDB
DENODO
GOOGLE BIGQUERY
HIVE
MYSQL
NETEZZA
ORACLE
POSTGRESQL
PRESTO
REDSHIFT
SALESFORCE
SAP HANA
SNOWFLAKE
MICROSOFT SQL AZURE
MICROSOFT SQL SERVER
SYBASE SQL SERVER
SYBASE AS ENTERPRISE
TERADATA
VECTORWISE
HP VERTICA

-connection.rename OldConnection=NewConnection

Renames an existing connection to a new name, e.g.
-connection.rename OldConnectionName=NewConnectionName
Multiple existing database connections can be renamed and merged into one new database connection, e.g.
-connection.rename MySchema1=MyDatabase -connection.rename MySchema2=MyDatabase

-connection.split oldConnection.Schema1=newConnection

Splits a database connection into one or multiple database connections.
A single database connection can be split into one connection per schema, e.g.
-connection.split MyDatabase
All database connections can be split into one connection per schema, e.g.
-connection.split *
A database connection can be explicitly split creating a new database connection by appending a schema name to a database, e.g.
-connection.split MyDatabase.schema1=MySchema1

-connection.map SourcePath=DestinationPath

Maps a source path to destination path. This is useful for file system connections when different paths points to the same object (directory or file).
On Hadoop, a process can write into a CSV file specified with the HDFS full path, but another process reads from a Hive table implemented (external) by the same file specified using a relative path with default file name and extension, e.g.
-connection.map /user1/folder=hdfs://host:8020/users/user1/folder/file.csv
On Linux, a given directory (or file) like /data can be referred to by multiple symbolic links like /users/john and /users/paul, e.g.
-connection.map /data=/users/John -connection.map /data=/users/paul
On Windows, a given directory like C:\data can be referred to by multiple network drives like M: and N:, e.g.
-connection.map C:\data=M:\ -connection.map C:\data=N:\

-connection.casesensitive ConnectionName...

Overrides the default case insensitive matching rules for the object identifiers inside the specified connection, provided the detected type of the data store by itself supports this configuration (e.g. Microsoft SQL Server, MySql etc.), e.g.
-connection.casesensitive "My Database"

-connection.caseinsensitive ConnectionName...

Overrides the default case sensitive matching rules for the object identifiers inside the specified connection, provided the detected type of the data store by itself supports this configuration (e.g. Microsoft SQL Server, MySql etc.), e.g.
-connection.caseinsensitive "My Database"

-connection.level AggregationLevel

Specifies the aggregation level for the external connections, e.g.-connection.level catalog
The list of the supported values:
server
catalog
schema (default)

JDBC DATABASE OPTIONS
-system.objects.import (previously -s)

Imports all system objects (that are skipped by default).

-synonyms.ignore (previously -synonyms)

Ignores the synonyms when importing, therefore reducing the size of the model when a large number synonyms exist.

-data.dictionary.server <database identification name> (previously -server.name)

Sets a server name for the data dictionary to use for extracting tables and view definitions.
In a multitenant Container Database (CDB), the metadata for data dictionary tables and view definitions is stored only at the root level. However, each Pluggable Database (PDB) has its own set of data dictionary tables and views for the database objects contained in the PDB. It is possible that some dba_ views are not available because they are not applicable.

-driver.fetch.size <number of rows> (previously -f)

The database driver fetch size in number of rows, e.g.
-driver.fetch.size 100

-model.split (previously -multiModel)

Splits a large database model into multi models (e.g. one schema per model).
Warning: this is a system option managed by the application calling this import bridge and should not be set by users.

-driver.className

The full name (including the package name) of the Java class that implements the JDBC driver interface.

-comment.udp

Import any database object comments as a user defined property with the specified name instead of the comment property.
STRING      

 

Bridge Mapping

Meta Integration Repository (MIR)
Metamodel
(based on the OMG CWM standard)
"Microsoft Azure SQL Database (via JDBC)"
Metamodel
Jdbc
Mapping Comments
     
Name Name  
Attribute Table Column  
Comment Comments on the column If JDBC driver supports
InitialValue Default value  
Name Name  
Optional Based on the nullable property For Access databases, set to false only if the attribute is in a Unique Index
PhysicalName Name  
Position Position If position is not provided, the order in which the attributes are retrieved is used.
BaseType Types  
DataType Data Type See datatype conversion array
Length Size  
Name   The name is computed from the datatype
PhysicalName Name  
Scale Maximum scale  
Class Table of type "TABLE"
Comment Comments on the table If JDBC driver supports
CppClassType   Set to ENTITY
CppPersistent   Set to True
Name Name  
PhysicalName Name  
ClassDiagram Schema A class diagram is created for each package and contains all the elements of the package
DerivedType Column Table column, stored procedure column SQL View column or type
DataType Data Type See datatype conversion array
Length Size  
Name   The name is computed from the datatype
PhysicalName Name  
Scale Decimal digits  
UserDefined   True for Type
DesignPackage Schema A Package is created for each retrieved schema. If there is no schema a default package is created.
Name Name Set to "Schema" if there is no schema or the schema has no name.
SQLViewAttribute View Column  
Comment Comments on the column If JDBC driver supports
Name Name  
PhysicalName Name  
Position Ordinal position  
SQLViewEntity Table of type "VIEW"
Comment Comments on the table If JDBC driver supports
Name Name  
PhysicalName Name  
StoreModel Catalog The model is built using the elements contained in the catalog (e.g. the database for MS SQL server)
Name Name Set to "Catalog" if the catalog has no name.
Synonym Table Synonym If JDBC driver supports
Name Name  

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