Model Context Protocol (MCP) finally gives AI models a way to access the business data needed to make them really useful at work. CData MCP Servers have the depth and performance to make sure AI has access to all of the answers.
Try them now for free →
Access Azure Synapse Data as OData Feeds in Tableau
Use the Tableau Desktop business intelligence tool to connect to Azure Synapse data using the API Server.
The CData API Server, when paired with the ADO.NET Provider for Azure Synapse (or any of 200+ other ADO.NET Providers), provides Azure Synapse data as OData Web services. This article will explain how to use the API Server to provide the underlying connectivity to Azure Synapse data in Tableau's business intelligence tool.
Set Up the API Server
Follow the steps below to begin producing secure Azure Synapse OData services:
Deploy
The API Server runs on your own server. On Windows, you can deploy using the stand-alone server or IIS. On a Java servlet container, drop in the API Server WAR file. See the help documentation for more information and how-tos.
The API Server is also easy to deploy on Microsoft Azure, Amazon EC2, and Heroku.
Connect to Azure Synapse
After you deploy the API Server and the ADO.NET Provider for Azure Synapse, provide authentication values and other connection properties needed to connect to Azure Synapse by clicking Settings -> Connections and adding a new connection in the API Server administration console.
Connecting to Azure Synapse
In addition to providing authentication (see below), set the following properties to connect to a Azure Synapse database:
- Server: The server running Azure. You can find this by logging into the Azure portal and navigating to Azure Synapse Analytics -> Select your database -> Overview -> Server name.
- Database: The name of the database, as seen in the Azure portal on the Azure Synapse Analytics page.
Authenticating to Azure Synapse
Connect to Azure Synapse using the following properties:
- User: The username provided for authentication with Azure.
- Password: The password associated with the authenticating user.
When you configure the connection, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.
You can then choose the Azure Synapse entities you want to allow the API Server to access by clicking Settings -> Resources.
Additionally, click Settings -> Server and set the Default Format to XML (Atom) for compatibility with Tableau.
Authorize API Server Users
After determining the OData services you want to produce, authorize users by clicking Settings -> Users. The API Server uses authtoken-based authentication and supports the major authentication schemes. Access can also be restricted based on IP address; by default only connections to the local machine are allowed. You can authenticate as well as encrypt connections with SSL.
Create Real-Time Azure Synapse Data Visualizations
Follow the steps below to create data visualizations based on the remote Azure Synapse data:
-
In Tableau, select 'Connect to data'. In the 'On a server' section, click OData.
-
In the resulting wizard, enter the URL of the OData endpoint for the API Server. Append the name of the table you want to access to the OData entry URL. For example:
https://your-server/api.rsc/Products -
Select the
'Use a Username and Password' option and enter the username and password of a user who has access to the API Server.
-
Tableau uses the table metadata exposed by the API Server to detect dimension and measure columns.
-
To view the Azure Synapse data, right-click under the table name in the Data section of the dashboard and select the View Data option. The Azure Synapse data will appear in Tableau.
