Microsoft SQL Server connection

Last updated: May 06, 2025

Create a connection asset for Microsoft SQL Server.

Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system.

Supported versions

Microsoft SQL Server 2022.

Create a connection to Microsoft SQL Server

To create the connection asset, specify these connection details:

Database name You don't have to specify the database. With no database specified, you can import metadata from every database that is available for that connection.
Hostname or IP address
Port number or Instance name If the server is configured for dynamic ports, use the Instance name.
Username and password
Domain name If the Microsoft SQL Server has been set up in a domain that uses NTLM (New Technology LAN Manager) authentication, select Use Active Directory and enter the name of the domain that is associated with the username and password.
SSL certificate If required by the database server.

For Private connectivity, to connect to a database that is not externalized to the internet (for example, behind a firewall), you must set up a secure connection.

Choose the method for creating a connection based on where you are in the platform

In a project: Click Assets > New asset > Connect to a data source. See Adding a connection to a project.
In a catalog: Click Add to catalog > Connection. See Adding a connection asset to a catalog.
In a deployment space: Click Import assets > Data access > Connection. See Adding data assets to a deployment space.
In the Platform assets catalog: Click New connection. See Adding platform connections.

Next step: Add data assets from the connection

Microsoft SQL Server setup

Microsoft SQL Server installation

Restriction

Except for NTLM authentication, Windows Authentication is not supported.

Running SQL statements

To ensure that your SQL statements run correctly, refer to the Transact-SQL Reference for the correct syntax.

Configuring lineage metadata import for Microsoft SQL Server

When you create a metadata import for the Microsoft SQL Server connection, you can set options specific to this data source, and define the scope of data for which lineage is generated. For details about metadata import, see Designing metadata imports.

To import lineage metadata for Microsoft SQL Server, complete these steps:

Create a data source definition. Select Microsoft SQL Server as the data source type.
Create a connection to the data source in a project.
Create a metadata import. Learn more about options that are specific to Microsoft SQL Server data source:
- When you define a scope, you can analyze the entire data source or use the include and exclude options to define the exact databases and schemas that you want to be analyzed. See Include and exclude lists.
- Optionally, you can provide external input in the form of a .zip file. You add this file in the Add inputs from file field. The file must have a supported structure. See External inputs.
- Optionally, specify advanced import options.

Include and exclude lists

You can include or exclude assets up to the schema level. Provide databases and schemas in the format database/schema. Each part is evaluated as a regular expression. Assets which are added later in the data source will also be included or excluded if they match the conditions specified in the lists. Example values:

myDB/: all schemas in myDB database.
myDB2/.*: all schemas in myDB2 database.
myDB3/mySchema1: mySchema1 schema from myDB3 database.
myDB4/mySchema[1-5]: any schema in my myDB4 database with a name that starts with mySchema and ends with a digit between 1 and 5.

External inputs

If you use external SQL and T-SQL scripts for Microsoft SQL Server, you can add them in a .zip file as an external input. You can organize the structure of a .zip file as subfolders that represent databases and schemas. After the scripts are scanned, they are added under respective databases and schemas in the selected catalog or project. The .zip file can have the following structure:

    <database_name>
        <schema_name>
           <script_name.sql>
    <database_name>
        <script_name.sql>
    <script_name.sql>
    replace.csv
    linkedServerConnectionsConfiguration.prm

The replace.csv file contains placeholder replacements for the scripts that are added in the .zip file. For more information about the format, see Placeholder replacements.

The linkedServerConnectionsConfiguration.prm file contains linked server connection definitions. The following structure defines a single connection:

[{Shortcut_Name}] Type={connection_type}
Connection_String={connection_string}
Server_Name={server_name}
Database_Name={database_name}
Schema_Name={schema_name}
User_Name={user_name}

Advanced import options

Extract extended attributes: You can extract extended attributes like primary key, unique and referential integrity constraints of columns. By default these attributes are not extracted.
Extraction mode: You can decide which extraction mode to run for the imported metadata. You have the following options:

Prefetch: use it for relational databases.
Parallel bulk: use it for analytical processing engines.
Single-thread: use it to avoid parallelism and large queries during extraction. When you select this mode, performance might be low.