Cosmos DB Connector for SSAS Connect to your Azure Cosmos DB databases to read, query, create, update, and delete documents and more! In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate Cosmos DB data in SSAS without coding. We will use high-performance Cosmos DB Connector to easily connect to Cosmos DB and then access the data inside SSAS. Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that! Download Documentation Cosmos DB Connector for SSAS is based on ZappySys API Driver which is part of ODBC PowerPack. It is a collection of high-performance ODBC drivers that enable you to integrate data in SQL Server, SSIS, a programming language, or any other ODBC-compatible application. ODBC PowerPack supports various file formats, sources and destinations, including REST/SOAP API, SFTP/FTP, storage services, and plain files, to mention a few.

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Create Data Source in ZappySys Data Gateway based on API Driver

1. Download and install ODBC PowerPack.

2. Search for gateway in start menu and Open ZappySys Data Gateway:
   

3. Go to Users Tab to add our first Gateway user. Click Add; we will give it a name tdsuser and enter password you like to give. Check Admin option and click OK to save. We will use these details later when we create linked server:
   

4. Now we are ready to add a data source. Click Add, give data source a name (Copy this name somewhere, we will need it later) and then select Native - ZappySys API Driver. Finally, click OK. And it will create the Data Set for it and open the ZS driver UI.

   CosmosDbDSN

   
   

5. When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Cosmos DB" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Cosmos DB" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

   CosmosDbDSN

   Cosmos DB

   

6. Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

    API Key [Http]

   Steps how to get and use Cosmos DB credentials : API Key [Http]
   Connecting to your Azure Cosmos DB data requires you to authenticate your REST API access. Follow the instructions below:

   1. Go to your Azure portal homepage: https://portal.azure.com/.
   2. In the search bar at the top of the homepage, enter Azure Cosmos DB. In the dropdown that appears, select Azure Cosmos DB.
   3. Click on the name of the database account you want to connect to (also copy and paste the name of the database account for later use).
   4. On the next page where you can see all of the database account information, look along the left side and select Keys:
   5. On the Keys page, you will have two tabs: Read-write Keys and Read-only Keys. If you are going to write data to your database, you need to remain on the Read-write Keys tab. If you are only going to read data from your database, you should select the Read-only Keys tab.
   6. On the Keys page, copy the PRIMARY KEY value and paste it somewhere for later use (the SECONDARY KEY value may also be copied and used).
   7. Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source and use this PRIMARY KEY in API Key authentication configuration.
   8. Enter the primary or secondary key you recorded in step 6 into the Primary or Secondary Key field.
   9. Then enter the database account you recorded in step 3 into the Database Account field.
   10. Next, enter or select the default database you want to connect to using the Defualt Database field.
   11. Continue by entering or selecting the default table (i.e. container/collection) you want to connect to using the Default Table (Container/Collection) field.
   12. Select the Test Connection button at the bottom of the window to verify proper connectivity with your Azure Devops account.
   13. If the connection test succeeds, select OK.
   14. Done! Now you are ready to use Asana Connector!

   Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

   CosmosDbDSN

   Cosmos DB

   API Key [Http]

   https://[$Account$].documents.azure.com

   Required Parameters
   Primary or Secondary Key	Fill-in the parameter...
   Account Name (Case-Sensitive)	Fill-in the parameter...
   Database Name (keep blank to use default) Case-Sensitive	Fill-in the parameter...
   API Version	Fill-in the parameter...
   Optional Parameters
   Default Table (needed to invoke #DirectSQL)

   

7. Once the data source connection has been configured, it's time to configure the SQL query. Select the Preview tab and then click Query Builder button to configure the SQL query:

   

   ZappySys API Driver - Cosmos DB

   Connect to your Azure Cosmos DB databases to read, query, create, update, and delete documents and more!

   CosmosDbDSN

   

8. Start by selecting the Table or Endpoint you are interested in and then configure the parameters. This will generate a query that we will use in SSAS to retrieve data from Cosmos DB. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.

   #DirectSQL SELECT * FROM root where root.id !=null order by root._ts desc

   
   Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the Cosmos DB API, e.g. filtering parameters. It means that filtering will be done on the server side (instead of the client side), enabling you to get only the meaningful data much faster.

9. Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in SSAS:

   

   ZappySys API Driver - Cosmos DB

   Connect to your Azure Cosmos DB databases to read, query, create, update, and delete documents and more!

   CosmosDbDSN

   #DirectSQL SELECT * FROM root where root.id !=null order by root._ts desc

   
   You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.
   A WHERE clause, LIMIT keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that the whole result set will be retrieved from the Cosmos DB API first, and only then the filtering will be applied to the data. If possible, it is recommended to use parameters in Query Builder to filter the data on the server side (in Cosmos DB servers).

10. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Read Cosmos DB data in SSAS cube

With the data source created in the Data Gateway (previous step), we're now ready to read Cosmos DB data in an SSAS cube. Before we dive in, open Visual Studio and create a new Analysis Services project. Then, you're all set!

Create data source based on ZappySys Data Gateway

Let's start by creating a data source for a cube, based on the Data Gateway's data source we created earlier. So, what are we waiting for? Let's do it!

1. Create a new data source:
2. Once a window opens, select Create a data source based on an existing or new connection option and click New...:
3. Here things become a little complicated, but do not despair, it's only for a little while. Just perform these little steps:
   • Select Native OLE DB\SQL Server Native Client 11.0 as provider.
   • Enter your Server name (or IP address) and Port, separated by a comma.
   • Select SQL Server Authentication option for authentication.
   • Input User name which has admin permissions in the ZappySys Data Gateway.
   • In Database name field enter the same data source name you use in the ZappySys Data Gateway.
   • Hopefully, our hard work is done, when we Test Connection.
   CosmosDbDSN

   CosmosDbDSN

   
   If SQL Server Native Client 11.0 is not listed as Native OLE DB provider, try using these:

   • Microsoft OLE DB Driver for SQL Server
   • Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server
4. Indeed, life is easy again:

Add data source view

We have data source in place, it's now time to add a data source view. Let's not waste a single second and get on to it!

1. Start by right-clicking on Data Source Views and then choosing New Data Source View...:
2. Select the previously created data source and click Next:
3. Ignore the Name Matching window and click Next.
4. Add the tables you will use in your SSAS cube:
   For cube dimensions, consider creating a Virtual Table in the Data Gateway's data source. Use the DISTINCT keyword in the SELECT statement to get unique values from the facts table, like this:

   SELECT DISTINCT Country FROM Customers

   For demonstration purposes we are using sample tables which may not be available in Cosmos DB.
5. Review your data source view and click Finish:
6. Add the missing table relationships and you're done!

Create cube

We have a data source view ready to be used by our cube. Let's create one!

1. Start by right-clicking on Cubes and selecting New Cube... menu item:
2. Select tables you will use for the measures:
3. And then select the measures themselves:
4. Don't stop and select the dimensions too:
5. Move along and click Finish before the final steps:
6. Review your cube before processing it:
7. It's time for the grand finale! Hit Process... to create the cube:
8. A splendid success!

Execute MDX query

The cube is created and processed. It's time to reap what we sow! Just execute an MDX query and get Cosmos DB data in your SSAS cube:

Actions supported by Cosmos DB Connector

Learn how to perform common Cosmos DB actions directly in SSAS with these how-to guides:

• Create a document in the container
• Create Permission Token for a User (One Table)
• Create User for Database
• Delete a Document by Id
• Get All Documents for a Table
• Get All Users for a Database
• Get Database Information by Id or Name
• Get Document by Id
• Get List of Databases
• Get List of Tables
• Get table information by Id or Name
• Get table partition key ranges
• Get User by Id or Name
• Query documents using Cosmos DB SQL query language
• Update Document in the Container
• Upsert a document in the container
• Generic Request
• Generic Request (Bulk Write)

Conclusion

In this article we showed you how to connect to Cosmos DB in SSAS and integrate data without any coding, saving you time and effort. It's worth noting that ZappySys API Driver allows you to connect not only to Cosmos DB, but to any Java application that supports JDBC (just use a different JDBC driver and configure it appropriately).

We encourage you to download Cosmos DB Connector for SSAS and see how easy it is to use it for yourself or your team.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact ZappySys support team. You can also open a live chat immediately by clicking on the chat icon below.

Download Cosmos DB Connector for SSAS Documentation

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