How to integrate ElasticSearch with SSRS

Name: ODBC PowerPack
Rating: 4.9 (8 reviews)
Author: ZappySys

Learn how to quickly and efficiently connect ElasticSearch with SSRS for smooth data access.

Read and write Elasticsearch data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate indexes and documents — almost no coding required. You can do it all using the high-performance ElasticSearch ODBC Driver (powered by ElasticSearch Connector for ZappySys API Driver). We'll walk you through the entire setup.

Ready to dive in? Download the product to jump right in, or follow the step-by-step guide below to see how it works.

ElasticSearch ODBC Driver Powering this integration

Low-code / No-code
High performance
Bidirectional
Easy to use

Built on the ZappySys API Driver, the ElasticSearch ODBC Driver is a high-performance, low-code / no-code solution. It enables you to connect to ElasticSearch data without any coding right in your SQL Server, or any ODBC/JDBC application. Part of the ODBC PowerPack.

Documentation

Video tutorial

Watch this quick video to see the integration in action. It walks you through the end-to-end setup, including:

Installing the ODBC PowerPack
Configuring a secure connection to ElasticSearch
Working with ElasticSearch data directly inside SSRS
Exploring advanced API Driver features

While this video uses the OData Connector as an example, the core concepts and setup process are exactly the same for the ElasticSearch Connector.

Watch this video on YouTube

Once you are done watching, simply follow the step-by-step written guide below to configure your data source.

Create data source in ZappySys Data Gateway

In this section we will create a data source for ElasticSearch in the Data Gateway. Let's follow these steps to accomplish that:

Download and install ODBC PowerPack (if you haven't already).
Search for gateway in the Windows Start Menu and open ZappySys Data Gateway Configuration:
Go to the Users tab and follow these steps to add a Data Gateway user:
- Click the Add button
- In the Login field enter a username, e.g., john
- Then enter a Password
- Check the Is Administrator checkbox
- Click OK to save
Now we are ready to add a data source:
- Click the Add button
- Give the Data source a name (have it handy for later)
- Then select Native - ZappySys API Driver
- Finally, click OK
ElasticsearchDSN

ZappySys API Driver
When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "ElasticSearch" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "ElasticSearch" 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:

ElasticsearchDSN

ElasticSearch

Select your authentication scenario below to expand connection configuration steps to:

Configure the authentication in ElasticSearch.
Enter those details into the ZappySys API Driver data source configuration.

Basic Authentication (UserId/Password)

ElasticSearch authentication

For Local / Hosted Instance by you

Get your userid / password and enter on the connection UI

For Managed Instance (By Bonsai search)

If your instance is hosted by bonsai then perform these steps to get your credentials for API call

Go to https://app.bonsai.io/clusters/{your-instance-id}/tokens
Copy Access Key and Access Secret and enter on the connection UI. Click Test connection.
If your Cluster has no data you can generate sample data by visiting this URL and click Add Sample Data https://{your-cluster-id}.apps.bonsaisearch.net/app/home#/tutorial_directory

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to Basic Authentication (UserId/Password) [Http]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Finally, hit OK button:

ElasticsearchDSN

ElasticSearch

Basic Authentication (UserId/Password) [Http]

http://localhost:9200

Optional Parameters
User Name (or Access Key)
Password (or Access Secret)
Ignore certificate related errors

Find full details in the ElasticSearch Connector authentication reference.

Windows Authentication (No Password)

ElasticSearch authentication

No instructions available.

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to Windows Authentication (No Password) [Http]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Finally, hit OK button:

ElasticsearchDSN

ElasticSearch

Windows Authentication (No Password) [Http]

http://localhost:9200

Optional Parameters
Ignore certificate related errors

Find full details in the ElasticSearch Connector authentication reference.

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 - ElasticSearch

Read and write Elasticsearch data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate indexes and documents — almost no coding required.

ElasticsearchDSN
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 SSRS to retrieve data from ElasticSearch. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.
```
SELECT * FROM Indexes
```
Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the ElasticSearch 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.
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 SSRS:
ZappySys API Driver - ElasticSearch

Read and write Elasticsearch data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate indexes and documents — almost no coding required.

ElasticsearchDSN
```
SELECT * FROM Indexes
```
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 ElasticSearch 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 ElasticSearch servers).
Click OK to finish creating the data source.
Once done, go to the Network Settings tab and Add a firewall rule for inbound traffic:
- This will initially allow all inbound traffic.
- Click Edit IP filters to restrict access to specific IP addresses or ranges.
Crucial Step: After creating or modifying the data source, you must:
- Click the Save button to persist your changes.
- Hit Yes when prompted to restart the Data Gateway service.
This ensures all changes are properly applied:

Skipping this step may cause the new settings to fail, preventing you from connecting to the data source.

Read data in SSRS from ZappySys Data Gateway

Open Visual Studio and create a new SSRS project.
Then add a new Shared Data Source (you can create a non-shared data source inside report too):
Continue with creating the Shared Data Source. Select Microsoft SQL Server as Type and hit Build button to proceed further:
Once a window opens, configure it similarly. Configure "ElasticsearchDSN" as database name. Finally, hit Test Connection and OK:

ElasticsearchDSN
Another window opens, and it should look similarly to this one below which ends the creation of a Data Source:

DataSource=localhost,5000;Initial Catalog=ElasticsearchDSN
Now it's time to create a Dataset. If you don't have a report created, in one of the wizard's steps it will look like this:

SELECT * FROM Indexes
Finally, once you complete the report, similar results will show up:

Passing Parameters to SSRS Report / Filter data

If you want to parameterize your report, then refer to this article

Supported ElasticSearch Connector actions

Got a specific use case in mind? We've mapped out exactly how to perform a variety of essential ElasticSearch operations directly in SSRS, so you don't have to figure out the setup from scratch. Check out the step-by-step guides below:

Conclusion

In this article we showed you how to connect to ElasticSearch in SSRS and integrate data without writing complex code — all of this was powered by ElasticSearch ODBC Driver.

Download ODBC PowerPack now or ping us via chat if you have any questions or are looking for a specific feature (you can also reach out to us by submitting a ticket):

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