OData Connector for SSRS

OData Connector can be used to integrated any REST API which supports OData Standard. You can view tables, read data from tables using this connector. It also comes with some example OData Services to get started.

In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate OData data in SSRS without coding. We will use high-performance OData Connector to easily connect to OData and then access the data inside SSRS.

Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that!

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Video Tutorial - Integrate OData data in SSRS

This video covers the following topics and more, so please watch carefully. After watching the video, follow the steps outlined in this article:

  • How to download and install the required PowerPack for OData integration in SSRS
  • How to configure the connection for OData
  • Features of the ZappySys API Driver (Authentication / Query Language / Examples / Driver UI)
  • How to use the OData in SSRS

Create Data Source in Data Gateway based on ZappySys API Driver

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

  1. Download and install ODBC PowerPack.

  2. Search for gateway in Windows Start Menu and open ZappySys Data Gateway Configuration:

    Opening Data Gateway

  3. Go to Users tab and follow these steps to add a Data Gateway user:

    • Click Add button
    • In Login field enter username, e.g., john
    • Then enter a Password
    • Check Is Administrator checkbox
    • Click OK to save
    Data Gateway - Adding User

  4. Now we are ready to add a data source:

    • Click Add button
    • Give Datasource a name (have it handy for later)
    • Then select Native - ZappySys API Driver
    • Finally, click OK
    OdataDSN
    ZappySys API Driver
    Data Gateway - Adding data source

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

    OdataDSN
    OData
    ODBC DSN Template Selection

  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.

    No Authentication

    OData authentication

    No instructions available.

    API Connection Manager configuration

    Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

    1. Set Authentication Type to No Authentication [Http]
    2. Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
    3. Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
    4. Finally, hit OK button:
    OdataDSN
    OData
    No Authentication [Http]
    https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc
    Optional Parameters
    RetryMode RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
    RetryStatusCodeList 429
    RetryCountMax 5
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime True
    IgnoreSSLCertificateErrors
    SslVersion
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration

    Windows Authentication

    OData authentication

    No instructions available.

    API Connection Manager configuration

    Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

    1. Set Authentication Type to Windows Authentication [Http]
    2. Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
    3. Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
    4. Finally, hit OK button:
    OdataDSN
    OData
    Windows Authentication [Http]
    https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc
    There are no parameters to configure.
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration

    Basic Authentication

    OData authentication

    No instructions available.

    API Connection Manager configuration

    Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

    1. Set Authentication Type to Basic Authentication [Http]
    2. Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
    3. Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
    4. Finally, hit OK button:
    OdataDSN
    OData
    Basic Authentication [Http]
    https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc
    Required Parameters
    UserName Fill-in the parameter...
    Password Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    RetryMode RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
    RetryStatusCodeList 429
    RetryCountMax 5
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime True
    IgnoreSSLCertificateErrors
    SslVersion
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration

    NTLM Authentication

    OData authentication

    No instructions available.

    API Connection Manager configuration

    Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

    1. Set Authentication Type to NTLM Authentication [Http]
    2. Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
    3. Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
    4. Finally, hit OK button:
    OdataDSN
    OData
    NTLM Authentication [Http]
    https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc
    Required Parameters
    UserName (i.e. Domain\UserName) Fill-in the parameter...
    Password Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    RetryMode RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
    RetryStatusCodeList 429
    RetryCountMax 5
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime True
    IgnoreSSLCertificateErrors
    SslVersion
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration

    Token Authentication

    OData authentication

    No instructions available.

    API Connection Manager configuration

    Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

    1. Set Authentication Type to Token Authentication [Http]
    2. Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
    3. Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
    4. Finally, hit OK button:
    OdataDSN
    OData
    Token Authentication [Http]
    https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc
    Required Parameters
    Token Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    AuthScheme Bearer
    AuthHeader Authorization
    RetryMode RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
    RetryStatusCodeList 429
    RetryCountMax 5
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime True
    IgnoreSSLCertificateErrors
    SslVersion
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration

    OAuth Connection for OData API

    OData authentication

    No instructions available.

    API Connection Manager configuration

    Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

    1. Set Authentication Type to OAuth Connection for OData API [OAuth]
    2. Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
    3. Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
    4. Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
    5. Finally, hit OK button:
    OdataDSN
    OData
    OAuth Connection for OData API [OAuth]
    https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc
    Optional Parameters
    GrantType Default
    OAuthVersion Default
    ClientId
    ClientSecret
    UserName
    Password
    Scope
    AuthUrl https://some-domain.com/api/auth
    TokenUrl https://some-domain.com/api/token
    ReturnUrl https://zappysys.com/oauth
    ExtraAttributesForTokenRequest
    ExtraAttributesForAuthRequest
    DoNotIncludeCredentialsInHeader
    DoNotIncludeCredentialsInBody
    RenewBeforeSec
    ExtraHeaders (e.g. x-hdr1:AAA||x-hdr2:BBB)
    ContentType
    EnableCodeVerifier
    RemoveAuthHeader
    CustomAuthHeader
    CustomTokenPrefix
    RetryMode RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
    RetryStatusCodeList 429
    RetryCountMax 5
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime True
    IgnoreSSLCertificateErrors
    SslVersion
    ODBC DSN OAuth Connection Configuration

  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 - OData
    OData Connector can be used to integrated any REST API which supports OData Standard. You can view tables, read data from tables using this connector. It also comes with some example OData Services to get started.
    OdataDSN
    Open Query Builder in API ODBC Driver to read and write data to REST API

  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 SSRS to retrieve data from OData. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step. 

    SELECT * FROM Customers
    Configure table/endpoint parameters in ODBC data source based on API Driver
    Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the OData 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 SSRS:

    ZappySys API Driver - OData
    OData Connector can be used to integrated any REST API which supports OData Standard. You can view tables, read data from tables using this connector. It also comes with some example OData Services to get started.
    OdataDSN
    SELECT * FROM Customers
    API ODBC Driver-based data source data preview
    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 OData 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 OData servers).

  10. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

  11. Very important step. Now, after creating or modifying the data source make sure you:

    • Click the Save button to persist your changes.
    • Hit Yes, once asked if you want to restart the Data Gateway service.

    This will ensure all changes are properly applied:

    ZappySys Data Gateway - Save Changes
    Skipping this step may result in the new settings not taking effect and, therefore you will not be able to connect to the data source.

Read data in SSRS from ZappySys Data Gateway

  1. Open Visual Studio and create a new SSRS project.

  2. Then add a new Shared Data Source (you can create a non-shared data source inside report too):

    Adding a Data Source in SSRS project

  3. Continue with creating the Shared Data Source. Select Microsoft SQL Server as Type and hit Build button to proceed further:

    Configuring a Data Source to access API data in SSRS project

  4. Once a window opens, configure it similarly. Configure "OdataDSN" as database name. Finally, hit Test Connection and OK:

    OdataDSN
    Configuring thoroughly a Data Source to access API data in SSRS project

  5. 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=OdataDSN
    How Data Source in SSRS project looks like

  6. 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 Customers
    Specifying a query in SSRS Dataset to access API data #1

  7. Finally, once you complete the report, similar results will show up:

    ZappySys Data Gateway API data source results

Passing Parameters to SSRS Report / Filter data

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

Actions supported by OData Connector

Learn how to perform common OData actions directly in SSRS with these how-to guides:

Conclusion

In this article we showed you how to connect to OData in SSRS and integrate data without any coding, saving you time and effort.

We encourage you to download OData Connector for SSRS 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 OData Connector for SSRS Documentation

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Download OData Connector for SSRS Documentation