How to Make Generic API Request (Bulk Write) — Power BI Connector for SSIS

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure the following prerequisites are met:

  1. SSIS designer installed. Sometimes it is referred as BIDS or SSDT (download it from Microsoft).
  2. Basic knowledge of SSIS package development using Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services.
  3. SSIS PowerPack is installed (if you are new to SSIS PowerPack, then get started!).

Make Generic API Request (Bulk Write) in SSIS

  1. Begin with opening Visual Studio and Create a New Project.

  2. Select Integration Service Project and in new project window set the appropriate name and location for project. And click OK.

    In the new SSIS project screen you will find the following:

    • SSIS ToolBox on left side bar
    • Solution Explorer and Property Window on right bar
    • Control flow, data flow, event Handlers, Package Explorer in tab windows
    • Connection Manager Window in the bottom
    SSIS Project Screen
    Note: If you don't see ZappySys SSIS PowerPack Task or Components in SSIS Toolbox, please refer to this help link.
  3. Now, Drag and Drop SSIS Data Flow Task from SSIS Toolbox. Double click on the Data Flow Task to see Data Flow designer.

    SSIS Data Flow Task - Drag and Drop
  4. Read the data from the source, being any desired source component. In example we will use ZappySys Dummy Data Source component.

  5. From the SSIS Toolbox drag and drop API Destination (Predefined Templates) on the Data Flow Designer surface and connect source component with it, and double click to edit it.

    SSIS API Destination (Predefined Templates) - Drag and Drop
  6. Select New Connection to create a new connection:

    API Destination - Power BI
    Connect to your Power BI account and retrieve data, refresh datasets, etc.
    API Destination - New Connection
  7. Use a preinstalled Power BI Connector from Popular Connector List or press Search Online radio button to download Power BI Connector. Once downloaded simply use it in the configuration:

    Power BI
    Power BI Connector Selection
  8. Now it's time to configure authentication. Firstly, configure authentication settings in Power BI service and then proceed by configuring API Connection Manager. Start by expanding an authentication type:

    Power BI authentication

    Use delegated access (User Credentials) whenever you want to let a signed-in user work with their own resources or resources they can access. Whether it's an admin setting up policies for their entire organization or a user deleting an email in their inbox, all scenarios involving user actions should use delegated access. [API reference]

    Follow these simple steps below to create Microsoft Entra ID application with delegated access:

    WARNING: If you are planning to automate processes, we recommend that you use a Application Credentials authentication method. In case, you still need to use User Credentials, then make sure you use a system/generic account (e.g. automation@my-company.com). When you use a personal account which is tied to a specific employee profile and that employee leaves the company, the token may become invalid and any automated processes using that token will start to fail.
    1. Navigate to the Azure Portal and log in using your credentials.
    2. Access Microsoft Entra ID.
    3. Register a new application by going to App registrations and clicking on New registration button:

      Start new app registration in Microsoft Entra ID
      INFO: Find more information on how to register an application in Graph API reference.
    4. When configuration window opens, configure these fields:

      • Supported account type
        • Use Accounts in this organizational directory only, if you need access to data in your organization only.
      • Redirect URI:
        • Set the type to Public client/native (mobile & desktop).
        • Use https://zappysys.com/oauth as the URL.
      Register app in Microsoft Entra ID
    5. After registering the app, copy the Application (client) ID for later:

      Copy client ID of Microsoft Entra ID app
    6. Copy OAuth authorization endpoint (v2) & OAuth token endpoint (v2) URLs to use later in the configuration:

      Copy Auth and Token URLs in Microsoft Entra ID app
    7. Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source and use the copied values in User Credentials authentication configuration:

      • In the Authorization URL field paste the OAuth authorization endpoint (v2) URL value you copied in the previous step.
      • In the Token URL field paste the OAuth token endpoint (v2) URL value you copied in the previous step.
      • In the Client ID field paste the Application (client) ID value you copied in the previous step.
      • In the Scope field use the default value or select individual scopes, e.g.:
        • offline_access
        • https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api/Workspace.Read.All
        • https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api/Dataset.Read.All
        • https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api/Dataset.ReadWrite.All
    8. Press Generate Token button to generate Access and Refresh Tokens.
    9. Click Test Connection to confirm the connection is working.
    10. Optional step. Choose Default Workspace from the drop down menu.
    11. Choose Default Dataset from the drop down menu.
    12. Done! Now you are ready to use the API Connector!
    API Connection Manager configuration

    Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

    1. Set Authentication Type to User Credentials [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:
    Power BI
    User Credentials [OAuth]
    https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg
    Required Parameters
    Authorization URL Fill-in the parameter...
    Token URL Fill-in the parameter...
    Client ID Fill-in the parameter...
    Scope Fill-in the parameter...
    Default Dataset (select after generating tokens) Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    Client Secret
    Redirect URI (must match App Redirect URI)
    Default Workspace (Keep Empty for My Workspace - select after generating tokens)
    RetryMode RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
    RetryStatusCodeList 429|503
    RetryCountMax 20
    RetryWaitTimeMs 1000
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime True
    Login options
    ZappySys OAuth Connection
  9. Select Generic Table (Bulk Read / Write) table from the dropdown, then select Insert, Update as operation, and hit Preview Data:

    API Destination - Power BI
    Connect to your Power BI account and retrieve data, refresh datasets, etc.
    Power BI
    Generic Table (Bulk Read / Write)
    Insert, Update
    Required Parameters
    Url Fill-in the parameter...
    Request Method Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    IsMultiPart
    Filter
    Request Format (Content-Type) Default
    Body {$rows$}
    JsonOutputFormat Multicontent
    DoNotOutputNullProperty
    Batch Size (Default=1) 1
    Meta Detection Order StaticDynamicVirtual
    Input Columns - For Mapping (e.g. MyCol1:string(10); MyCol2:int32 ...) - Use bool, int32, int64, datetime, decimal, double
    Output Columns (e.g. MyCol1:string(10); MyCol2:int32 ...) - Use bool, int32, int64, datetime, decimal, double
    Request Format
    Response Format Default
    Headers Accept: */* || Cache-Control: no-cache
    Csv - Column Delimiter ,
    Csv - Row Delimiter {NEWLINE}
    Csv - Quote Around Value True
    Csv - Always Quote regardless type
    Encoding
    CharacterSet
    Writer DateTime Format
    Csv - Has Header Row True
    Xml - ElementsToTreatAsArray
    Layout Map <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <!-- Example#1: Output all columns --> <settings> <dataset id="root" main="True" readfrominput="True" /> <map src="*" /> </settings> <!-- Example#2: Records under array <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <settings singledataset="True"> <dataset id="root" main="True" readfrominput="True" /> <map name="MyArray" dataset="root" maptype="DocArray"> <map src="OrderID" name="OrderID" /> <map src="OrderDate" name="OrderDate" /> </map> </settings> --> <!-- Example#3: Records under nested section <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <settings> <dataset id="dsRoot" main="True" readfrominput="True" /> <map name="NestedSection"> <map src="OrderID" name="OrderID_MyLabel" /> <map src="OrderDate" name="OrderDate_MyLabel" /> </map> </settings> -->
    SSIS API Destination - Access table operation

  10. Finally, map the desired columns:

    API Destination - Power BI
    Connect to your Power BI account and retrieve data, refresh datasets, etc.
    API Destination - Columns Mapping
  11. That's it; we successfully configured the POST API Call. In a few clicks we configured the Power BI API call using ZappySys Power BI Connector

    Execute Package - Reading data from API Source and load into target

More actions supported by Power BI Connector

Learn how to perform other actions directly in SSIS with these how-to guides:

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