SOAP Connector for Azure Data Factory (SSIS)

SOAP Connector can be used to consume data from XML SOAP Service without any programming. It supports advanced filtering along with flexible approach to configure request parameters for web service.

In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate SOAP data in Azure Data Factory (SSIS) without coding. We will use high-performance SOAP Connector to easily connect to SOAP and then access the data inside Azure Data Factory (SSIS).

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

Download Documentation

SOAP Connector for Azure Data Factory (SSIS) is based on ZappySys Native SSIS Connector Framework which is a part of SSIS PowerPack. It is a collection of high-performance SSIS connectors that enable you to integrate data with virtually any data provider supported by SSIS, including SQL Server. SSIS PowerPack supports various file formats, sources and destinations, including REST/SOAP API, SFTP/FTP, storage services, and plain files, to mention a few (if you are new to SSIS and SSIS PowerPack, find out more on how to use them).

Prerequisites

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

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

What is SOAP Web Service?

If you are new to SOAP Web Service sometimes referred as XML Web Service then please read some concept about SOAP Web service standard from this link

There are two important aspects in SOAP Web service.

Getting WSDL file or URL
Knowing exact Web Service URL

What is WSDL

In very simple term WSDL (often pronounced as whiz-dull) is nothing but a document which describes Service metadata (e.g. Functions you can call, Request parameters, response structure etc). Some service simply give you WSDL as xml file you can download on local machine and then analyze or sometimes you may get direct URL (e.g. http://api.mycompany.com/hr-soap-service/?wsdl )

What is Service URL

Service URL is actual API URL you can call to get data. When you make a request to SOAP service url make sure following things.

Use correct service URL (Its not same as WSDL url). If you are not sure about service URL contact API vendor or refer API documentation.
Each service call you have to supply function you want to call. This can be done in 3 different ways.
1. Pass via SOAPAction HTTP Header
2. Pass via Url parameter or Url Path (http://myserver/service/function1 — http://myserver/service/?method=function1 )
3. Pass via Request BODY
Find out how to pass credentials. It can be done via Basic Authorization or WSS Security Header in the Request body. Check this link to learn more

Using SoapUI to test SOAP API call / Create Request Body XML

If you do not have WSDL file or URL handy then contact your API provider (sometimes you just have to add ?wsdl at the end of your Service URL to get WSDL so try that. Example: http://mycompany/myservice?wsdl ). If you don't know what is WSDL then in short, WSDL is Web service Description Language (i.e. XML file which describes your SOAP Service). WSDL helps to craft SOAP API request Body for ZappySys XML Driver. So Let's get started.

Download and Install SoapUI (It’s a Free tool to test SOAP / REST Services)
Open SoapUI and click SOAP button to create new SOAP Project
Enter WSDL URL or File Path of WSDLFor example WSDL for our sample service can be accessed via this URL
```
http://www.holidaywebservice.com/HolidayService_v2/HolidayService2.asmx?wsdl
```
Create new SOAP API Project in SoapUI tool for SOAP API Testing
Once WSDL is loaded you will see possible operations you can call for your SOAP Web Service.
If your web service requires credentials then you have to configure it. There are two common credential types for public services (SOAP WSS or BASIC )
1. To use SOAP WSS Credentials select request node and enter UserId, Password, and WSS-PasswordType (PasswordText or PasswordHash)
  
  Configure SOAP WSS Credentials for SoapUI (SOAP API Testing Tool)
2. To use BASIC Auth Credentials select request node and double-click it. At the bottom click on Auth (Basic) and From Authorization dropdown click Add New and Select Basic.
  Configure Basic Authorization for SoapUI (SOAP API Testing Tool)
Now you can test your request first Double-click on the request node to open request editor.
Change necessary parameters, remove optional or unwanted parameters. If you want to regenerate request you can click on Recreate default request toolbar icon.
Create SOAP Request XML (With Optional Parameters)
Once your SOAP Request XML is ready, Click the Play button in the toolbar to execute SOAP API Request and Response will appear in Right side panel.
Test SOAP API using SoapUI Tool (Change Default XML Body / Parameters, Execute and See Response)

Once you have tested your SOAP API in SoapUI tool, we are ready to use ZappySys SSIS Tasks/Components or ODBC Drivers to call SOAP API in SSIS or your preferred BI tool or Programming language.

Create SSIS package

First of all, create an SSIS package, which will connect to SOAP in SSIS. Once you do that, you are one step closer to deploying and running it in Azure-SSIS integration runtime in Azure Data Factory (ADF). Then simply proceed to the next step - creating and configuring Azure Blob Storage Container.

Prepare custom setup files for Azure-SSIS runtime

Now it's time to start preparing custom setup files for Azure-SSIS runtime. During Azure-SSIS runtime creation you can instruct ADF to perform a custom setup on a VM (Azure-SSIS node); i.e. to run the custom installer, copy files, execute PowerShell scripts, etc. In that case, your custom setup files are downloaded and run in the Azure-SSIS node (a VM) when you start the runtime. In this section we will prepare custom setup files so that you can run SSIS packages with SSIS PowerPack connectors inside in Azure-SSIS runtime.

Read more on Azure-SSIS runtime custom setup in Microsoft Azure Data Factory reference.

Trial Users

Use the step below if you are a Trial User, when you did not purchase a license key. Proceed with these steps:

Download SSIS PowerPack trial installer.
Make sure you don't rename the installer and keep it named as SSISPowerPackSetup_64bit_Trial.msi.
Create a text file and name it main.cmd (make it all lowercase, very important).

Copy and paste this script into it and save it:

set DIR=%CUSTOM_SETUP_SCRIPT_LOG_DIR%

echo Calling Step 1 : %TIME% >> "%DIR%\steps_log.txt"
dir /s /b > "%DIR%\file_list.txt"

echo Calling Step 2 : %TIME% >> "%DIR%\steps_log.txt"

::Install SSIS PowerPack
msiexec /i  "SSISPowerPackSetup_64bit_Trial.msi" ADDLOCAL=ALL /q  /L*V "%DIR%\powerpack_trial_install_log.txt"

echo Calling Step 3 : %TIME% >> "%DIR%\steps_log.txt"
dir "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\*Zappy*.*"  /s /b >> "%DIR%\installed_files.txt"
dir "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\*Zappy*.*"  /s /b >> "%DIR%\installed_files.txt"

echo DONE : %TIME% >> "%DIR%\steps_log.txt"

echo complete

This is the entry-point script that is executed when Azure-SSIS runtime is started.

At last! You are ready to upload these two files — main.cmd & SSISPowerPackSetup_64bit_Trial.msi — into your Azure Blob Storage container's folder, which we will do in the Upload custom setup files to Azure Blob Storage container step.

Paid Customers

Use the steps below if you are a Paid Customer, when you purchased a license. Proceed with these steps:

Download SSIS PowerPack paid installer.
Make sure you don't rename the installer and keep it named as SSISPowerPackSetup_64bit.msi.
Have your SSIS PowerPack license key handy, we will need it in the below script.
Create a text file and name it main.cmd (make it all lowercase, very important).
Copy and paste the below script into it.
Paste your license key by replacing parameter's --register argument with your real license key.

Finally, save main.cmd:

set DIR=%CUSTOM_SETUP_SCRIPT_LOG_DIR%

echo Calling Step 1 : %TIME% >> "%DIR%\steps_log.txt"
dir /s /b > "%DIR%\file_list.txt"

echo Calling Step 2 : %TIME% >> "%DIR%\steps_log.txt"

::Install SSIS PowerPack
msiexec /i  "SSISPowerPackSetup_64bit.msi" ADDLOCAL=ALL /q  /L*V "%DIR%\powerpack_install_log.txt"

echo Calling Step 3 : %TIME% >> "%DIR%\steps_log.txt"

::Activate PowerPack license (Optional)
"C:\Program Files (x86)\ZappySys\SSIS PowerPack (64 bit)\LicenseManager.exe" -p SSISPowerPack --register "lgGAAO0-----REPLACE-WITH-YOUR-LICENSE-KEY-----czM=" --logfile "%DIR%\powerpack_register_log.txt"

::Show System Info
echo Calling Step 4 : %TIME% >> "%DIR%\steps_log.txt"
"C:\Program Files (x86)\ZappySys\SSIS PowerPack (64 bit)\LicenseManager.exe" -i -l "%DIR%\sysinfo_log.txt"

echo Calling Step 5 : %TIME% >> "%DIR%\steps_log.txt"
dir "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\*Zappy*.*"  /s /b >> "%DIR%\installed_files.txt"
dir "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\*Zappy*.*"  /s /b >> "%DIR%\installed_files.txt"

echo DONE : %TIME% >> "%DIR%\steps_log.txt"

echo complete

This is the entry-point script that is executed when Azure-SSIS runtime is started.

At last! You are ready to upload these two files — main.cmd & SSISPowerPackSetup_64bit.msi — into your Azure Blob Storage container's folder, which we will do in the Upload custom setup files to Azure Blob Storage container step.

Upload custom setup files to Azure Blob Storage container

Within Azure Blob Storage container we will store custom setup files we prepared in the previous step so that Azure-SSIS can use them in custom setup process. Just perform these very simple, but very important steps:

Create Azure Blob Storage container, if you haven't done it already
Make sure you create and use Azure Blob Storage container instead of Azure Data Lake Storage folder. Azure Data Lake Storage won't allow creating an SAS URI for the container, which is a crucial step in the process.
Find Blob Containers node, right-click on it and hit Create Blob Container option:
Upload the two custom setup files — main.cmd & the MSI installer — into your Azure Blob Storage container's folder:
It was easy, wasn't it? It's time we create an SAS URI in the next step.

Create SAS URI for Azure Blob Container

Once you have custom setup files prepared, it's time we generate an SAS URI. This SAS URI will be used by a new Azure-SSIS runtime to install SSIS PowerPack inside the runtime's node, a VM. Let's proceed together by performing the steps below:

Install and launch Azure Storage Explorer.
Right-click on the Storage Accounts node and then hit Connect to Azure storage... menu item:
Proceed by right-clicking on that container node and select Get Shared Access Signature... option.
Next, set the Expiry time field to a date far in the future.
If you restart Azure-SSIS runtime and your SAS URI is expired by that time, it will not start.
Select Read, Create, Write, and List permissions:
We also recommend to add Delete permission too to support future functionality.
Copy SAS URL to the clipboard and save it for the next step: You can also generate and copy SAS URL from within Azure Portal itself:

Create Azure-SSIS integration runtime

Once you have the SAS URL we obtained in the previous step, we are ready to move on to create an Azure-SSIS runtime in Azure Data Factory:

Firstly, perform the steps described in Create an Azure-SSIS integration runtime article in Azure Data Factory reference.
In Advanced settings page section, configure Custom setup container SAS URI you obtained in the previous step:
And you are done! That was quick! You can see your Azure-SSIS runtime up and running:

The custom setup script is executed only once — at the time an Azure-SSIS runtime is started.

It is also executed if you stop and start Azure-SSIS runtime again.

Deploy SSIS package in Visual Studio

We are ready to deploy the SSIS package to Azure-SSIS runtime. Once you do that, proceed to the next step for the grand finale!

Execute SSIS package in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)

After all hard work, we are ready to execute SSIS package in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS):

Connect to the SQL Server which is linked to your Azure-SSIS runtime and contains SSISDB database.
Navigate to Integration Services Catalog » Your Folder » Your Project » Your Package, right-click on it, and hit Execute...:
To view the status of the past execution, navigate to Integration Services Catalog » Your Folder » Your Project » Your Package, right-click on it, and select Reports » Standard Reports » All Executions menu item:

Scenarios

Transferring SSIS PowerPack license

As an existing ZappySys customer, you might be using your SSIS PowerPack license in an Azure-SSIS Integration Runtime.

If you decide to move your SSIS package execution to a new machine, you will also need to transfer your license.

To accomplish this, perform the following steps:

Copy & paste this script into main.cmd we used in the previous step:

set DIR=%CUSTOM_SETUP_SCRIPT_LOG_DIR%

echo Calling Step 1 : %TIME% >> "%DIR%\steps_log.txt"
dir /s /b > "%DIR%\file_list.txt"
 
echo Calling Step 2 : %TIME% >> "%DIR%\steps_log.txt"

::Install SSIS PowerPack
msiexec /i  "SSISPowerPackSetup_64bit.msi" ADDLOCAL=ALL /q  /L*V "%DIR%\powerpack_install_log.txt"
 
echo Calling Step 3 : %TIME% >> "%DIR%\steps_log.txt"
 
::De-Activate same license
"C:\Program Files (x86)\ZappySys\SSIS PowerPack (64 bit)\LicenseManager.exe" -p SSISPowerPack --unregister --logfile "%DIR%\powerpack_un_register_log.txt"
 
::Show System Info
echo Calling Step 4 : %TIME% >> "%DIR%\steps_log.txt"
"C:\Program Files (x86)\ZappySys\SSIS PowerPack (64 bit)\LicenseManager.exe" -i -l "%DIR%\sysinfo_log.txt"
 
echo Calling Step 5 : %TIME% >> "%DIR%\steps_log.txt"
dir "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\*Zappy*.*"  /s /b >> "%DIR%\installed_files.txt"
dir "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\*Zappy*.*"  /s /b >> "%DIR%\installed_files.txt"
 
echo DONE : %TIME% >> "%DIR%\steps_log.txt"
 
echo complete

Start the Azure-SSIS runtime.

This will unregister your license on the original Azure-SSIS runtime.
Check the powerpack_un_register_log.txt log file in Azure Blob Storage folder to make sure the license was deactivated successfully.
Stop the Azure-SSIS runtime to deallocate resources in Azure.
You can now activate the license on another machine or Azure-SSIS runtime.