ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) Connector for Informatica PowerCenter : Make generic REST API request (bulk write) via SQL

Integrate Informatica PowerCenter and ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)

Learn how to make generic REST API request (bulk write) using the ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) Connector for Informatica PowerCenter. This connector enables you to read and write ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate requests, tasks, comments, and worklogs — almost no coding required. We'll walk you through the exact setup.

Let's dive in!

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) ODBC Driver Powering this integration

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

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

Documentation

Create data source using ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) ODBC Driver

Download and install ODBC PowerPack (if you haven't already).
Search for odbc and open the ODBC Data Sources (64-bit):
Create a User data source (User DSN) based on the ZappySys API Driver driver:

ZappySys API Driver
- Create and use a User DSN if the client application runs under a User Account. This is the ideal option at design time (e.g., when developing in Visual Studio). Use it for both types of applications (64-bit and 32-bit).
- Create and use a System DSN if the client application runs under a System Account (e.g., as a Windows Service). This is usually the required option in a production environment. If your Windows Service is a 32-bit application, you must use the 32-bit ODBC Data Source Administrator to configure this
When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)" 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:

ManageengineServicedeskPlusZohoDSN

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)

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.

OAuth

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) authentication

OAuth Connection for ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus API [API reference]

To register custom App, perform the following steps (Detailed steps found in the help link at the end)

Go to Zoho API Console
Click Add Client link
Select Server-based Applications option
Enter desired client name (Display purpose only)
Enter some URL for Company homepage
For Authorized Redirect URI enter https://zappysys.com/oauth (Or enter your own but we recommend using ZappySys one if possible). This URL must match on Zoho Connector UI.
Click CREATE.
Copy Client ID and Secret and paste on Zoho Connector UI.

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to OAuth [OAuth]
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.
Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
Finally, hit OK button:

ManageengineServicedeskPlusZohoDSN

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)

OAuth [OAuth]

https://sdpondemand.manageengine.com/api/v3

Optional Parameters
ClientId
ClientSecret
Permissions	SDPOnDemand.requests.ALL
AccountUrl	https://accounts.zoho.com
RedirectUrl	https://zappysys.com/oauth
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

Then go to Preview tab to start building a SQL query.
Once you do that, proceed by opening Query Builder:

ZappySys API Driver - ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)

Read and write ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate requests, tasks, comments, and worklogs — almost no coding required.

ManageengineServicedeskPlusZohoDSN
Then simply select the Make Generic REST API Request (Bulk Write) endpoint (action).
Continue by configuring the Required parameters. You can also set optional parameters too.
Move on by hitting Preview Data button to preview the results.

If you see the results you need, simply copy the generated query:

Make Generic REST API Request (Bulk Write)

Optional Parameters
Url	/something/123
IsMultiPart
Filter
Headers	Accept: / \|\| Cache-Control: no-cache
Advanced Properties
Request Method	POST
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
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> -->

SELECT * FROM __DynamicRequest__
WITH
(
    "Url" = '/something/123',
    "RequestMethod" = 'POST'
)

Click OK to use built SQL query and close the Query Builder.
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 Informatica PowerCenter:
ZappySys API Driver - ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)

Read and write ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate requests, tasks, comments, and worklogs — almost no coding required.

ManageengineServicedeskPlusZohoDSN
```
SELECT * FROM __DynamicRequest__
WITH
(
    "Url" = '/something/123',
    "RequestMethod" = 'POST'
)
```
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 ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) 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 ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) servers).

Let's not stop here and explore SQL query examples, including how to use them in Stored Procedures and Views (virtual tables) in the next steps.

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) SQL query examples

Use these SQL queries in your Informatica PowerCenter data source:

Make generic rest api request

SELECT * FROM __DynamicRequest__
WITH
(
    "Url" = '/something/123',
    "RequestMethod" = 'POST'
)

generic_request_bulk_write endpoint belongs to __DynamicRequest__ table(s), and can therefore be used via those table(s).

Create SQL view in ODBC data source

ZappySys API Drivers support flexible Query language so you can override Default Properties you configured on Data Source such as URL, Body. This way you don't have to create multiple Data Sources if you like to read data from multiple EndPoints. However not every application support supplying custom SQL to driver so you can only select Table from list returned from driver.

If you're dealing with Microsoft Access and need to import data from an SQL query, it's important to note that Access doesn't allow direct import of SQL queries. Instead, you can create custom objects (Virtual Tables) to handle the import process.

Many applications like MS Access, Informatica Designer wont give you option to specify custom SQL when you import Objects. In such case Virtual Table is very useful. You can create many Virtual Tables on the same Data Source (e.g. If you have 50 URLs with slight variations you can create virtual tables with just URL as Parameter setting.

Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Table:
Enter the desired Table name and click on OK:
And it will open the New Query Window Click on Cancel to close that window and go to Custom Objects Tab.
Select the created table, Select Text Type AS SQL and write the your desired SQL Query and Save it and it will create the custom table in the ZappySys Driver:
Here is an example SQL query for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders also. Read more about placeholders here
```
SELECT
  "ShipCountry",
  "OrderID",
  "CustomerID",
  "EmployeeID",
  "OrderDate",
  "RequiredDate",
  "ShippedDate",
  "ShipVia",
  "Freight",
  "ShipName",
  "ShipAddress",
  "ShipCity",
  "ShipRegion",
  "ShipPostalCode"
FROM "Orders"
Where "ShipCountry"='USA'
```
That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your custom virtual table query. In this example it will extract the orders for the USA Shipping Country only:
```
SELECT * FROM "vt__usa_orders_only"
```

Make generic REST API request in Informatica PowerCenter via SQL view

Open Informatica Mapping Designer (Click [D] icon)
Click on Source Icon to switch to Sources designer
From the top menu > Click on Sources > Import from Database …

Import ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) Source definition in Informatica Mapping Designer (JSON file or REST API)
Select ODBC data source from the dropdown (Find out DSN we created earlier to use as JSON Source)
Click Connect button to get a list of tables. Any array node is listed as a table. Also, you will see array node with parent columns (e.g. value_with_parent). You may get some warning like below but they are harmless so just ignore by clicking OK.

DLL name entry missing from C:\Informatica\PowerCenter8.6.1\client\bin\powrmart.ini Section = ODBCDLL Entry = ZappySys JSON Driver
—————————————————-
Using EXTODBC.DLL to support ZappySys JSON Driver. For native support of ZappySys JSON Driver make an entry in the .ini file.

Select ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) Source Table in Informatica Mapping Designer (JSON file or REST API)
Select Table you wish to get (You can filter rows by custom SQL query. We will see later in this article how to do)
Optionally once table structure is imported you can rename it

Rename imported table definition in Informatica Source Designer

Advanced topics

Creating SQL stored procedures

You can create procedures to encapsulate custom logic and then only pass handful parameters rather than long SQL to execute your API call.

Steps to create Custom Stored Procedure in ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here

Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Procedure:
Enter the desired Procedure name and click on OK:
Select the created Stored Procedure and write the your desired stored procedure and Save it and it will create the custom stored procedure in the ZappySys Driver. Here is an example stored procedure for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here
```
CREATE PROCEDURE [usp_get_orders]
    @fromdate = '<<yyyy-MM-dd,FUN_TODAY>>'
 AS
    SELECT * FROM Orders where OrderDate >= '<@fromdate>';
```
That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your Stored Procedure using Exec Command. In this example it will extract the orders from the date 1996-01-01:
```
Exec usp_get_orders '1996-01-01';
```

Conclusion

And there you have it — a complete guide on how to make generic REST API request (bulk write) in Informatica PowerCenter without writing complex code. All of this was powered by ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) ODBC Driver, which handled the REST API pagination and authentication for us automatically.

Download the trial 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):

Download Chat

More actions supported by ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) Connector

Got another use case in mind? We've documented the exact setups for a variety of essential ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) operations directly in Informatica PowerCenter, so you can skip the trial and error. Find your next step-by-step guide below: