How do I connect Tableau to SQL Server in 5 minutes?

Execute the following steps to connect Tableau to SQL Server. You only need knowledge of Tableau, your own business and the SQL Server administration.

Microsoft SQL Server is a traditional database platform. SQL Server supports ANSI SQL. It is available both as a cloud database on Microsoft Azure as a traditional database running on-premise or hosted.

No technical knowledge is needed nor knowledge on the SQL Server APIs to connect SQL Server to Tableau. This step-by-step plan will tell you exactly which steps you need to go through on Invantive Cloud to create your own Azure data warehouse with data from SQL Server.

The steps to connect Tableau to SQL Server are:

1. Register an Invantive Cloud account.
2. Create a SQL Server database.
3. Make the SQL Server database available through the Tableau OData connector.
4. Connect Tableau to SQL Server through the connector.
5. Load data from SQL Server into Tableau.

Invantive Cloud offers a SQL Server connector to download data from SQL Server into Tableau, but there are over 75 other connectors available also for SQL, Power BI, Power Query, Tableau y Azure Data Factory.

With the SQL Server connector for Tableau you will by default fetch the data from all connected SQL Server companies in your dashboard. You can limit the number of SQL Server companies that are retrieved in Tableau through the Database settings. For example, you can also limit the connector for Tableau to the data from exactly one SQL Server company. Of course, you can also filter the data by a specific SQL Server company using a filter step in Tableau. The SQL Server connector for Tableau has advanced optimizations for great real-time performance with both a single SQL Server company as well as with hundreds of SQL Server companies.

When you are having questions, please check the forums for SQL Server. Every organisation is entitled to 1 hour of free training to help you get started. This free hour also applies to free plans.

Register Account on Invantive Cloud

Skip this step when you already have an account on Invantive Cloud. Otherwise execute the following steps one time to register an account on Invantive Cloud:

1. Go to Invantive Cloud start page.

2. Select the Log on-button.

3. Select the Sign Up-button.

4. Enter your business email address.

5. Select the Next-button.

6. Enter your personal data.

7. Select the Next-button.

8. Enter your password and repeat the provided password.

9. Select the Next-button.

10. You will receive a six-digit verification code by email within 2 minutes.

11. Enter the six-digit verification code.

12. Select the Sign Up-button.

13. Log on now.

14. Make sure you have an authentication app installed on your phone. Select the Next-button.

15. Add the displayed QR code to the authentication app, enter the current verification code, and choose "Finish".

16. Skip registration of the organization.

17. Complete your personal data and choose 'Save'.

18. Go to the dashboard.

19. The Invantive Cloud dashboard will be shown.

You now have a login code on Invantive Cloud with which you can set up the connection with SQL Server and numerous other platforms. You will use the same Invantive login code and workflow for all other platforms.

Create SQL Server database

In this step, we set up a database with data from SQL Server. The database is "virtual" because it is not a traditional database, but is fed real-time from SQL Server. Invantive Cloud provides Tableau with a real-time link to SQL Server. The database will be used for all your SQL Server reporting with Tableau. So you only need to perform these steps once.

1. Click the Add Database button.

2. Select SQL Server from the list.

3. Please fill out the form with login information for SQL Server.

4. Select the OK-button.

Congratulations! You can now process data from SQL Server within the Invantive Cloud website. You can do this for example with the interactive SQL editor.

Grant connection from Tableau access to SQL Server

To retrieve the data from Tableau we create a link via Invantive Bridge Online. This creates a "bridge" between the cloud of Invantive and the standard OData connector that is available in every version of Tableau. You do not need to install anything locally: no connector, no ado.NET provider and no Tableau add-on neither.

Execute the following steps to safely use the data from SQL Server outside of Invantive Cloud:

1. Next to the database you will find an orange text requesting you to allow access from your current location (IP address). Select the nearby orange button.

2. You can completely disable IP address checking by entering an asterisk ("*").

You are now ready to import the SQL Server data into Tableau.

Configure Tableau connector for SQL Server

You will now pull in Tableau data from SQL Server through the established link.

Please note again that Invantive Cloud under the hood handles all complexity such as setting up credentials such as a refresh token, acquiring an access token, optimizing and parallelizing access, accessing an API within the rate limits, scopes and security restrictions. There is absolutely no need for knowledge on complex technical topics such as OAuth access tokens or API.

Execute the following steps:

1. Start Tableau and choose "More..." from the "To a Server" menu on the left menu "Connect".

2. Search and select the OData connector.'

3. Enter in the window the Bridge Online URL of the Tableau database. This URL containing the data can be found in the Database-form of Invantive Cloud. Choose authentication type "Username and Password". Enter the Invantive Cloud user name and password.

4. The list of available SQL Server tables appears. Select the desired tables and construct your Tableau dashboard.