Microsoft SQL Server
This page describes how to sync data into your Microsoft SQL Server instance.
Getting Started
This guide will walk you through connecting to Microsoft SQL Server as a destination.
If you are trying to use Microsoft SQL Service as a data source (to query data from SQL Server and sync to elsewhere), that process is documented separately here: Microsoft SQL Server Data Source
- Visit the Destinations page and click + New Destination.
- Select Microsoft SQL Server from the menu.
- Enter the requested database credentials:
| Credential | Description |
|---|---|
| Hostname | Host name or IP address of database |
| Port | Port of database (1433 by default for SQL Server) |
| Database Name | Name of database within SQL Server to connect to |
| Username | Username Activations will use to connect |
| Password | Password Activations will use to connect |
| Number of Client Connections | Value between 1 and 8 (default is 1). This is the maximum number of concurrent connections Activations will use to connect to database. The default should be fine in most cases, but increasing this value can increase throughput on very large syncs. |
| Use SSH Tunnel | Default: Off - Toggle on to indicate that Activations should connect via an SSH Tunnel. For more information, see regions-and-ip-addresses.md |
| SSH Hostname | Hostname of the Activations accessible SSH Tunnel bastion. |
| SSH Port | Port of SSH Tunnel bastion. |
| SSH Username | Username Activations will use to connect to bastion. |
🔑 Permissions
To use SQL Server as a destination, Activations requires permission to write to the desired destination tables, as well as read metadata about the table and database structures.
-- Note that creating a user may be redundant if you're already configured -- SQL Server as a source. -- Create census user the ability to sign in with a password CREATE USER CENSUS WITH PASSWORD = '<strong, unique password>'; -- Give the census user the ability to connect to database GRANT CONNECT TO CENSUS; -- Give the census user the ability to read table within the database -- Note: census user just will have the ability to gain explicit permissions -- in the following command EXEC sp_addrolemember 'db_datareader', CENSUS; -- Grant census user ability to read data from within a schema -- Note: this can also be granted to specific tables as well GRANT SELECT, VIEW DEFINITION ON SCHEMA::<schema> TO CENSUS; -- Grant census user ability to write data to tables within a schema -- Note: this can also be granted to specific tables as well GRANT INSERT, UPDATE ON SCHEMA::<schema> TO CENSUS;
Supported Objects and Behaviors
| Object Name | Supported? | Sync Keys | Behaviors |
| Table | ✅ | Primary keys or columns with uniqueness constraints (should not be of the type uniqueidentifier) | Update or Create, Update Only |
Contact Support if you want Activations to support more sync behaviors for SQL Server.
Advanced Network Configuration
Activations can successfully connect to SQL Server instances that are using advanced networking controls including region constraints, IP address allow lists, or SSH Tunneling. For more information, see our Network Access Controls documentation.