# SQL Server
The SQL Server connector lets you perform insert, delete, update, and read operations on a SQL Server database.
## Supported versions
SQL Server versions: 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2022
## Before you begin
Before using the SQL Server connector, do the following tasks:
- In your Google Cloud project:
- Ensure that network connectivity is set up. For information about network patterns, see [Network connectivity](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/network-connectivity-private.md.txt).
- Grant the [roles/connectors.admin](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/connectors-access-permissions.md.txt#iam-roles-for-integration-connectors) IAM role to the user configuring the connector.
- Grant the following IAM roles to the service account that you want to use for the connector:
- `roles/secretmanager.viewer`
- `roles/secretmanager.secretAccessor`
A service account is a special type of Google account intended to represent a non-human
user that needs to authenticate and be authorized to access data in Google APIs.
If you don't have a service account, you must create a service account. The connector and the service account must belong to the same project. For more
information, see
[Creating a service account](https://docs.cloud.google.com/iam/docs/creating-managing-service-accounts#creating).
- Enable the following services:
- `secretmanager.googleapis.com` (Secret Manager API)
- `connectors.googleapis.com` (Connectors API)
To understand how to enable services, see [Enabling services](https://docs.cloud.google.com/service-usage/docs/enable-disable.md.txt#enabling).
If these services or permissions have not been enabled for your project previously, you are prompted to enable them
when configuring the connector.
## Configure the connector
A connection is specific to a data source. It
means that if you have many data sources, you must create a separate connection
for each data source. To create a connection, do the following:
1. In the [Cloud console](https://console.cloud.google.com), go to the **Integration Connectors \> Connections** page and then select or create a Google Cloud project.
[Go to the Connections page](https://console.cloud.google.com/connectors/connections)
2. Click **+ Create new** to open the **Create Connection** page.
3. In the **Location** section, choose the location for the connection.
1. **Region** : Select a location from the drop-down list.
For the list of all the supported regions, see [Locations](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/locations.md.txt).
2. Click **Next**.
4. In the **Connection Details** section, complete the following:
1. **Connector** : Select **SQL Server** from the drop down list of available Connectors.
2. **Connector version**: Select the Connector version from the drop down list of available versions.
3. In the **Connection Name** field, enter a name for the Connection instance.
Connection names must meet the following criteria:
- Connection names can use letters, numbers, or hyphens.
- Letters must be lower-case.
- Connection names must begin with a letter and end with a letter or number.
- Connection names cannot exceed 49 characters.
4. Optionally, enter a **Description** for the connection instance.
5. Optionally, enable [Cloud logging](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/view-connector-logs.md.txt), and then select a log level. By default, the log level is set to `Error`.
6. **Service Account** : Select a service account that has the [required roles](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/connectors/sqlserver/configure.md.txt#before-you-begin).
7. Optionally, configure the **Connection node settings** :
- **Minimum number of nodes**: Enter the minimum number of connection nodes.
- **Maximum number of nodes**: Enter the maximum number of connection nodes.
A node is a unit (or replica) of a connection that processes transactions.
More nodes are required to process more transactions for a connection and conversely,
fewer nodes are required to process fewer transactions.
To understand how the nodes affect your connector pricing, see
[Pricing for connection nodes](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/pricing#pricing-for-connection-nodes). If you don't enter any values, by default
the minimum nodes are set to 2 (for better availability) and the maximum nodes are set to 50.
> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** You can customize the connection node values only if you are a Pay-as-you-go customer.
8. (Optional) In the **Advanced settings** section, select the **Use proxy** checkbox to configure a proxy server for the connection and configure the following values:
- **Proxy Auth Scheme** : Select the authentication type to authenticate with the proxy server. The following authentication types are supported:
- **Basic**: Basic HTTP authentication.
- **Digest**: Digest HTTP authentication.
- **Proxy User**: A user name to be used to authenticate with the proxy server.
- **Proxy Password**: The Secret manager secret of the user's password.
- **Proxy SSL Type** : The SSL type to use when connecting to the proxy server. The following authentication types are supported:
- **Auto**: Default setting. If the URL is an HTTPS URL, then the Tunnel option is used. If the URL is an HTTP URL, then the NEVER option is used.
- **Always**: The connection is always SSL enabled.
- **Never**: The connection is not SSL enabled.
- **Tunnel**: The connection is through a tunneling proxy. The proxy server opens a connection to the remote host and traffic flows back and forth through the proxy.
- In the **Proxy Server** section, enter details of the proxy server.
1. Click **+ Add destination**.
2. Select a **Destination Type** .
- **Host address** : Specify the hostname or IP address of the destination.
If you want to establish a private connection to your backend system, do the following:
- Create a [PSC service attachment](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/configure-psc).
- Create an [endpoint attachment](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/create-ep-attachment) and then enter the details of the endpoint attachment in the **Host address** field.
9. **ApplicationIntent**: The application intent connection string property expresses the client application's request to be directed either to a read-write or read-only version of an availability group database. To use read-only routing, a client must use an application intent of read-only in the connection string when connecting to the availability group listener. Without the read-only application intent, connections to the availability group listener are directed to the database on the primary replica.
10. **ApplicationName**: The application name connection string property expresses the client application's name.
11. **Database**: The name of the SQL Server database.
12. **Encrypt**: This field sets whether SSL is enabled.
13. Optionally, click **+ Add label** to add a label to the Connection in the form of a key/value pair.
14. Optionally, if you want to use SSL, select **Enable SSL** . This displays the SSL configuration details.
1. Select a trust store type. It can be either **Public** , **Private** , or **Insecure Connection**.
2. Select the certificates as displayed based on your trust store selection.
3. If you are using mTLS, select the key store certificates in the **Key Store** section.
> [!NOTE]
> **Note:**
> - All your certificates must be X.509 certificates and must be in PEM (Privacy Enhanced Mail) format.
> - You can't directly select a certificate when configuring SSL. You must store all your certificates and private keys as a Secret Manager Secret, and then select the required secret during SSL configuration.
15. Click **Next**.
5. In the **Destinations** section, enter details of the remote host (backend system) you want to connect to.
1. **Destination Type** : Select a **Destination Type** .
- To specify the destination hostname or IP address, select **Host address** and enter the address in the **host 1** field.
- To establish a private connection, select **Endpoint attachment** . In the **Endpoint Attachment** list, select the endpoint attachment created for your backend system.
> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** To learn how to create an endpoint attachment, see [Private
> network connectivity](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/network-connectivity-private). After creating the endpoint attachment, it is visible in the **Endpoint Attachment** list.
If you want to establish a public connection to your backend systems with additional security, you can
consider [configuring static outbound
IP addresses for your connections](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/configure-static-ip), and then configure
your firewall rules to allowlist only the specific static IP addresses.
To enter additional destinations, click **+Add destination**.
2. Click **Next**.
6. In the **Authentication** section, enter the authentication details.
1. Select an **Authentication type** and enter the relevant details.
The following authentication types are supported by the SQL Server connection:
- Username and password
2. To understand how to configure these authentication types, see [Configure authentication](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/connectors/sqlserver/configure.md.txt#configure-auth).
3. Click **Next**.
7. **Review**: Review your connection and authentication details.
8. Click **Create**.
### Configure authentication
Enter the details based on the authentication you want to use.
- **Username and password**
- **Username**: Username for connector
- **Password**: Secret Manager Secret containing the password associated with the connector.
- **Auth Scheme**: The scheme used for authentication
## Entities, operations, and actions
All the Integration Connectors provide a layer of abstraction for the objects of
the connected application. You can access an application's objects only through
this abstraction. The abstraction is exposed to you as entities, operations, and actions.
> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** You can view the entities, operations, and actions of a connector in the [Connectors task](https://docs.cloud.google.com/application-integration/docs/connectors-task).
- **Entity:** An entity can be thought of as an object, or a collection of properties, in the connected application or service. The definition of an entity differs from a connector to a connector. For example, in a database connector, tables are the entities, in a file server connector, folders are the entities, and in a messaging system connector, queues are the entities.
However, it is possible that a connector doesn't support or have any entities, in which case the
`Entities` list will be empty.
- **Operation:** An operation is the activity that you can perform on an entity. You can perform any of the following operations on an entity:
- [List](https://docs.cloud.google.com/application-integration/docs/configure-connectors-task.md.txt#config-prop)
- [Get](https://docs.cloud.google.com/application-integration/docs/configure-connectors-task.md.txt#config-prop)
- [Create](https://docs.cloud.google.com/application-integration/docs/configure-connectors-task.md.txt#config-prop)
- [Update](https://docs.cloud.google.com/application-integration/docs/configure-connectors-task.md.txt#config-prop)
- [Delete](https://docs.cloud.google.com/application-integration/docs/configure-connectors-task.md.txt#config-prop)
Selecting an entity from the available list, generates a list of
operations available for the entity. For a detailed description of the operations, see the Connectors task's
[entity operations](https://docs.cloud.google.com/application-integration/docs/connectors-task#config-prop).
However, if a connector doesn't support any of the entity operations, such unsupported
operations aren't listed in the `Operations` list.
- **Action:** An action is a first class function that is made available to the integration through the connector interface. An action lets you make changes to an entity or entities, and vary from connector to connector. Normally, an action will have some input parameters, and an output parameter. However, it is possible that a connector doesn't support any action, in which case the `Actions` list will be empty.
> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** All entities and actions will have a schema associated with them. For example, an action schema will have the parameter details such as; the parameter names, and its corresponding data type. The schema (metadata) for entities and actions is fetched by the connection at runtime from your backend. If there are any updates to the schema, such updates won't be automatically reflected in your existing connections; you must manually refresh the schema. To refresh the schema for a connection, open the **Connection details** page of the connection, and then click **Refresh connection schema**.
## System limitations
The SQL Server connector can process a maximum of 90 transactions per second,
per [node](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/pricing#payg), and
[throttles](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/rate-limiting.md.txt) any
transactions beyond this limit.
By default, Integration Connectors allocates 2 nodes (for better availability) for a connection.
For information on the limits applicable to Integration Connectors, see [Limits](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/quotas.md.txt).
> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** The number of [Integration Connectors nodes](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/pricing#pricing-for-connection-nodes) will autoscale dynamically based on your usage. However, if you want to reserve capacity for large volumes without waiting for autoscaling, you can adjust the minimum node value for a connection. More nodes are required to process more transactions for a connection. Conversely, fewer nodes are required if a connection processes fewer transactions. To configure the node values, do the following:
>
> - If you are a pay-as-you-go customer, configure the minimum and maximum node value in the edit connection page.
> - If you are a subscription based customer, [contact support](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/getting-support.md.txt).
>
> The maximum transactions that a node can handle depends on various factors. So, before adjusting the minimum nodes for better throughput,
> it is recommended you check if your backend systems are set up optimally to handle the required traffic.
## Supported data types
The following are the supported data types for this connector:
- BIGINT
- BINARY
- BIT
- BOOLEAN
- CHAR
- DATE
- DECIMAL
- DOUBLE
- FLOAT
- INTEGER
- LONGN VARCHAR
- LONG VARCHAR
- NCHAR
- NUMERIC
- NVARCHAR
- REAL
- SMALL INT
- TIME
- TIMESTAMP
- TINY INT
- VARBINARY
- VARCHAR
## Actions
This connector supports execution of the following actions:
- **User-defined stored procedures and functions.** If you have any stored procedures and functions in your backend, those are listed in the `Actions` column of the `Configure connector task` dialog.
- **Custom SQL queries.** To execute custom SQL queries, the connector provides the **Execute custom query** action.
To create a custom query, follow these steps:
1. Follow the detailed instructions to [add a connectors task](https://docs.cloud.google.com/application-integration/docs/configure-connectors-task.md.txt#add-a-connectors-task).
2. When you [configure the connector task](https://docs.cloud.google.com/application-integration/docs/configure-connectors-task.md.txt#configure-the-connectors-task), in the type of action you want to perform, select **Actions**.
3. In the **Action** list, select **Execute custom query** , and then click **Done** .
4. Expand the **Task input** section, and then do the following:
1. In the **Timeout after** field, enter the number of seconds to wait till the query executes.
Default value: `180` seconds.
2. In the **Maximum number of rows** field, enter the maximum number of rows to be returned from the database.
Default value: `25`.
3. To update the custom query, click **Edit Custom Script** . The **Script editor** dialog opens.
4. In the **Script editor** dialog, enter the SQL query and click **Save** .
You can use a question mark (?) in a SQL statement to represent a single parameter that must be specified in the query parameters list. For example, the following SQL query selects all rows from the `Employees` table that matches the values specified for the `LastName` column:
```
SELECT * FROM Employees where LastName=?
```
**Note:** Data manipulation language (DML) and data definition language (DDL) statements are supported.
5. If you've used question marks in your SQL query, you must add the parameter by clicking **+ Add Parameter Name** for each question mark. While executing the integration, these parameters replace the question marks (?) in the SQL query sequentially. For example, if you have added three question marks (?), then you must add three parameters in order of sequence.
To add query parameters, do the following:
1. From the **Type** list, select the data type of the parameter.
2. In the **Value** field, enter the value of the parameter.
3. To add multiple parameters, click **+ Add Query Parameter**.
6. The **Execute custom query** action does not support array variables.
## Create connections using Terraform
You can use the [Terraform
resource](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/google/latest/docs/resources/integration_connectors_connection) to create a new connection.
To learn how to apply or remove a Terraform configuration, see
[Basic Terraform commands](https://docs.cloud.google.com/docs/terraform/basic-commands.md.txt).
To view a sample terraform template for connection creation, see [sample template](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/sample-terraform-template.md.txt).
When creating this connection by using Terraform, you must set the following variables in your Terraform configuration file:
| Parameter name | Data type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| application_intent | STRING | False | The application intent connection string property expresses the client application's request to be directed either to a read-write or read-only version of an availability group database. To use read-only routing, a client must use an application intent of read-only in the connection string when connecting to the availability group listener. Without the read-only application intent, connections to the availability group listener are directed to the database on the primary replica. |
| application_name | STRING | False | The application name connection string property expresses the client application's name. |
| database | STRING | False | The name of the SQL Server database. |
| encrypt | BOOLEAN | False | This field sets whether SSL is enabled. |
| enable_logging | ENUM | False | Enables verbosity for logging during a connection by selecting a level between 1 (least verbose) and 5 (most verbose). This feature can aid in troubleshooting error messages or other unexpected behavior. However, please be aware that this option will log all communication details, including requests, responses, and SSL certificates, between the connector and backend. Therefore, it is not advisable to utilize this function in a live production environment. Supported values are: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| proxy_enabled | BOOLEAN | False | Select this checkbox to configure a proxy server for the connection. |
| proxy_auth_scheme | ENUM | False | The authentication type to use to authenticate to the ProxyServer proxy. Supported values are: BASIC, DIGEST, NONE |
| proxy_user | STRING | False | A user name to be used to authenticate to the ProxyServer proxy. |
| proxy_password | SECRET | False | A password to be used to authenticate to the ProxyServer proxy. |
| proxy_ssltype | ENUM | False | The SSL type to use when connecting to the ProxyServer proxy. Supported values are: AUTO, ALWAYS, NEVER, TUNNEL |
## Use the SQL Server connection in an integration
After you create the connection, it becomes available in both
Apigee Integration and Application Integration. You can use the connection
in an integration through the Connectors task.
- To understand how to create and use the Connectors task in Apigee Integration, see [Connectors task](https://docs.cloud.google.com/apigee/docs/api-platform/integration/connectors-task#configure-the-connectors-task).
- To understand how to create and use the Connectors task in Application Integration, see [Connectors task](https://docs.cloud.google.com/application-integration/docs/configure-connectors-task.md.txt).
Also, see the [Perform CRUD operations on a MySQL database](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/perform-crud-operation-mysql-database.md.txt) tutorial
that shows how to create a MySQL connection, and use the connection in an integration to perform read and write operations.
## Get help from the Google Cloud community
You can post your questions and discuss this connector in the Google Cloud community at [Cloud Forums](https://www.googlecloudcommunity.com/gc/Integration-Services/bd-p/cloud-integration-services).
## What's next
- Understand how to [suspend and resume a connection](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/suspend-resume-connection.md.txt).
- Understand how to [monitor connector usage](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/cloud-monitoring.md.txt).
- Understand how to [view connector logs](https://docs.cloud.google.com/integration-connectors/docs/view-connector-logs.md.txt).