Azure SQL Database

Applies to: Tableau Cloud, Tableau Desktop, Tableau Prep

This article describes how to connect Tableau to Azure SQL Database and set up the data source.

Note: If you’re using Azure Active Directory via OAuth authentication, make sure you have already setup the server before you continue. For more information on server configuration, see Configure Azure AD for OAuth and Modern Authentication.

Before you begin

Before you begin, gather this connection information:

  • Fully qualified server name that hosts the database you want to connect to; for example, myserver-20171113.database.windows.net

  • (Optional) Name of the database

  • Authentication method:

    • Username and password

    • Active Directory password

    • Azure Active Directory via OAuth (integrated)

      Note: To use this option, your system administrator must enable “user consent” in your organization's Azure Active Directory tenant. For more information, see Microsoft documentation on configuring user consent.

  • Sign in credentials depend on the authentication method you choose and can include the following:

    • Username and password

    • Active Directory username and password

    • Azure Active Directory instance URL

  • Are you connecting to an SSL server?

  • Do you want to set the database isolation level to read uncommitted data?

  • (Optional) Initial SQL statement to run every time Tableau connects

Make the connection and set up the data source

  1. Start Tableau and under Connect, select Azure SQL Database. For a complete list of data connections, select More under To a Server. Then do the following:
    1. Enter the URL for the server that you want to connect to.
    2. (Optional) Enter a database name if you want to connect to a contained database.
    3. Specify how you want to sign in to the server — with a username and password, with an Active Directory username and password, or using an integrated Azure Active Directory sign in via OAuth.
    4. Type your user name and password.
      Or, if you use Azure Active Directory via OAuth, type an Azure Active Directory instance URL. See documentation from Microsoft on endpoints(Link opens in a new window) for more details.

      Note: If your organization uses more than one Azure Active Directory tenant, the Azure Active Directory instance URL must match the tenant where the database is configured. You can find the tenant ID in your Azure portal, or from your Azure administrator.

    5. Select the Require SSL check box when connecting to an SSL server.
    6. Specify whether to Read uncommitted data. This option lets Tableau run at the read-uncommitted isolation level. Long queries from Tableau, including extract refreshes, can lock the database and delay transactions. Select this option to allow queries to read rows that have been modified by other transactions even when they haven’t been committed yet. When this option is cleared, Tableau uses the default isolation level specified by the database.
    7. (Optional) Select Initial SQL to specify a SQL command to run at the beginning of every connection, such as when you open the workbook, refresh an extract, sign in to Tableau Server, or publish to Tableau Server. For more information, see Run Initial SQL.
    8. Select Sign In.

      If Tableau can't make the connection, verify that your credentials are correct. If you still can't connect, your computer is having trouble locating the server. Contact your network administrator or database administrator for more assistance.

  2. On the data source page, do the following:

    1. (Optional) Select the default data source name at the top of the page, and then enter a unique data source name for use in Tableau. For example, use a data source naming convention that helps other users of the data source figure out which data source to connect to.

    2. From the Database drop-down list, select a database.

    3. Under Table, select a table or use the search field to search for a table by name.

      You can also specify a stored procedure in the database. For more information about stored procedures, including a list of constraints specific to SQL Server databases, see Use a Stored Procedure.

    4. Drag a table to the canvas, and then select the sheet tab to start your analysis.

      Use custom SQL to connect to a specific query rather than the entire data source. For more information, see Connect to a Custom SQL Query.

Note: Tableau Desktop doesn’t support the Microsoft SQL Server TIME data type. Fields of this data type aren’t imported and don’t appear in Tableau Desktop. If included in stored procedures, TIME data type fields won’t appear in Tableau Desktop. For more information, see Use a Stored Procedure.

Sign in on a Mac

If you use Tableau Desktop on a Mac, when you enter the server name to connect, use a fully qualified domain name, such as mydb.test.ourdomain.lan, instead of a relative domain name, such as mydb or mydb.test.

Alternatively, you can add the domain to the list of Search Domains for the Mac computer so that when you connect, you need to provide only the server name. To update the list of Search Domains, go to System Preferences > Network > Advanced, and then open the DNS tab.

Note: Azure Active Directory via OAuth (integrated) isn’t supported on a Mac

See also

Back to top
Thanks for your feedback!Your feedback has been successfully submitted. Thank you!