How to connect PolyBase to HubDB

PolyBase for SQL Server allows you to query external data by using the same Transact-SQL syntax used to query a database table. When paired with the CData ODBC Driver for HubDB, you get access to your HubDB data directly alongside your SQL Server data. This article describes creating an external data source and external tables to grant access to live HubDB data using T-SQL queries.

NOTE: PolyBase is only available on SQL Server 19 and above, and only for Standard SQL Server.

The CData ODBC drivers offer unmatched performance for interacting with live HubDB data using PolyBase due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from SQL Server to HubDB, the driver pushes down supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to HubDB and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. And with PolyBase, you can also join SQL Server data with HubDB data, using a single query to pull data from distributed sources.

Connect to HubDB

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs. To create an external data source in SQL Server using PolyBase, configure a System DSN (CData HubDB Sys is created automatically).

There are two authentication methods available for connecting to HubDB data source: OAuth Authentication with a public HubSpot application and authentication with a Private application token.

Using a Custom OAuth App

AuthScheme must be set to "OAuth" in all OAuth flows. Be sure to review the Help documentation for the required connection properties for you specific authentication needs (desktop applications, web applications, and headless machines).

Follow the steps below to register an application and obtain the OAuth client credentials:

1. Log into your HubSpot app developer account.
   • Note that it must be an app developer account. Standard HubSpot accounts cannot create public apps.
2. On the developer account home page, click the Apps tab.
3. Click Create app.
4. On the App info tab, enter and optionally modify values that are displayed to users when they connect. These values include the public application name, application logo, and a description of the application.
5. On the Auth tab, supply a callback URL in the "Redirect URLs" box.
   • If you're creating a desktop application, set this to a locally accessible URL like http://localhost:33333.
   • If you are creating a Web application, set this to a trusted URL where you want users to be redirected to when they authorize your application.
6. Click Create App. HubSpot then generates the application, along with its associated credentials.
7. On the Auth tab, note the Client ID and Client secret. You will use these later to configure the driver.

8. Under Scopes, select any scopes you need for your application's intended functionality.

   A minimum of the following scopes is required to access tables:

   • hubdb
   • oauth
   • crm.objects.owners.read
9. Click Save changes.
10. Install the application into a production portal with access to the features that are required by the integration.
    • Under "Install URL (OAuth)", click Copy full URL to copy the installation URL for your application.
    • Navigate to the copied link in your browser. Select a standard account in which to install the application.
    • Click Connect app. You can close the resulting tab.

Using a Private App

To connect using a HubSpot private application token, set the AuthScheme property to "PrivateApp."

You can generate a private application token by following the steps below:

1. In your HubDB account, click the settings icon (the gear) in the main navigation bar.
2. In the left sidebar menu, navigate to Integrations > Private Apps.
3. Click Create private app.
4. On the Basic Info tab, configure the details of your application (name, logo, and description).
5. On the Scopes tab, select Read or Write for each scope you want your private application to be able to access.
6. A minimum of hubdb and crm.objects.owners.read is required to access tables.
7. After you are done configuring your application, click Create app in the top right.
8. Review the info about your application's access token, click Continue creating, and then Show token.
9. Click Copy to copy the private application token.

To connect, set PrivateAppToken to the private application token you retrieved.

Click "Test Connection" to ensure that the DSN is connected to HubDB properly. Navigate to the Tables tab to review the table definitions for HubDB.

Create an External Data Source for HubDB Data

After configuring the connection, you need to create a master encryption key and a credential database for the external data source.

Creating a Master Encryption Key

Execute the following SQL command to create a new master key, 'ENCRYPTION,' to encrypt the credentials for the external data source.

CREATE MASTER KEY ENCRYPTION BY PASSWORD = 'password';

Creating a Credential Database

Execute the following SQL command to create credentials for the external data source connected to HubDB data.

NOTE: Since HubDB does not require a User or Password to authenticate, you may use whatever values you wish for IDENTITY and SECRET.

CREATE DATABASE SCOPED CREDENTIAL hubdb_creds
WITH IDENTITY = 'username', SECRET = 'password';

Create an External Data Source for HubDB

Execute a CREATE EXTERNAL DATA SOURCE SQL command to create an external data source for HubDB with PolyBase:

• Set the LOCATION parameter , using the DSN and credentials configured earlier.

For HubDB, set SERVERNAME to the URL or address for your server (e.g. 'localhost' or '127.0.0.1' for local servers; the remote URL for remote servers). Leave PORT empty. PUSHDOWN is set to ON by default, meaning the ODBC Driver can leverage server-side processing for complex queries.

CREATE EXTERNAL DATA SOURCE cdata_hubdb_source
WITH ( 
  LOCATION = 'odbc://SERVER_URL',
  CONNECTION_OPTIONS = 'DSN=CData HubDB Sys',
  -- PUSHDOWN = ON | OFF,
  CREDENTIAL = hubdb_creds
);

Create External Tables for HubDB

After creating the external data source, use CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE statements to link to HubDB data from your SQL Server instance. The table column definitions must match those exposed by the CData ODBC Driver for HubDB. You can refer to the Tables tab of the DSN Configuration Wizard to see the table definition.

Sample CREATE TABLE Statement

The statement to create an external table based on a HubDB NorthwindProducts would look similar to the following:

CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE NorthwindProducts(
  PartitionKey [nvarchar](255) NULL,
  Name [nvarchar](255) NULL,
  ...
) WITH ( 
  LOCATION='NorthwindProducts',
  DATA_SOURCE=cdata_hubdb_source
);

Having created external tables for HubDB in your SQL Server instance, you are now able to query local and remote data simultaneously. Thanks to built-in query processing in the CData ODBC Driver, you know that as much query processing as possible is being pushed to HubDB, freeing up local resources and computing power. Download a free, 30-day trial of the ODBC Driver for HubDB and start working with live HubDB data alongside your SQL Server data today.