Access SAP SuccessFactors Data from MySQL in HeidiSQL

HeidiSQL is an open-source database administration tool that natively supports MariaDB, MySQL, SQL Server, and PostgreSQL. When paired with the CData ODBC Driver for SAP SuccessFactors and SQL Gateway, HediSQL's reach extends to include access to live SAP SuccessFactors data. This article demonstrates how to connect to on-premise SAP SuccessFactors and query SAP SuccessFactors data in HeidiSQL.

Connect to SAP SuccessFactors Data

If you have not already done so, provide values for the required connection properties in the data source name (DSN). You can use the built-in Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to configure the DSN. This is also the last step of the driver installation. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the help documentation for a guide to using the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure a DSN.

You can authenticate to SAP Success Factors using Basic authentication or OAuth with SAML assertion.

Basic Authentication

You must provide values for the following properties to successfully authenticate to SAP Success Factors. Note that the provider will reuse the session opened by SAP Success Factors using cookies. Which means that your credentials will be used only on the first request to open the session. After that, cookies returned from SAP Success Factors will be used for authentication.

• Url: set this to the URL of the server hosting Success Factors. Some of the servers are listed in the SAP support documentation (external link).
• User: set this to the username of your account.
• Password: set this to the password of your account.
• CompanyId: set this to the unique identifier of your company.

OAuth Authentication

You must provide values for the following properties, which will be used to get the access token.

• Url: set this to the URL of the server hosting Success Factors. Some of the servers are listed in the SAP support documentation (external link).
• User: set this to the username of your account.
• CompanyId: set this to the unique identifier of your company.
• OAuthClientId: set this to the API Key that was generated in API Center.
• OAuthClientSecret: the X.509 private key used to sign SAML assertion. The private key can be found in the certificate you downloaded in Registering your OAuth Client Application.
• InitiateOAuth: set this to GETANDREFRESH.

When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

Configure the SQL Gateway

See the SQL Gateway Overview to set up connectivity to SAP SuccessFactors data as a virtual MySQL database. You will configure a MySQL remoting service that listens for MySQL requests from clients. The service can be configured in the SQL Gateway UI.

To connect to the SQL Gateway from HeidiSQL, you will need to run the SQL Gateway on a web-facing machine. After configuring the SQL Gateway, make note of the following information:

• The IP address or domain name of the machine hosting the SQL Gateway
• The data source name (likely CData SAPSuccessFactors Sys) of the MySQL service
• The port number of the MySQL service
• The credentials of a SQL Gateway user with access to the service

Configure Remote Access

If your ODBC Driver and the remoting service are installed on-premise (and not accessible from HeidiSQL), you can use the reverse SSH tunneling feature to enable remote access. For detailed instructions, read our Knowledge Base article: SQL Gateway SSH Tunneling Capabilities.

Connect to SAP SuccessFactors in HeidiSQL

Once you have a MySQL Service configured for the CData ODBC Driver for SAP SuccessFactors, you are ready to connect to the data in HeidiSQL. Start by creating a new connection Session in HeidiSQL, then choose the MySQL library type.

Configure the data set using the values for the MySQL service for SAP SuccessFactors you configured in SQL Gateway (be sure to use the DSN for the database name). Validate your connection and click Open.

Query SAP SuccessFactors from HeidiSQL

1. In the database listing on the left, find your connection to SAP SuccessFactors configured earlier.
2. In the database listing on the left, expand the appropriate connection and to view individual tables or data objects present within SAP SuccessFactors.
3. Write custom SQL queries targeting these tables, treating the data source like any SQL Server database, or visually explore each tabular data set by selecting the relevant tables

With the CData ODBC Driver for SAP SuccessFactors and SQL Gateway, you are able to easily query data from SAP SuccessFactors data in HeidiSQL. If you have any questions, such as needing to access your on-premises data from HeidiSQL, let our Support Team know.