Connect to HubDB Data as a Linked Server



Use the SQL Gateway and the ODBC Driver to set up a linked server for HubDB data.

You can use the SQL Gateway to configure a TDS (SQL Server) remoting service and set up a linked server for HubDB data. After you have started the service, you can use the UI in SQL Server Management Studio or call stored procedures to create the linked server. You can then work with HubDB data just as you would a linked SQL Server instance.

Connect to HubDB as an ODBC Data Source

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.

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.

Configure the TDS Remoting Service

See the SQL Gateway Overview for a guide to configure a TDS remoting service in the SQL Gateway UI. The TDS remoting service is a daemon process that listens for TDS requests from clients.

Create a Linked Server for HubDB Data

After you have configured and started the daemon, create the linked server and connect. You can use the UI in SQL Server Management Studio or call stored procedures.

Create a Linked Server from the UI

Follow the steps below to create a linked server from the Object Explorer.

  1. Open SQL Server Management Studio and connect to an instance of SQL Server.
  2. In the Object Explorer, expand the node for the SQL Server database. In the Server Objects node, right-click Linked Servers and click New Linked Server. The New Linked Server dialog is displayed.
  3. In the General section, click the Other Data Source option and enter the following information after naming the linked server:
    • Provider: Select "Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server" or "Microsoft OLE DB Driver for SQL Server"
    • Data Source: Enter the host and port the TDS remoting service is running on, separated by a comma.

      Note that a value of "localhost" in this input refers to the machine where SQL Server is running so be careful when creating a linked server in Management Studio when not running on the same machine as SQL Server.

    • Catalog: Enter the CData system DSN, CData HubDB Sys.
  4. In the Security section, select the option to have the connection "made using this security context" and enter the username and password of a user you created in the Users tab of the SQL Gateway.

Create a Linked Server Programmatically

In addition to using the SQL Server Management Studio UI to create a linked server, you can use stored procedures. The following inputs are required:

  • server: The linked server name.
  • provider: Enter "MSOLEDBSQL", for the Microsoft OLE DB Driver for SQL Server.
  • datasrc: The host and port the service is running on, separated by a comma.

    Note that a value of "localhost" in the datasrc input refers to the machine where SQL Server is running, so be careful when creating a linked server in Management Studio when not running on the same machine as SQL Server.

  • catalog: Enter the system DSN configured for the service.
  • srvproduct: Enter the product name of the data source; this can be an arbitrary value, such as "CData SQL Gateway" or an empty string.
Follow the steps below to create the linked server and configure authentication to the SQL Gateway:
  1. Call sp_addlinkedserver to create the linked server:

    EXEC sp_addlinkedserver @server='HubDB', @provider='MSOLEDBSQL', @datasrc='< MachineIPAddress >,1434', @catalog='CData HubDB Sys', @srvproduct=''; GO
  2. Call the sp_addlinkedsrvlogin stored procedure to allow SQL Server users to connect with the credentials of an authorized user of the service. Note that the credentials you use to connect to the service must specify a user you configured on the Users tab of the SQL Gateway.

    EXEC sp_addlinkedsrvlogin @rmtsrvname='HubDB', @rmtuser='admin', @rmtpassword='test', @useself='FALSE', @locallogin=NULL; GO

Connect from SQL Server Management Studio

SQL Server Management Studio uses the SQL Server Client OLE DB provider, which requires the ODBC driver to be used inprocess. You must enable the "Allow inprocess" option for the SQL Server Native Client Provider in Management Studio to query the linked server from SQL Server Management Studio. To do this, open the properties for the provider you are using under Server Objects -> Linked Servers -> Providers. Check the "Allow inprocess" option and save the changes.

Execute Queries

You can now execute queries to the HubDB linked server from any tool that can connect to SQL Server. Set the table name accordingly:

SELECT * FROM [linked server name].[CData HubDB Sys].[HubDB].[NorthwindProducts]

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The HubDB ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live data from HubDB, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access HubDB data like you would a database - read, write, and update HubDB 0, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.