Data Studio is a potent tool for creating dashboards from multiple data sources. The problem is, Data Studio requires a database connection. If you don’t already have a database or want to create a new one, you’ll need to install MySQL.

MySQL is a free open source relational database management system (RDBMS) developed by Oracle Corporation. Initially designed for commercial web applications, it has since become widely adopted for other purposes.

Here’s how to get started using Data Studio with MySQL.

Connect to Google Cloud SQL for MySQL 

Google Cloud SQL for MySQL allows you to run MySQL databases within Google Compute Engine instances. This enables you to use standard tools like MySQL Workbench, HeidiSQL, Navicat, etc., to access your data. You can even install the MySQL Community Server version 5.6.3 or later.

Data Studio provides connectors for Cloud SQL for MySQL. These allow you to import and export data directly into Data Studio from your database instance.

Follow the steps to connect to Cloud SQL from Data Studio.

1. Open Data Studio.

2. Click the menu icon () in the upper left corner.

3. 4. Select Cloud SQL for MySQL in the Connectors list.

Supported versions

Cloud SQL for MySQL Connector supports all major versions of MySQL, starting with 5.5.

The connector allows you to connect directly to Cloud SQL instances running MySQL 5.x through MySQL 8.0. You don’t need to install MySQL Server separately.

How to connect to Cloud SQL for MySQL

SQL Server runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, and many cloud platforms. You must use tools such as ODBC drivers, JDBC drivers, and native connectors to access your data stored in Microsoft SQL Server databases. One option is to install the free Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express Edition. This tool lets you manage SQL Server databases locally. However, it does not allow you to connect to remote servers.

Azure Data Studio makes connecting to SQL Server much more accessible. It provides a graphical interface similar to what you see when working with Azure Cosmos DB. With Azure Data Studio, you can quickly perform everyday tasks like querying data, creating tables, and viewing database objects. In addition, you can easily connect to SQL Server databases hosted in Azure SQL Database, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure HDInsight Hadoop clusters, and Azure Blob storage accounts.

You can also use the latest version of Azure Data Studio directly from the Azure portal. To do this, select “Data Studio” and “Download.”

To learn how to connect to SQL Server using Azure Data Studio, follow these steps:

1. Open the Azure Portal.

2. 3. Enter a name for the database, and select the location where you want to store the database.

Permissions

To connect to CloudSQL for Oracle, you need the client’s permission to create connections. You must provide the username, password, hostname, port number, database name, schema name, and SID.

The MySQL connector uses an HTTP connection to obtain credentials. This works well if you are connecting to a server running locally. But you’ll have to configure SSL/HTTPS when you want to connect remotely.

When you use HTTPS, you’ll need to set up a Certificate Authority (CA) and install it into your browser. Then you’ll need to add the CA certificates to your browser.

You can find out how to do all of this in our documentation.

Data types

SQL Server 2017 introduces some new data types. These include:

– Bit – A binary value used to store information about whether a particular bit is set or cleared.

– Boolean – A type that represents TRUE/FALSE values.

– DateTime2 – A date and time type that uses 2 bytes per second to represent dates and times up to 2038.

– Geography – A geographic data type that stores latitude and longitude coordinates for points on Earth.

– Image – Stores image files.

– Money – Represents monetary amounts in currencies such as dollars, pounds sterling, euros, etc.

Google Data Studio Native Connectors

There are currently 12 native connectors for Google’s data products. These connectors allow partners to connect to Google Cloud Platform (GCP), BigQuery, Google Analytics 360, and YouTube Data API. They are limited in scope and perform better than most third-party solutions. However, there are some limitations to keep in mind.

Native connectors are built into the product and require no additional setup. This makes it easy to use and simple to integrate.

Partners can choose from a wide array of connectors that work across multiple databases. For example, you could connect to Google BigQuery, Google Analytics, Google Sheets, and Google Docs with one connector. You could link to Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle Database, Amazon Redshift, Salesforce, SAP HANA, and others.

These connectors are part of Google’s G Suite offering, so partners don’t need to worry about licensing costs.

Google Data Studio Partner Connectors

Data Studio is one of the reliable tools for creating dashboards and reports. But it doesn’t come cheap. If you’re looking to build out your dashboard, there are many ways to do so. One way is by connecting to external databases such as Microsoft SQL Server. Today we’re excited to announce the addition of three new partner connector options. These connectors make it easy to quickly connect to SQL Server databases and bring your data into Data Studio.

The following partners offer free connectors:

Microsoft Azure

Amazon Redshift

Oracle Cloud

If you already use Data Studio, please let us know what features you’d like to see added to Data Studio. We’ll keep working to improve our product based on your feedback.

6 Ways of connecting data from SQL Server to Data Studio

SQL Server offers many ways of connecting to it. This article will show you how to connect to an SQL Server database via Microsoft Azure Data Studio. We will use the following steps:

1. 2. Download and install the latest version of the Azure Data Studio client application.

3. Open the Azure portal and select “Databases.” Click “+ Add Database,” enter the name of your server and choose the correct database (in our case, it is called “MyDatabase”).

4. Select the “Connect” tab, choose the type of connection (ODBC), and specify the hostname, port number, username, and password.

5. After clicking OK, you can open the Data Studio client and start working with your database.

Connecting to your SQL Server data within Analytics Canvas

Once connected to your SQL server, you can create new datasets and add them to your analytics canvas. You can also connect to databases outside of Microsoft, such as Salesforce, Facebook Ads, and many others. In addition, you can blend data from multiple sources and publish reports based on those combined datasets.