Create Snowflake Connections
Toad allows you to create a native Snowflake connection, which provides you with a full-featured Object Explorer, Query Builder and SQL Editor.
Note: You must have a Snowflake ODBC driver 2.24.2 (or later) installed before a native connection is created.
To install the Snowflake ODBC Driver
Download and install the ODBC Driver from the Snowflake Web site.
-
Click
on the Connections toolbar (ALT+F+N).
- Select Snowflake from the Group list box.
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Enter the connection information in the Create New Connection dialog. Review the following for additional information:
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Review the following for additional information:
General Tab Description Host
Enter the name of the server hosting the database to which you want to connect.
Authentication
There are four types of authentication that you can use to connect to Snowflake in Toad. The required Login fields will change according to the type of authentication you select. All the authenticators are located in a dropdown list:
- Snowflake – User account authentication
- SSO – Single Sign-On via external browser
- OAuth – Token-based authentication
- MFA - Multi-Factor Authentication
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Key pair - JSON Web Token (JWT)
User
Enter the username for your Snowflake account
Password
Enter the password for your Snowflake account
Token
Enter your authentication token (Only visible when connecting via OAuth)
Private key path
Enter your Private key (Only visible when connecting via Key pair)
Passphrase
Passphrase is required only if the keys are encrypted (Only visible when connecting via Key pair)
Port
The default port number for Snowflake is 443 Optional
A connection can be made without providing this information
Role
Enter the user role that you would like to connect to Warehouse
Enter the name of the Warehouse you would like to connect to
Database
Enter the name of the Database(s) you would like to connect to
Schema
Enter the name of the Schema(s) you would like to connect to
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Click Connect to save the connection and immediately connect to the database.
or
Click Save to save the connection without connecting to the database.
Authentication Notes
When using SSO or MFA, there is a way to maintain continuous and secure connectivity without needing to enter login credentials for each connection attempt to Snowflake (as well as to prevent additional browser loading whenever a new module is started in Toad Data Point). To achieve this, check whether the correct parameters have been set in your account by executing the query below in your Snowflake cloud interface:
SHOW PARAMETERS IN ACCOUNT;
The output that will secure login credentials caching will have these values:
For SSO
allow_id_token = true;
For MFA
allow_client_mfa_caching = true;
If these values are set to false, then the following queries need to be executed:
For SSO:
ALTER ACCOUNT
SET allow_id_token = true;
For MFA:
ALTER ACCOUNT
SET allow_client_mfa_caching = true;
Note: If a Role or Warehouse isn’t chosen, the default settings from the Snowflake User account will be applied (it is considered best practice that a user sets a default Role and a default Warehouse in their Snowflake user account).
Tip: It is strongly advised to use only the Snowflake user account authentication when creating Automation scripts to avoid unnecessary workflow interruptions.
Limitations of Snowflake Native Connections
- Connecting to Snowflake through Programmatic SSO (Okta only) is not currently supported.
- Semi-structured data types can be used for storing and analyzing purposes in Snowflake connections, but are not supported in the Data Compare/Sync Wizard because Toad will not be able to generate valid sync scripts unless they are modified before execution
- At the moment, there is no support for Code Snippets in Snowflake connections
- Publishing Snapshots, Views, Automation scripts, and Workbooks to Toad Intelligence Central cannot be performed when using SSO, MFA, OAuth, Key pair authentication
Tip: Connections are stored in the connections.xml file and can be found by clicking the Application Data Directory link in Help | About.
Troubleshoot SQL Server® Issues
Create SQL Server Connections
You can create a new connection, or connect to an existing connection from the Create New Connection window. See Troubleshoot SQL Server® Issues for more information about troubleshooting connection issues.
Note: For SQL Azure connections:
- To be able to utilize majority of Toad functionality please grant VIEW DEFINITION on the SQL Azure databases you want to work with.
- You can login to Windows Azure Platform by selecting Tools | Cloud Computing | SQL Azure Portal and providing your credentials.
- Make sure that no Azure firewall rule restricts your IP address from having access to Azure server. See Create and Alter Azure Firewall Rules for more information.
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Click
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Select Microsoft SQL Server or Microsoft SQL Azure from the Group list box.
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Review the following for additional information:
Login Tab Description Server name
Enter the name of the server to use when connecting.
Click
to display any servers running SQL Server that are currently active on the network.
Notes:
- For SQL Azure connections, enter InstanceName.database.windows.net in this field.
- For named instances, enter the MachineName\InstanceName in this field.
Authentication
Select the type of authentication to use for this connection.
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You can connect to an Azure SQL database with Active Directory authentication
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You can also connect to an Azure SQL database with Active Directory Universal with MFA.
Note: You cannot create a SQL Azure connection using Windows Authentication.
Password
Enter the password to use when connecting.
Tip: After connecting, you can set a master password to further secure your connection in Tools | Options| Environment | Security.
Application ID
Enter the application ID located in App registrations in Azure Active Directory. (This is a mandatory field when connecting to Microsoft SQL Azure via MFA.)
Redirect URI
Enter the appropriate redirect URI.(This is an optional field when connecting to Microsoft SQL Auzre via MFA which can be left empty unless you have specific requirements for configuring the Redirect URI.)
Category
Select or create a category if you want to color code Editor tabs for a specific connection. This can help differentiate between development and production databases. You can also set an option to color code the Object Explorer pane and object editor windows (Create, Alter, Drop, etc.). Encrypt connection
Select this option to enable encryption for the current connection provided that the certificate has been already installed on the server. Advanced Tab Description Network protocol
Select one of the following:
- Shared Memory
- TCP/IP
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Named Pipes
Note: When establishing Named Pipes connection "Poll service status in connection list" option should be cleared.
Parameter Name/Value
You can add parameters to the connection. Toad includes the Application Name parameter with value Toad Data Point by default. OBDC driver
Select an ODBC driver to use for this connection when creating cross-connection queries.
Tip: You can specify the ODBC driver to use for all connections for this database provider in Tools | Options | Database | SQL Server.
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Click Connect to save the connection and immediately connect to the database.
or
Click Save to save the connection without connecting to the database.
Tip: Connections are stored in the connections.xml file and can be found by clicking the Application Data Directory link in Help | About.
To import connections (including Central Management Server connections)
- Click
.
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Specify the location where the connections currently reside.
Note: Review the following for additional information on CMS connections:
- To import CMS connections, select a server from the list where the CMS is registered. The connection to this SQL Server instance should be created beforehand.
- CMS is available beginning with Microsoft SQL Server 2008.
- User should have an appropriate login (Windows Authentication and grant to connect to selected server are required) created on the server to which he connects via CMS.
- Select the connections to be imported.
Troubleshoot SQL Server® Issues
Microsoft SQL Azure Connections with Multi-factor Authentication
To create this type of connection to Microsoft SQL Azure, Active Directory Universal with MFA needs to be selected from the Authentication field dropdown.
The next step is to enter a user name which has been configured for multi-factor authentication and put in the appropriate App ID. After filling out the required information, click on Connect.
The step that follows will enable you to select a user from the list or add another one by clicking on Use another account.
After that, you will be prompted to enter your credentials and depending on the type of authentication that the account has been configured with, you will undergo an additional authentication step, such as the one in the image below.
After completing the final authentication step, a successful connection to Microsoft SQL Azure will be made.
Limitations of Microsoft SQL Azure connections with Multi-factor Authentication
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Publishing Snapshots, Views, Automation scripts, and Workbooks to Toad Intelligence Central cannot be performed when using Active Directory Universal with MFA type of authentication.
Create SSAS Connections
Through Toad you can create a connection to a Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) data source. An SSAS connection in Toad allows you to access the multi-dimensional cubes from the data source.
See also, About SQL Server Analysis Services Data Sources.
Note: This feature is available in the Toad Data Point Professional Edition only.
Configure HTTP Access
Before connecting to SQL Server Analysis Services from Toad Data Point, you must configure the IIS Web server (to be used for connecting) for HTTP access to SSAS. See the following instructions from Microsoft: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg492140(v=sql.105).aspx.
Connect to SQL Server Analysis Services
To create a SQL Server Analysis Services connection
- Click
- Select Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) from the Group list.
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Enter the connection information in the Create New Connection dialog. Review the following for additional information:
URI Enter the URL for the Analysis Services data source to which you want to connect.
Note: Toad connects to Analysis Services via http access. The URL should have the following format:
format—http://<server path>/msmdpump.dll
example—http://server01/olap/msmdpump.dll
Database Enter the name of the Analysis Services database to which you want to connect. Username Enter the user name for the user account to be used in this connection. Password Enter the password for the user account specified in Username. Category (Optional) Select an existing category or create a new one. Note: In NoSQL and Business Intelligence connections, Toad automatically saves the password in the connections.xml file as obfuscated text, as well as in Toad. To add additional password security, use Toad's Master Password feature.
- Click Connect to connect immediately and also save the connection information. Optionally, you can click Save to save the connection without connecting.
- Upon creating an initial connection, Toad automatically maps the data source objects. This process runs in the background, and until it is finished, you may experience a delay when attempting to access these objects.
Tips:
- Read about the considerations and limitations of working with Analysis Services in Toad in About SQL Server Analysis Services Data Sources.
- Connections are stored in the connections.xml file and can be found by clicking the Application Data Directory link in Help | About.
- You can specify a proxy server to use for Business Intelligence and NoSQL connections at Tools | Options | Database | Data Services.
About SQL Server Analysis Services Data Sources
Create SAP Connections
You can create a new SAP IQ, SAP SQL Anywhere, or SAP ASE connection, or connect to an existing connection from the Create New Connection window. See Troubleshoot SAP Issues for more information about troubleshooting connection issues.
Note: This topic focuses on information that may be unfamiliar to you. It does not include all step and field descriptions.
To create an SAP connection
-
Click
- Select SAP ASE, SAP IQ, or SAP SQL Anywhere from the Group list.
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Enter the login information. Review the following for additional information:
Login Tab Description Host
Enter the host name for the connection.
Note: This field is only available when you select an SAP IQ or SAP SQL Anywhere connection.
Port
Enter the number of port. Password
Enter the password to use when connecting.
Tip: After connecting, you can set a master password to further secure your connection in Tools | Options| Environment | Security.
CharSet
Enter the client character set such as UTF-8 in this field if it differs from the default character set. This helps you avoid connection issues.
Notes:
-
This field is not case sensitive.
- This field is only available when you select an SAP ASE connection.
Category
Select or create a category if you want to color code Editor tabs for a specific connection. This can help differentiate between development and production databases. You can also set an option to color code the Object Explorer pane and object editor windows (Create, Alter, Drop, etc.). Options Tab Description Language
Default is us_english.
Kerberos
Select whether you want to use Kerberos when connecting.
Default is No.Encryption
Select None if you do not want to use encryption during connecting. Select TLS to use the highest available encryption when connecting. Indicate the path to your certificate file if you want to use TLS encryption. Advanced Tab Description ODBC driver Select an ODBC driver to use for this connection when creating cross-connection queries.
Tip: You can specify the ODBC driver to use for all connections for this database provider in Tools | Options | Database | Oracle.
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-
Click Connect to save the connection and immediately connect to the database.
or
Click Save to save the connection without connecting to the database.
Tip: Connections are stored in the connections.xml file and can be found by clicking the Application Data Directory link in Help | About.