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Microsoft Fabric - Direct Connect and Reverse Engineer

hazal.sener
Updated

SqlDBM connects directly to Microsoft Fabric so you can pull existing warehouses and lakehouses into the platform and work with them as data models. This article walks through making that connection and importing your assets.

How the integration works

SqlDBM connects to Microsoft Fabric through its SQL Server project type, since Fabric's SQL analytics endpoint uses the SQL Server protocol. 

Every Fabric warehouse and lakehouse automatically provisions a SQL analytics endpoint, a read surface that speaks the same protocol as SQL Server. SqlDBM uses that endpoint to reach your data model in OneLake, read the schema of the objects you already have, and reverse-engineer them into a SqlDBM data model. No data is moved or copied; SqlDBM only reads the object definitions (tables, views, and their columns).

You can bring your assets in two ways:

  • Direct connection: SqlDBM connects to the Fabric SQL analytics endpoint and lets you browse and select the objects to import.
  • DDL import:  you copy the object definitions (DDL) out of Fabric and paste them into SqlDBM. Useful when a direct connection is not used.

Step 1: Copy the SQL connection string from Fabric

  1. In Microsoft Fabric, open the workspace that holds your warehouse or lakehouse.
  2. Select the item you want to reverse-engineer (a warehouse, or a lakehouse's SQL analytics endpoint).
  3. Open the item's Settings, go to the SQL endpoint page, and copy the SQL connection string. 

Step 2: Start Reverse Engineering in SqlDBM

  1. In SqlDBM, open an existing SQL Server project or create a new one.
  2. Click the Reverse Engineering button
  3. Choose Connect to DW
  4. Enter the connection details:
  • Server:  the server portion of the Fabric SQL connection string.
  • Port: Network access to the endpoint on TCP port 1433 (Fabric's SQL connection uses the standard SQL Server port). If you're behind a firewall, that port must be open.
  • Username and password: your Microsoft Entra ID credentials.
  • Set the login to use your Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) user

Once the details are in, click to connect to SQL Server Button.

Refer to the screenshot below for the highlighted steps.

Step 3: Select and import your assets

  1. After connecting, browse the warehouses and lakehouses available in your workspace.
  2. Select the objects you want to bring in.
  3. Import them into SqlDBM. The selected tables and views are reverse-engineered into a data model, where you can continue designing.

Refer to the recording below, which walks you through the connection process step by step.

 

See also:


 

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