---
title: "SQL Server as a Source"
slug: "universal-sql-server-source"
description: "Send your data from SQL Server (MSSQL) easily with Dataddo! Create and automate secure, reliable, fully-managed data pipelines in 3 simple steps. Start now!"
updated: 2023-10-13T09:47:07Z
published: 2023-10-13T09:47:07Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dataddo.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# SQL Server as a Source

**SQL Server** or **MSSQL**, short for **Microsoft SQL Server**, is a relational database management system developed by Microsoft. It provides a comprehensive platform for storing, managing, and querying structured data using SQL, serving various applications and industries with its robust features and capabilities.

## Authorize Connection to SQL Server

To authorize the connection to your SQL Server, please follow the authorization guide on our [SQL Server as a destination article](/docs/universal-sql-server).

## How to Create an SQL Server Data Source

1. Under the **Sources** tab, click on the [**Create Source**](https://app.dataddo.com/sources/new) button and select the connector from the list.
2. From the drop-down menu, choose your **account**.
          **Didn't find your account?**

          

Click on **Add new Account** at the bottom of the drop-down and follow the on-screen prompts. You can also go to the **Authorizers** tab and click on [**Add New Service**](https://app.dataddo.com/service/new).
3. **Name** your data source and `SELECT` your columns.
4. [**Optional**] Configure your advanced settings (for more information please refer to the section on **Advanced Settings**). If you are unsure about how to proceed, we recommend skipping this step.
5. Configure your **snapshotting preferences**. Choose your [**sync frequency**](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/extraction#frequency) or the exact synchronization time under **Show advanced settings**.
          **DATADDO TIP**

          

If you need to **load historical data**, please refer to our [**article on data backfilling**](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/data-backfilling-to-storages).
6. Preview your data by clicking on the **Test Data** button in the top right corner. You can **adjust the date range** for a more specific time frame.
7. Click on **Save** and **congratulations, your new data source is ready!**

---

## Troubleshooting

### Columns with Unsupported Data Types

If your original table contains columns with an unsupported data type, e.g. `binary` you will be unable to select these columns for data extraction. To solve this issue, you can use `CAST` to change your data type to a supported one through a custom statement.

```
SELECT 
    CAST(columnname AS int) AS new_columnname,
    other_columns 
FROM 
    tablename;
```

### Data Preview Unavailable

No data preview when you click on **Test Data** might be caused by an issue with your ***source*** configuration. The most common causes are:

- **Date range**: Try a smaller date range. You can load the rest of your data afterward using [manual data load](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/data-backfilling).
- **Insufficient permissions**: Please make sure your authorized account has at least admin-level permissions.
- **Invalid metrics, attributes, or breakdowns**: You may not have any data for the selected metrics, attributes, or breakdowns.
- **Incompatible combination of metrics, attributes, or breakdowns**: Your selected combination cannot be queried together. Please refer to the service's documentation to view a full list of metrics that can be included in the same ***data source***.

## Related Articles

Now that you have successfully created a ***data source***, see how you can connect your data to a dashboarding app or a data storage.

**Sending Data to Dashboarding Apps**

- [Simple Data Integration to Dashboards](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/simple-data-integration-to-dashboards)
- [Data Backfilling to Dashboarding Apps](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/data-backfilling-to-dashboarding-apps)

**Sending Data to Data Storages**

- [Batch Ingestion to Data Warehouses](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/ingestion-to-data-warehouses)
- [Data Backfilling to Storages](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/data-backfilling-to-storages)

**Other Resources**

- [Troubleshooting](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/troubleshooting)
- [Extraction Logs](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/extraction-logs)
- [Data Duplication](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/data-duplication)