How to load data from Parquet File to MS SQL Server

Learn how to use Airbyte to synchronize your Parquet File data into MS SQL Server within minutes.

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Set up a Parquet File connector in Airbyte

Connect to Parquet File or one of 400+ pre-built or 10,000+ custom connectors through simple account authentication.

Set up MS SQL Server for your extracted Parquet File data

Select MS SQL Server where you want to import data from your Parquet File source to. You can also choose other cloud data warehouses, databases, data lakes, vector databases, or any other supported Airbyte destinations.

Configure the Parquet File to MS SQL Server in Airbyte

This includes selecting the data you want to extract - streams and columns -, the sync frequency, where in the destination you want that data to be loaded.

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How to Sync Parquet File to MS SQL Server Manually

Ensure you have Python installed on your machine, as well as the pandas and pyodbc libraries. Python is versatile for handling Parquet files, and pyodbc is used for connecting to MS SQL Server.

Use the pandas library to read the Parquet file. You can do this by importing pandas and using the `read_parquet` function. This will load the data into a DataFrame, which is an in-memory representation of the data.
```python
import pandas as pd
# Load the Parquet file into a DataFrame
df = pd.read_parquet('your_file.parquet')
```

Ensure your MS SQL Server is running and you have the necessary credentials and permissions to create tables and insert data. Create a table that matches the schema of your DataFrame. This can be done using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or any other SQL client.

Use the pyodbc library to establish a connection to your MS SQL Server. You will need the server name, database name, user credentials, and any other connection parameters.
```python
import pyodbc
# Establish a connection to the MS SQL Server
conn = pyodbc.connect(
'DRIVER={ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server};'
'SERVER=your_server_name;'
'DATABASE=your_database_name;'
'UID=your_username;'
'PWD=your_password'
)
```

Check if any data transformation is needed to ensure compatibility with the SQL Server schema. This may include data type conversions or handling missing values. Use pandas functions to perform necessary transformations.
```python
# Example: Convert a column to a specific data type
df['column_name'] = df['column_name'].astype('desired_data_type')
```

Use a cursor object from the pyodbc connection to execute SQL queries. You can iterate over the DataFrame and insert rows one by one or use the `to_sql` method from pandas with SQLAlchemy for bulk insert if desired, but ensure it’s within the scope of using built-in tools.
```python
cursor = conn.cursor()
# Insert data row by row
for index, row in df.iterrows():
cursor.execute('''
INSERT INTO your_table_name (column1, column2, ...)
VALUES (?, ?, ...)
''', row['column1'], row['column2'], ...)
# Commit the transaction
conn.commit()
```

After the data insertion, verify that the data has been transferred correctly by querying the SQL Server table. Finally, close the connection and clean up any resources used during the process.
```python
# Verify the data
cursor.execute('SELECT COUNT(*) FROM your_table_name')
print(cursor.fetchone())
# Close the connection
conn.close()
```
By following these steps, you can effectively move data from a Parquet file to MS SQL Server using Python’s built-in libraries without relying on third-party connectors.

How to Sync Parquet File to MS SQL Server Manually - Method 2:

FAQs

ETL, an acronym for Extract, Transform, Load, is a vital data integration process. It involves extracting data from diverse sources, transforming it into a usable format, and loading it into a database, data warehouse or data lake. This process enables meaningful data analysis, enhancing business intelligence.

Parquet File is a columnar storage file format that is designed to store and process large amounts of data efficiently. It is an open-source project that was developed by Cloudera and Twitter. Parquet File is optimized for use with Hadoop and other big data processing frameworks, and it is designed to work well with both structured and unstructured data. The format is highly compressed, which makes it ideal for storing and processing large datasets. Parquet File is also designed to be highly scalable, which means that it can be used to store and process data across multiple nodes in a distributed computing environment.

Parquet File's API gives access to various types of data, including:  

• Structured data: Parquet files can store structured data in a columnar format, making it easy to query and analyze large datasets.  
• Semi-structured data: Parquet files can also store semi-structured data, such as JSON or XML, allowing for more flexibility in data storage.  
• Unstructured data: Parquet files can store unstructured data, such as text or binary data, making it possible to store a wide range of data types in a single file.  
• Big data: Parquet files are designed for big data applications, allowing for efficient storage and processing of large datasets.  
• Machine learning data: Parquet files are commonly used in machine learning applications, as they can store large amounts of data in a format that is optimized for processing by machine learning algorithms.  

Overall, Parquet File's API provides access to a wide range of data types, making it a versatile tool for data storage and analysis in a variety of applications.

This can be done by building a data pipeline manually, usually a Python script (you can leverage a tool as Apache Airflow for this). This process can take more than a full week of development. Or it can be done in minutes on Airbyte in three easy steps: 
1. Set up Parquet File to MSSQL - SQL Server as a source connector (using Auth, or usually an API key)
2. Choose a destination (more than 50 available destination databases, data warehouses or lakes) to sync data too and set it up as a destination connector
3. Define which data you want to transfer from Parquet File to MSSQL - SQL Server and how frequently
You can choose to self-host the pipeline using Airbyte Open Source or have it managed for you with Airbyte Cloud. 

ELT, standing for Extract, Load, Transform, is a modern take on the traditional ETL data integration process. In ELT, data is first extracted from various sources, loaded directly into a data warehouse, and then transformed. This approach enhances data processing speed, analytical flexibility and autonomy.

ETL and ELT are critical data integration strategies with key differences. ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) transforms data before loading, ideal for structured data. In contrast, ELT (Extract, Load, Transform) loads data before transformation, perfect for processing large, diverse data sets in modern data warehouses. ELT is becoming the new standard as it offers a lot more flexibility and autonomy to data analysts.

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