TL;DR

Exporting data from Public REST APIs to SQL Server is a common requirement for businesses looking to consolidate and analyze their data. This article explores how to streamline this process using Airbyte, an open-source data integration platform. We'll demonstrate how Airbyte simplifies the extraction of data from various REST APIs and efficiently loads it into SQL Server, enabling more robust data management and analysis capabilities.

This tutorial’s purpose is to show you how.

What is Public Apis

Public API connector permits users the flexibility to connect to any existing REST API and quickly abstract the necessary data. The API Connector also permits you to connect to almost any external API from Bubble. It provides Azure Active Directory with the information needed to call the API endpoint by defining the HTTP endpoint URL and authentication for the API call. API Connector is a dynamic, comfortable-to-use extension that pulls data from any API into Google Sheets.

What is MS SQL Server

Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management (RDBMS) built by Microsoft. As a database server, its primary function is to store and retrieve data upon the request of other software applications, either from the same computer or a different computer across a network—including the internet. To serve the needs of different audiences and workload sizes, Microsoft offers multiple editions (at least 12) of its Microsoft SQL Server.

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Prerequisites

1. A Public Apis account to transfer your customer data automatically from.
2. A MS SQL Server account.
3. An active Airbyte Cloud account, or you can also choose to use Airbyte Open Source locally. You can follow the instructions to set up Airbyte on your system using docker-compose.

Airbyte is an open-source data integration platform that consolidates and streamlines the process of extracting and loading data from multiple data sources to data warehouses. It offers pre-built connectors, including Public Apis and MS SQL Server, for seamless data migration.

When using Airbyte to move data from Public Apis to MS SQL Server, it extracts data from Public Apis using the source connector, converts it into a format MS SQL Server can ingest using the provided schema, and then loads it into MS SQL Server via the destination connector. This allows businesses to leverage their Public Apis data for advanced analytics and insights within MS SQL Server, simplifying the ETL process and saving significant time and resources.

Step 1: Set up Public Apis as a source connector

1. Open the Airbyte platform and navigate to the "Sources" tab on the left-hand side of the screen.
2. Click on the "Public API" source connector and select "Create new connection."
3. Enter a name for your connection and click "Next."
4. In the "Configuration" tab, enter the base URL for the API you want to connect to.
5. If your API requires authentication, select the appropriate authentication method (e.g. OAuth2, API key, etc.) and enter the necessary credentials.
6. If your API requires additional headers or parameters, add them in the "Advanced" section.
7. Test the connection to ensure that the API is properly configured and that Airbyte can access it.
8. Once the connection is successful, select the data you want to replicate and configure any necessary settings (e.g. scheduling, schema mapping, etc.).
9. Save the connection and run a sync to start replicating data from your API to your destination.

Step 2: Set up MS SQL Server as a destination connector

1. Open the Airbyte platform and navigate to the "Destinations" tab on the left-hand side of the screen.
2. Scroll down until you find the "MSSQL - SQL Server" connector and click on it.
3. Click on the "Create new destination" button.
4. Fill in the required information, including the destination name, host, port, database name, username, and password.
5. Click on the "Test connection" button to ensure that the connection is successful.
6. Once the connection is successful, click on the "Save" button to save the destination.
7. Navigate to the "Sources" tab on the left-hand side of the screen and select the source that you want to connect to the MSSQL - SQL Server destination.
8. Click on the "Create new connection" button.
9. Select the MSSQL - SQL Server destination that you just created from the drop-down menu.
10. Fill in the required information for the source, including the source name, host, port, database name, username, and password.
11. Click on the "Test connection" button to ensure that the connection is successful.
12. Once the connection is successful, click on the "Save" button to save the connection.13. You can now start syncing data from your source to your MSSQL - SQL Server destination.

Step 3: Set up a connection to sync your Public Apis data to MS SQL Server

Once you've successfully connected Public Apis as a data source and MS SQL Server as a destination in Airbyte, you can set up a data pipeline between them with the following steps:

1. Create a new connection: On the Airbyte dashboard, navigate to the 'Connections' tab and click the '+ New Connection' button.
2. Choose your source: Select Public Apis from the dropdown list of your configured sources.
3. Select your destination: Choose MS SQL Server from the dropdown list of your configured destinations.
4. Configure your sync: Define the frequency of your data syncs based on your business needs. Airbyte allows both manual and automatic scheduling for your data refreshes.
5. Select the data to sync: Choose the specific Public Apis objects you want to import data from towards MS SQL Server. You can sync all data or select specific tables and fields.
6. Select the sync mode for your streams: Choose between full refreshes or incremental syncs (with deduplication if you want), and this for all streams or at the stream level. Incremental is only available for streams that have a primary cursor.
7. Test your connection: Click the 'Test Connection' button to make sure that your setup works. If the connection test is successful, save your configuration.
8. Start the sync: If the test passes, click 'Set Up Connection'. Airbyte will start moving data from Public Apis to MS SQL Server according to your settings.

Remember, Airbyte keeps your data in sync at the frequency you determine, ensuring your MS SQL Server data warehouse is always up-to-date with your Public Apis data.

Use Cases to Get Data From API to SQL Server

Data consolidation

• Businesses often use multiple SaaS applications, each with its own API. Exporting this data to SQL Server allows for centralized storage and analysis.
• This consolidated view can provide better insights across different business functions.

Historical data analysis

• Many APIs only provide current data or limited historical data. By regularly exporting to SQL Server, companies can build their own historical database.
• This enables long-term trend analysis and forecasting.

Business intelligence and reporting

• SQL Server's robust querying capabilities make it ideal for complex reporting and business intelligence tasks.
• Combining API data with other internal data sources in SQL Server can lead to more comprehensive insights.

Data backup and compliance

• Exporting API data to SQL Server serves as a backup, protecting against data loss in the original system.
• It also helps meet data retention requirements for regulatory compliance.

Custom application development

• Having API data in SQL Server makes it easier to build custom applications that require this data.
• It allows for more flexible data access patterns that might not be supported by the original API.

Wrapping Up

To summarize, this tutorial has shown you how to:

1. Configure a Public Apis account as an Airbyte data source connector.
2. Configure MS SQL Server as a data destination connector.
3. Create an Airbyte data pipeline that will automatically be moving data directly from Public Apis to MS SQL Server after you set a schedule

With Airbyte, creating data pipelines take minutes, and the data integration possibilities are endless. Airbyte supports the largest catalog of API tools, databases, and files, among other sources. Airbyte's connectors are open-source, so you can add any custom objects to the connector, or even build a new connector from scratch without any local dev environment or any data engineer within 10 minutes with the no-code connector builder.

We look forward to seeing you make use of it! We invite you to join the conversation on our community Slack Channel, or sign up for our newsletter. You should also check out other Airbyte tutorials, and Airbyte’s content hub!

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