Establishing a Connection
You can create and manage connections with the Data Explorer and the FireDAC Connection Editor wizards. See Connection Definitions for more information on creating connections from code and creating persistent, private, or temporary connections.
Connecting to Microsoft Planner
Azure AD
Azure AD is Microsoft’s multi-tenant, cloud-based directory and identity management service. It is user-based authentication that requires that you set AuthScheme to AzureAD.
Desktop Applications
CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop.Before you connect, set the following variables:
- InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. Used to automatically get and refresh the OAuthAccessToken.
CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop; that is, in situations where the user is using a local server not connected to the internet.
You can also authenticate from the desktop via a custom OAuth application, which you configure and register at the Microsoft Planner console. For further information, see Creating a Custom OAuth Application.
- Custom Azure AD applications only:
- OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
- OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
- CallbackURL: The redirect URI defined when you registered your custom OAuth application.
When you connect, the component opens the Microsoft Planner's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application. The component then completes the OAuth process:
- Extracts the access token from the callback URL and authenticates requests.
- Obtains a new access token when the old one expires.
- Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation. These values persist across connections.
When the access token expires, the component refreshes it automatically.
Web Applications
Authenticating via the Web requires you to create and register a custom OAuth application with Microsoft Planner, as described in Creating a Custom OAuth Application. You can then use the component to get and manage the OAuth token values.This section describes how to get the OAuth access token, how to have the driver refresh the OAuth access token automatically, and how to refresh the OAuth access token manually.
Get the OAuth access token:
- To obtain the OAuthAccessToken, set these connection properties:
- For authentication using a Client Secret:
- OAuthClientId: The client Id in your application settings.
- OAuthClientSecret: The client secret in your application settings.
- For authentication using a Certificate:
- OAuthClientId: The client Id in your application settings.
- OAuthJWTCert: The JWT Certificate store.
- OAuthJWTCertType: The type of the certificate store specified by OAuthJWTCert.
- For authentication using a Client Secret:
- Call stored procedures to complete the OAuth exchange:
- Call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure. Set the AuthMode input to WEB and the CallbackURL to the Redirect URI you specified in your application settings. The stored procedure returns the URL to the OAuth endpoint.
- Navigate to the URL that the stored procedure returned in Step 1. Log in and authorize the web application. You are redirected back to the callback URL.
- Call the GetOAuthAccessToken stored procedure. Set the AuthMode input to WEB. Set the Verifier input to the code parameter in the query string of the redirect URI.
After you obtain the access and refresh tokens, you can connect to data and refresh the OAuth access token automatically.
Automatic refresh of the OAuth access token:
To have the component automatically refresh the OAuth access token, do the following:
- The first time you connect to data, set these connection parameters:
- InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
- OAuthClientId: The client Id in your custom OAuth application settings.
- OAuthClientSecret: The client secret in your custom OAuth application settings.
- OAuthAccessToken: The access token returned by GetOAuthAccessToken.
- OAuthSettingsLocation: The path where you want the component to save the OAuth values, which persist across connections.
- On subsequent data connections, set:
- InitiateOAuth
- OAuthSettingsLocation
Manual refresh of the OAuth access token:
The only value needed to manually refresh the OAUth access token is the OAuth refresh token.
- To manually refresh the OAuthAccessToken after the ExpiresIn period (returned by GetOAuthAccessToken) has elapsed, call the RefreshOAuthAccessToken stored procedure.
- Set these connection properties:
- OAuthClientId: The Client Id in your custom OAuth application settings.
- OAuthClientSecret: The Client Secret in your custom OAuth application settings.
- Call RefreshOAuthAccessToken with OAuthRefreshToken set to the OAuth refresh token returned by GetOAuthAccessToken.
- After the new tokens have been retrieved, set the OAuthAccessToken property to the value returned by RefreshOAuthAccessToken. This opens a new connection.
Store the OAuth refresh token so that you can use it to manually refresh the OAuth access token after it has expired.
Headless Machines
If you need to log in to a resource that resides on a headless machine, you must authenticate on another device that has an internet browser. You can do this in either of the following ways:- Obtain the OAuthVerifier value as described in Obtain and Exchange a Verifier Code, below.
- Install the component on another machine and transfer the OAuth authentication values after you authenticate through the usual browser-based flow.
After you execute either of these options, configure the driver to automatically refresh the access token on the headless machine.
Obtaining and Exchanging a Verifier Code
To obtain a verifier code, you must authenticate at the OAuth authorization URL from a machine with an internet browser, and obtain the OAuthVerifier connection property.
- Choose one of these options:
- If you are using the Embedded OAuth Application, click Microsoft Planner OAuth endpoint to open the endpoint in your browser.
- If you are using a custom OAuth application, set the following properties to create the Authorization URL:
- InitiateOAuth: OFF.
- OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your application.
- OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your application.
- Log in and grant permissions to the component. You are redirected to the callback URL, which contains the verifier code.
- Save the value of the verifier code. Later you will set this in the OAuthVerifier connection property.
To obtain the OAuth authentication values, set these properties:
- InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
- OAuthVerifier: The verifier code.
- OAuthSettingsLocation: The location of the file where the driver saves the OAuth token values that persist across connections.
- Custom applications only:
- OAuthClientId: (custom applications only) Set this to the client Id in your custom OAuth application settings.
- OAuthClientSecret: (custom applications only) Set this to the client secret in the custom OAuth application settings.
After the OAuth settings file is generated, re-set the following properties to connect:
- InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
- OAuthSettingsLocation: The location containing the encrypted OAuth authentication values. Make sure this location grants read and write permissions to the component to enable the automatic refreshing of the access token.
- Custom applications only:
- OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your application.
- OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your application.
Transferring OAuth Settings
Prior to connecting on a headless machine, you must create and install a connection with the driver on a device that supports an internet browser. Set the connection properties as described in "Desktop Applications" above.
After completing the instructions in "Desktop Applications", the resulting authentication values are encrypted and written to the location specified by OAuthSettingsLocation. The default filename is OAuthSettings.txt.
Once you have successfully tested the connection, copy the OAuth settings file to your headless machine.
On the headless machine, set the following connection properties to connect to data:
- InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
- OAuthSettingsLocation: The location of your OAuth settings file. Make sure this location gives read and write permissions to the component to enable the automatic refreshing of the access token.
- Custom applications only:
- OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your application.
- OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your application.
Azure Service Principal
The authentication as an Azure Service Principal is handled via the OAuth Client Credentials flow. It does not involve direct user authentication. Instead, credentials are created for just the application itself. All tasks taken by the app are done without a default user context, but based on the assigned roles. The application access to the resources is controlled through the assigned roles' permissions.
Create an AzureAD App and an Azure Service Principal
When authenticating using an Azure Service Principal, you must create and register an Azure AD application with an Azure AD tenant. See Creating a Custom OAuth Application for more details.
In your App Registration in portal.azure.com, navigate to API Permissions and select the Microsoft Graph permissions. There are two distinct sets of permissions: Delegated permissions and Application permissions. The permissions used during client credential authentication are under Application Permissions.
Assign a role to the application
To access resources in your subscription, you must assign a role to the application.
- Open the Subscriptions page by searching and selecting the Subscriptions service from the search bar.
- Select the subscription to assign the application to.
- Open the Access control (IAM) and select Add > Add role assignment to open the Add role assignment page.
- Select Owner as the role to assign to your created Azure AD app.
Client Secret
Set these connection properties:
- AuthScheme: AzureServicePrincipal to use a client secret.
- InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
- AzureTenant: The tenant you want to connect to.
- OAuthClientId: The client Id in your application settings.
- OAuthClientSecret: The client secret in your application settings.
Certificate
Set these connection properties:
- AuthScheme: AzureServicePrincipalCert to use a certificate.
- InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
- AzureTenant: The tenant you want to connect to.
- OAuthJWTCert: The JWT Certificate store.
- OAuthJWTCertType: The type of the certificate store specified by OAuthJWTCert.
You are now ready to connect. Authentication with client credentials takes place automatically like any other connection, except there is no window opened prompting the user. Because there is no user context, there is no need for a browser popup. Connections take place and are handled internally.
Managed Service Identity (MSI)
If you are running Microsoft Planner on an Azure VM and want to leverage MSI to connect, set AuthScheme to AzureMSI.
User-Managed Identities
To obtain a token for a managed identity, use the OAuthClientId property to specify the managed identity's "client_id".When your VM has multiple user-assigned managed identities, you must also specify OAuthClientId.
Using the FireDAC Connection Editor
Complete the following steps to use the FireDAC Connection Editor to assign a Microsoft Planner connection to a TFDConnection object:
- Open a project and drop a TFDPhysCDataMicrosoftPlannerDriverLink from the Tool Palette onto the Form Designer.
- Drop a TFDConnection object onto the Form Designer.
- Double-click the TFDConnection and select CDataMicrosoftPlanner in the Driver Id menu.
- Define the necessary connection properties.
- To execute ad-hoc SQL statements based on this connection, enter SQL commands on the SQL Script tab.
- In the Form Designer, select the TFDConnection object and set the Connected property to true.
Using the Data Explorer
Complete the following steps to use the Data Explorer to define persistent connections that can be shared across applications and projects:
- Click View > Tool Windows > Data Explorer in RAD Studio and expand the FireDAC node.
- Right-click the CData Microsoft Planner Data Source node and click Add New Connection.
- Enter a name for the connection. The FireDAC Connection Editor opens.
Working with Persistent Connections
The connections you define in the Data Explorer can be assigned to a TFDConnection object by specifying the connection name in the TFDConnection object's ConnectionDefName property.
Browsing Data and Metadata
The Data Explorer also provides options for browsing Microsoft Planner objects at design time:
- Expand the CData Microsoft Planner Data Source node in the Data Explorer to view the defined connections.
- Expand a connection node to find the database objects available for a connection.
- Drill down to a database object to find metadata such as primary keys.
- To display data, double-click a table or view or right-click and click View.