How to use ODBC driver in Linux App Service via pyodbc to connect to an Azure DB?

Question

How to use ODBC driver in Linux App Service via pyodbc to connect to an Azure DB?

Hamish Cox 6

Hi, I'm trying to set up a Python (flask) App Service that accesses an Azure SQL Server. In order to access the server, the app service needs the ODBC drivers installed.

Error from SQLAlchemy:
2020-05-07T23:23:47.256046274Z sqlalchemy.exc.DBAPIError: (pyodbc.Error) ('01000', "[01000] [unixODBC][Driver Manager]Can't open lib 'SQL Server' : file not found (0) (SQLDriverConnect)")
2020-05-07T23:23:47.256050074Z (Background on this error at: http://sqlalche.me/e/dbapi)

I have tried using 'ODBC 13 for SQL Server' as the driver, along with trying to install unixODBC using a prebuild script, but neither helped.

3 answers

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Answer 1

SnehaAgrawal-MSFT 22,706 Moderator

Thanks for asking question! Could you please try with ODBC Driver 17 for deploying a python flask app on Linux based app services using pyodbc to connect to an Azure DB.

 pyodbc.connect(‘Driver={ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server};SERVER=’+server+’;DATABASE=’+database+’;UID=’+username+’;PWD=’+password)

Let me know if issue persists.

Answer 2

Nguyen, Kelvin 1

@SnehaAgrawal-MSFT this won't work since by default the driver is not installed.

I've tried various way of installing MSSQL Driver for Linux App Service but it just never works.

SnehaAgrawal-MSFT 22,706 Reputation points Moderator

2020-08-17T06:41:17.347+00:00

@Nguyen, Kelvin Could you please send an email to AzCommunity[at]Microsoft[dot]com referencing this issue, we would like to work closer with you on this matter.
Luke 1 Reputation point

2021-07-21T13:02:06.953+00:00

Has there been any resolution to this issue? I find myself in the exact same situation.

See my question here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/484230/can39t-ssh-in-to-azure-flask-web-services-app-to-i.html
Hamish Cox 6 Reputation points

2021-07-21T23:03:38.357+00:00

It's been a while so I don't fully remember, but I don't think any of these answers worked (best to try them anyway though). I ended up moving my app to AWS instead of Azure.
Luke 1 Reputation point

2021-07-22T13:06:42.47+00:00

Thanks for following up on this old question!

I'm also considering an AWS solution. Simply having an EC2 instance with easy SSH and customization seems appealing.
Ryan Hill 30,281 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2021-07-22T13:55:33.767+00:00

anonymous user-1179 I responded to your other question but if you do run into any issues, let me know.

Answer 3

Raghav Mundhra 21

The installation of Pyodbc should not create any issue, but while using it, do not use ODBC Driver for SQL server on Linux App services. Try with FreeTDS driver instead. FreeTDS drivers are already installed on Azure Linux App Services, so you don't need to install them separately.

pyodbc.connect(‘Driver={FreeTDS};SERVER=’+server+’;DATABASE=’+database+’;UID=’+username+’;PWD=’+password)

This works for me.

Ramji 1 Reputation point

2022-11-02T13:27:34.807+00:00

should i have to install this FreeTDS locally in my system before deploying my code to app service? because i'm getting this error when i directly deployed with FreeTDS driver in my code .

pyodbc.Error: ('01000', "[01000] [unixODBC][Driver Manager]Can't open lib 'FreeTDS' : file not found (0) (SQLDriverConnect)")

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How to use ODBC driver in Linux App Service via pyodbc to connect to an Azure DB?

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