Configuring your data connection to Azure Data Explorer (ADX)

Data Connections now allows you to export to Azure Data Explorer for near-real time ingestion and distribution of your data. After you configure a data connection with your ADX cluster information PlayFab will export your data into the ADX cluster specified.

PlayFab requires an Azure Active Directory (AD) app and a Client Secret to authenticate to your ADX cluster. You can use an existing Azure AD app if you would like or create one specifically for this purpose. To create your Azure AD app follow the steps below.

Note

Although you can reuse an existing Azure AD app, we recommend that you fo not reuse an Azure AD app with privileged access to resources critical to your service.

Setting up your resource in Azure

Step 1: Create a new Azure AD app

To create a new Azure AD App, follow the initial steps here: Create an Azure AD application in Azure Data Explorer | Microsoft Docs

Step 2: Create an ADX Database

You also need to create an ADX Cluster and Database. You can follow the initial steps here: Create an Azure Data Explorer cluster and database

Step 3: Grant the Azure AD app permission to use the ADX Database

You can then grant the Azure AD app-admin permissions to the ADX database. Follow the initial steps here and when choosing your principals (users, groups, and apps) to use your Azure AD app (you can search for it by name in the search box). Manage database permissions in Azure Data Explorer

Once your Azure AD app is listed as a “Database Admin”, you can move on to creating the data connection in PlayFab.

Create an Azure Data Explorer Data Connection in PlayFab

Step 1: Navigate to the data connections tab

• Login to PlayFab and navigate to your title.
• Click on the “Data” section in the left-hand menu
• Click on the “Data Connections” tab

Step 2: Configure a new Data Connection

• Click the “New Connection” button.
• Choose the “Destination Type” to be “Azure Data Explorer”
• Populate the fields using the following values

Value	Details
Name	The friendly name of your data connection. This name will allow you to find the data connection later to edit it. Put a descriptive name here.
Cluster URI	The ADX cluster URI.
Database	The database name. The PlayFab ingestion service will create a table in this database and ingest the data to that table.
Table	The name of the table in the database that PlayFab will ingest the data into. If the table does not exist, then the ingestion service will create the table.
Application ID	The Azure AD App ID.
Tenant ID	The Azure AD Tenant ID.

Note

We recommend using a table name that does not exist. If you use an existing table and the schema is not what PlayFab is expecting, then the schema will be modified.

Step 3: Create and Share a Client Secret

Return to your Azure AD App’s “App Registration” to create a client secret. You can follow the steps here to create a new client secret for your app: How to Create a New Application Secret

Paste the client secret Value into the “Client Secret” box and ensure the “Enabled” checkbox is checked. You can now click “Save”. After the data connection is successfully saved, you should be taken to a page that shows your new data connection with the Status “Enabled”. At this point your data connection is successfully set up. You should start to see events in your ADX cluster 5-10 minutes after the next event in your title occurs.