Copy data from MySQL using Azure Data Factory or Synapse Analytics

Article
10/28/2024

APPLIES TO: Azure Data Factory Azure Synapse Analytics

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This article outlines how to use the Copy Activity in Azure Data Factory and Synapse Analytics pipelines to copy data from a MySQL database. It builds on the copy activity overview article that presents a general overview of copy activity.

Note

To copy data from or to Azure Database for MySQL service, use the specialized Azure Database for MySQL connector.

Important

MySQL connector using the recommended driver version provides improved native MySQL support. If you are using the connector with the legacy driver version, please upgrade it before October 31, 2024. Refer to this section for details on the difference between the legacy and recommended version.

Supported capabilities

This MySQL connector is supported for the following capabilities:

Supported capabilities	IR
Copy activity (source/-)	① ②
Lookup activity	① ②

① Azure integration runtime ② Self-hosted integration runtime

For a list of data stores that are supported as sources/sinks by the copy activity, see the Supported data stores table.

This connector supports MySQL version 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 8.0, 8.1 and 8.2 under the recommended new driver version v2 and 5.6, 5.7 and 8.0 for the legacy driver version.

Prerequisites

If your data store is located inside an on-premises network, an Azure virtual network, or Amazon Virtual Private Cloud, you need to configure a self-hosted integration runtime to connect to it.

If your data store is a managed cloud data service, you can use the Azure Integration Runtime. If the access is restricted to IPs that are approved in the firewall rules, you can add Azure Integration Runtime IPs to the allow list.

You can also use the managed virtual network integration runtime feature in Azure Data Factory to access the on-premises network without installing and configuring a self-hosted integration runtime.

For more information about the network security mechanisms and options supported by Data Factory, see Data access strategies.

The Integration Runtime provides a built-in MySQL driver starting from version 3.7, therefore you don't need to manually install any driver.

Getting started

To perform the Copy activity with a pipeline, you can use one of the following tools or SDKs:

Create a linked service to MySQL using UI

Use the following steps to create a linked service to MySQL in the Azure portal UI.

Browse to the Manage tab in your Azure Data Factory or Synapse workspace and select Linked Services, then click New:
- Azure Data Factory
- Azure Synapse
Search for MySQL and select the MySQL connector.
Configure the service details, test the connection, and create the new linked service.

Connector configuration details

The following sections provide details about properties that are used to define Data Factory entities specific to MySQL connector.

Linked service properties

If you use the recommended driver version，the following properties are supported for MySQL linked service:

Property	Description	Required
type	The type property must be set to: MySql	Yes
driverVersion	The driver version when you select the recommended driver version. The value is v2.	Yes
server	The name of your MySQL Server.	Yes
port	The port number to connect to the MySQL server.	No
database	Your MySQL database name.	Yes
username	Your user name.	Yes
password	The password for the user name. Mark this field as SecureString to store it securely. Or, you can reference a secret stored in Azure Key Vault.	Yes
sslMode	This option specifies whether the driver uses TLS encryption and verification when connecting to MySQL. E.g., `SSLMode=<0/1/2/3/4>`. Options: DISABLED (0) / PREFERRED (1) (Default) / REQUIRED (2) / VERIFY_CA (3) / VERIFY_IDENTITY (4)	Yes
useSystemTrustStore	This option specifies whether to use a CA certificate from the system trust store, or from a specified PEM file. E.g. `UseSystemTrustStore=<0/1>`; Options: Enabled (1) / Disabled (0) (Default)	No
connectVia	The Integration Runtime to be used to connect to the data store. Learn more from Prerequisites section. If not specified, it uses the default Azure Integration Runtime.	No

Example:

{
    "name": "MySQLLinkedService",
    "properties": {
        "type": "MySql",
        "typeProperties": {
             "server": "<server>",
             "port": 3306,
             "database": "<database>",
             "username": "<username>",
             "password": {
                "type": "SecureString",
                "value": "<password>"
             },
             "sslmode": <sslmode>,
             "usesystemtruststore": <UseSystemTrustStore>,
             "driverVersion": "v2"
        },
        "connectVia": {
            "referenceName": "<name of Integration Runtime>",
            "type": "IntegrationRuntimeReference"
        }
    }
}

Example: store password in Azure Key Vault

{
    "name": "MySQLLinkedService",
    "properties": {
        "type": "MySql",
        "typeProperties": {
            "server": "<server>",
            "port": 3306,
            "database": "<database>",
            "username": "<username>",
            "sslmode": <sslmode>,
            "usesystemtruststore": <UseSystemTrustStore>,
            "password": { 
                "type": "AzureKeyVaultSecret", 
                "store": { 
                    "referenceName": "<Azure Key Vault linked service name>", 
                    "type": "LinkedServiceReference" 
                }, 
                "secretName": "<secretName>" 
            },
            "driverVersion": "v2"
        },
        "connectVia": {
            "referenceName": "<name of Integration Runtime>",
            "type": "IntegrationRuntimeReference"
        }
    }
}

If you use the legacy driver version, the following properties are supported:

Property	Description	Required
type	The type property must be set to: MySql	Yes
connectionString	Specify information needed to connect to the Azure Database for MySQL instance. You can also put password in Azure Key Vault and pull the `password` configuration out of the connection string. Refer to the following samples and Store credentials in Azure Key Vault article with more details.	Yes
connectVia	The Integration Runtime to be used to connect to the data store. Learn more from Prerequisites section. If not specified, it uses the default Azure Integration Runtime.	No

A typical connection string is Server=<server>;Port=<port>;Database=<database>;UID=<username>;PWD=<password>. More properties you can set per your case:

Property	Description	Required
sslMode	This option specifies whether the driver uses TLS encryption and verification when connecting to MySQL. E.g., `SSLMode=<0/1/2/3/4>`. Options: DISABLED (0) / PREFERRED (1) (Default) / REQUIRED (2) / VERIFY_CA (3) / VERIFY_IDENTITY (4)	Yes
SSLCert	The full path and name of a .pem file containing the SSL certificate used for proving the identity of the client. To specify a private key for encrypting this certificate before sending it to the server, use the `SSLKey` property.	Yes, if using two-way SSL verification.
SSLKey	The full path and name of a file containing the private key used for encrypting the client-side certificate during two-way SSL verification.	Yes, if using two-way SSL verification.
useSystemTrustStore	This option specifies whether to use a CA certificate from the system trust store, or from a specified PEM file. E.g. `UseSystemTrustStore=<0/1>`; Options: Enabled (1) / Disabled (0) (Default)	No

Example:

{
    "name": "MySQLLinkedService",
    "properties": {
        "type": "MySql",
        "typeProperties": {
            "connectionString": "Server=<server>;Port=<port>;Database=<database>;UID=<username>;PWD=<password>"
        },
        "connectVia": {
            "referenceName": "<name of Integration Runtime>",
            "type": "IntegrationRuntimeReference"
        }
    }
}

Dataset properties

For a full list of sections and properties available for defining datasets, see the datasets article. This section provides a list of properties supported by MySQL dataset.

To copy data from MySQL, the following properties are supported:

Property	Description	Required
type	The type property of the dataset must be set to: MySqlTable	Yes
tableName	Name of the table in the MySQL database.	No (if "query" in activity source is specified)

Example

{
    "name": "MySQLDataset",
    "properties":
    {
        "type": "MySqlTable",
        "typeProperties": {},
        "schema": [],
        "linkedServiceName": {
            "referenceName": "<MySQL linked service name>",
            "type": "LinkedServiceReference"
        }
    }
}

If you were using RelationalTable typed dataset, it is still supported as-is, while you are suggested to use the new one going forward.

Copy activity properties

For a full list of sections and properties available for defining activities, see the Pipelines article. This section provides a list of properties supported by MySQL source.

MySQL as source

To copy data from MySQL, the following properties are supported in the copy activity source section:

Property	Description	Required
type	The type property of the copy activity source must be set to: MySqlSource	Yes
query	Use the custom SQL query to read data. For example: `"SELECT * FROM MyTable"`.	No (if "tableName" in dataset is specified)

Example:

"activities":[
    {
        "name": "CopyFromMySQL",
        "type": "Copy",
        "inputs": [
            {
                "referenceName": "<MySQL input dataset name>",
                "type": "DatasetReference"
            }
        ],
        "outputs": [
            {
                "referenceName": "<output dataset name>",
                "type": "DatasetReference"
            }
        ],
        "typeProperties": {
            "source": {
                "type": "MySqlSource",
                "query": "SELECT * FROM MyTable"
            },
            "sink": {
                "type": "<sink type>"
            }
        }
    }
]

If you were using RelationalSource typed source, it is still supported as-is, while you are suggested to use the new one going forward.

Data type mapping for MySQL

When copying data from MySQL, the following mappings are used from MySQL data types to interim data types used by the service internally. See Schema and data type mappings to learn about how copy activity maps the source schema and data type to the sink.

MySQL data type	Interim service data type	Interim service data type (for the legacy driver version)
`bigint`	`Int64`	`Int64`
`bigint unsigned`	`Decimal`	`Decimal`
`bit(1)`	`UInt64`	`Boolean`
`bit(M), M>1`	`UInt64`	`Byte[]`
`blob`	`Byte[]`	`Byte[]`
`bool`	`Boolean` (If TreatTinyAsBoolean=false, it is mapped as `SByte`. TreatTinyAsBoolean is true by default )	`Int16`
`char`	`String`	`String`
`date`	`Datetime`	`Datetime`
`datetime`	`Datetime`	`Datetime`
`decimal`	`Decimal`	`Decimal, String`
`double`	`Double`	`Double`
`double precision`	`Double`	`Double`
`enum`	`String`	`String`
`float`	`Single`	`Single`
`int`	`Int32`	`Int32`
`int unsigned`	`Int64`	`Int64`
`integer`	`Int32`	`Int32`
`integer unsigned`	`Int64`	`Int64`
`JSON`	`String`	-
`long varbinary`	`Byte[]`	`Byte[]`
`long varchar`	`String`	`String`
`longblob`	`Byte[]`	`Byte[]`
`longtext`	`String`	`String`
`mediumblob`	`Byte[]`	`Byte[]`
`mediumint`	`Int32`	`Int32`
`mediumint unsigned`	`Int64`	`Int64`
`mediumtext`	`String`	`String`
`numeric`	`Decimal`	`Decimal`
`real`	`Double`	`Double`
`set`	`String`	`String`
`smallint`	`Int16`	`Int16`
`smallint unsigned`	`Int32`	`Int32`
`text`	`String`	`String`
`time`	`TimeSpan`	`TimeSpan`
`timestamp`	`Datetime`	`Datetime`
`tinyblob`	`Byte[]`	`Byte[]`
`tinyint`	`SByte` (`tinyint(1)` is mapped to `Boolean`)	`Int16`
`tinyint unsigned`	`Int16`	`Int16`
`tinytext`	`String`	`String`
`varchar`	`String`	`String`
`year`	`Int`	`Int`

Lookup activity properties

To learn details about the properties, check Lookup activity.

Upgrade the MySQL connector

Here are steps that help you upgrade your MySQL connector:

In Edit linked service page, select Recommended under Driver version and configure the linked service by referring to Linked service properties.
The data type mapping for the latest MySQL linked service is different from that for the legacy version. To learn the latest data type mapping, see Data type mapping for MySQL.
The latest driver version v2 supports more MySQL versions. For more information, see Supported capabilities.

Best practices for MySQL connector recommended version

This section introduces best practices for MySQL connector recommended version.

Cannot load SSL key

Symptoms: If you are using MySQL connector recommended version with SSL Key as a connection property, you may meet the following error message: Could not load the client key from your_pem_file: Unrecognized PEM header: -----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----
Cause: The recommended version cannot decrypt the PCKS#8 format.
Recommendation: Convert the PEM format to PCKS#1.

Differences between the recommended and the legacy driver version

The table below shows the data type mapping differences between MySQL using the recommended and the legacy driver version.

MySQL data type	Interim service data type (using the recommended driver version)	Interim service data type (using the legacy driver version)
bit(1)	UInt64	Boolean
bit(M), M>1	UInt64	Byte[]
bool	Boolean	Int16
JSON	String	Byte[]

For a list of data stores supported as sources and sinks by the copy activity, see supported data stores.

Share via

Copy data from MySQL using Azure Data Factory or Synapse Analytics

Supported capabilities

Prerequisites

Getting started

Create a linked service to MySQL using UI

Connector configuration details

Linked service properties

Dataset properties

Copy activity properties

MySQL as source

Data type mapping for MySQL

Lookup activity properties

Upgrade the MySQL connector

Best practices for MySQL connector recommended version

Cannot load SSL key

Differences between the recommended and the legacy driver version

Feedback

Additional resources

Share via

Copy data from MySQL using Azure Data Factory or Synapse Analytics

Supported capabilities

Prerequisites

Getting started

Create a linked service to MySQL using UI

Connector configuration details

Linked service properties

Dataset properties

Copy activity properties

MySQL as source

Data type mapping for MySQL

Lookup activity properties

Upgrade the MySQL connector

Best practices for MySQL connector recommended version

Cannot load SSL key

Differences between the recommended and the legacy driver version

Related content

Feedback

Additional resources