Forum Discussion
Business Central Data to Fabric
Hii All,
Has anyone explored the BC connection to it's underlying SQL database? Is there limitation to this approach? I need to get data from BC to fabric, is SQL database of BC worth exploring?
3 Replies
- ShivekMaharaj
Solution Sage
Hi Saum02,
If this is Business Central Online, I would not build the Fabric solution around direct access to the underlying SQL database.
Microsoft's current Business Central integration guidance recommends using the REST API stack for integrations rather than treating the SaaS database as a directly accessible SQL source.
On the Fabric side, there are a few options worth looking at:
- Fabric currently has a Dynamics 365 Business Central connector available as a Dataflow Gen2 source.
- For more controlled/custom extraction, the standard Business Central REST APIs are still the preferred interface.
- There is also a newer option called BC2Fab, which Microsoft highlighted in the Fabric What's New updates. It is a partner Fabric workload that replicates Business Central data into OneLake using Open Mirroring and incremental change detection, so it may be worth evaluating if your goal is ongoing analytical replication rather than repeatedly extracting through APIs.
If this is Business Central on-premises, then direct SQL access is technically another option because you control the underlying SQL Server. I would still compare that against the API approach before coupling your Fabric model directly to the physical BC database schema.So the first question I would ask is whether your environment is Business Central Online or on-premises, and roughly how much data / how many tables you need to bring into Fabric.
AI-assisted drafting: AI was used to help structure and phrase this response. I reviewed and validated the technical content before posting.
- NandanHegde
Super User
You cannot directly access the underlying database
similar thread : Accessing BC Data Hello Saum02,
If you're on BC Online, I will look at the Business Central APIs first rather than building the Fabric connection around the underlying SQL database.Microsoft recommends the REST API stack for Business Central integrations.For BC Online, I will start with the Business Central APIs rather than building the Fabric solution around the underlying SQL database.
If this is an on-premises deployment, SQL access is another route to consider, depending on what you need to extract.
Is your BC environment Online or on-premises?
Microsoft docs:
Integration overview for Business Central (for architects and developers)
Introduction to Microsoft Fabric and Business Central