How to create a Unity Catalog Connection to SQL Server using service principal??

ScottH
New Contributor III

‎12-02-2025 12:06 PM

I am trying to use the Databricks Python SDK (v 0.63.0) to create a Unity Catalog connection to a Azure-hosted SQL Server database using an Azure service principal to authenticate. I have successfully done this via the Workspace UI, but I am trying to replicate programmatically it using the Databricks Python SDK.

Below is the code that I am trying to use to create the connection, but it doesn't authenticate successfully. The login to SQL Server fails when I try to create a foreign catalog using the connection.

 

# Authenticate to workspace
w = WorkspaceClient(...)
 
db_host = "<SQL Server host>"
db_port: "1433"
db_user = "<service principal client ID">
db_password = "<service principal client secret">
 
# Create the connection using the ConnectionsAPI
connection = w.connections.create(
    name=connection_name,
    connection_type=ConnectionType.SQLSERVER,
    comment=connection_comment,
    options={
        "host": db_host,
        "port": db_port,
        "user": db_user,         
        "password": db_password, 
        "applicationIntent": "ReadOnly",
        "trustServerCertificate": "true"
    },
)
 
I'm thinking that I am missing something that indicates that the credentials are a service principal and not a local SQL Server user. What am I missing? I don't see how to do this in the Python SDK documentation.
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