In this article
Overview
You can use this Snap to execute an SQL Server bulk load. The Snap uses the bcp utility program internally to perform the bulk load action. The input data is first written to a temporary data file, then the bcp utility program loads the data from the data file into the target table.
Table Creation
If the table does not exist when the Snap tries to do the load, and the Create table property is set, the table will be created with the columns and data types required to hold the values in the first input document. If you would like the table to be created with the same schema as a source table, you can connect the second output view of a Select Snap to the second input view of this Snap. The extra view in the Select and Bulk Load Snaps are used to pass metadata about the table, effectively allowing you to replicate a table from one database to another.
The table metadata document that is read in by the second input view contains a dump of the JDBC DatabaseMetaData class. The document can be manipulated to affect the CREATE TABLE statement that is generated by this Snap. For example, to rename the name column to full_name, you can use a Mapper (Data) Snap that sets the path $.columns. Name.COLUMN_NAME to full_name. The document contains the following fields:
columns - Contains the result of the getColumns() method with each column as a separate field in the object. Changing the COLUMN_NAME value will change the name of the column in the created table. Note that if you change a column name, you do not need to change the name of the field in the row input documents. The Snap will automatically translate from the original name to the new name. For example, when changing from name to full_name, the name field in the input document will be put into the "full_name" column. You can also drop a column by setting the COLUMN_NAME value to null or the empty string. The other fields of interest in the column definition are:
TYPE_NAME - The type to use for the column. If this type is not known to the database, the DATA_TYPE field will be used as a fallback. If you want to explicitly set a type for a column, set the DATA_TYPE field.
_SL_PRECISION - Contains the result of the getPrecision() method. This field is used along with the _SL_SCALE field for setting the precision and scale of a DECIMAL or NUMERIC field.
_SL_SCALE - Contains the result of the getScale() method. This field is used along with the _SL_PRECISION field for setting the precision and scale of a DECIMAL or NUMERIC field.
primaryKeyColumns - Contains the result of the getPrimaryKeys() method with each column as a separate field in the object.
declaration - Contains the result of the getTables() method for this table. The values in this object are just informational at the moment. The target table name is taken from the Snap property.
importedKeys - Contains the foreign key information from the getImportedKeys() method. The generated CREATE TABLE statement will include FOREIGN KEY constraints based on the contents of this object. Note that you will need to change the PKTABLE_NAME value if you changed the name of the referenced table when replicating it.
indexInfo - Contains the result of the getIndexInfo() method for this table with each index as a separate field in the object. Any UNIQUE indexes in here will be included in the CREATE TABLE statement generated by this Snap.
The Snap will not automatically fix some errors encountered during table creation since they may require user intervention to resolve correctly. For example, if the source table contains a column with a type that does not have a direct mapping in the target database, the Snap will fail to execute. You will then need to add a Mapper (Data) Snap to change the metadata document to explicitly set the values needed to produce a valid CREATE TABLE statement.
SQL Server BCP program only accepts date time values in format YYYY-MM-dd HH:mm: ss, thus SQL Server Bulk Load Snap only accepts two types of data as the input of a DATETIME column:
A Joda DateTime object. For example, a Joda DateTime object can be created with expression Date.now() in Mapper Snap.
A plain string in the format: YYYY-MM-dd HH: mm:ss. Example: 2016-10-22 11:11:11.
SQL Server Bulk Load Snap does not accept the results by the DateTime string from the expression Date.toLocaleDateTimeString().
Snap Type
SQL Server - Bulk Load Snap is a Write-type Snap that inserts bulk data in one request.
Prerequisites
The BCP utility must be installed on the Groundplex nodes on which you want to execute this Snap. To install the BCP utility on a Groundplex:
Download and Install the BCP Utility in your Windows or Linux environment. For details on doing so, use the following links:
Verify that you are able to run the
bcp
command.To verify BCP installation, enter
bcp
on the terminal or the command line console and press Enter.The output should look similar to the following. These are the command-line options that can be used with the BCP utility. If you see this output, it means that the BCP utility is installed and ready for use.
Ensure that the path to the
bcp
command is correctly provided in the Snap.When using a Windows host as a SnapLogic node with the service installed (jcc.bat install_service), ensure that the service account used on the service credentials has access to the database for the bulk copy program utility (BCP) to work. Removing the database permissions result in the error, Unable to invoke BCP". However, you might still be able to execute the bcp -v command on the command line outside the Snaplogic node, despite the lack of service account database permissions.
Support for Ultra Pipelines
Does not work in Ultra Pipelines.
Behavior Change
Before the
4.33patches21119
release, empty strings and null values were treated as null when loaded into the SQL server. However, starting from the433patches21119
release, data in the format of an empty string inserted into a string-based column is stored as an empty string in the SQL server. Similarly, inserting null data into a string-based column is stored as null in the SQL server.To ensure consistent handling of both empty strings and null values, we recommend you to update the data to match how you would like it to be represented in the database before performing a bulk load operation.
Limitations & Known Issues
None.
Snap Views
Type | Format | Number of Views | Examples of Upstream and Downstream Snaps | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Input | Document |
|
| This Snap has one document input view by default. A second view can be added for metadata for the table as a document so that the target absent table can be created in the database with a similar schema as the source table. This schema is usually from the second output of a database Select Snap. If the schema is from a different database, there is no guarantee that all the data types would be properly handled. The columns of the target table need to be mapped upstream using a Mapper Snap. The Mapper Snap will provide the target schema, which reflects the schema of the target table. |
Output | Document |
|
| This Snap has at most one document output view. A document that represents the result of the bulk load operation. |
Error | Error handling is a generic way to handle errors without losing data or failing the Snap execution. You can handle the errors that the Snap might encounter when running the Pipeline by choosing one of the following options from the When errors occur list under the Views tab:
Learn more about Error handling in Pipelines. |
Snap Settings
Asterisk (*): Indicates a mandatory field.
Suggestion icon (
): Indicates a list that is dynamically populated based on the configuration.
Expression icon (
): Indicates whether the value is an expression (if enabled) or a static value (if disabled). Learn more about Using Expressions in SnapLogic.
Add icon (
): Indicates that you can add fields in the field set.
Remove icon (
): Indicates that you can remove fields from the field set.
Field Name | Field Type | Description |
---|---|---|
Label* Default Value: Snowflake - Bulk Load | String | Specify the name for the instance. You can modify this to be more specific, especially if you have more than one of the same Snap in your Pipeline. |
Schema Name Default Value: N/A | String/Expression/Suggestion | Specify the database schema name. In case it is not defined, then the suggestion for the Table Name will retrieve all tables names of all schemas. The property is suggestible and will retrieve available database schemas during suggest values. The values can be passed using the pipeline parameters but not the upstream parameter. |
Table Name* Default Value: N/A | String/Expression/Suggestion | Specify the table on which to execute the bulk load operation.
Examples: |
Create table if not present Default Value: Deselected | Checkbox | Select this check box to enable the Snap to automatically create a table if a table does not exist. The data types for the columns in the new table depend on the data types coming from the upstream Snap. If a second input view exists, the Snap reads and uses the data types for the columns from this input view. |
BCP absolute path Default Value: N/A | String | Specify the absolute path of the bcp utility program in JCC's file system. If empty, the Snap looks for it in JCC's environment variable PATH. bcp.bat should include the ".exe" extension to ensure the executable is actually referenced. Handling Unrecognized Character sets in the Data set Since the Snaplex uses the OS's default character set, it cannot recognize characters in other languages. Due to this, unrecognized characters in the data set are replaced with junk values when performing bulk load operations. To mitigate this, create a bcp.bat file and include the following line: Use the path to this bcp.bat file in the BCP absolute path. This is only applicable to Windows-based Snaplexes. |
Maximum error count* Default Value: 10 | Integer | Specify the maximum number of rows which can fail before the bulk load operation is stopped. |
Batch size Default Value: N/A | Integer/Expression | Specify the number of records batched per request. If the input has 10,000 records and the batch size is set to 100, the total number of requests batched would be 100. Minimum Value: 1 |
Snap Execution Default Value: Execute only | Dropdown list | Select one of the three modes in which the Snap executes. Available options are:
|
Troubleshooting | Problem: Reason: Resolution: |
---|
In a scenario where the Auto commit on the account is set to true, and the downstream Snap does depends on the data processed on an Upstream Database Bulk Load Snap, use the Script Snap to add delay for the data to be available. For example, when performing a create, insert and a delete function sequentially on a pipeline, using a Script Snap helps in creating a delay between the insert and delete function or otherwise it may turn out that the delete function is triggered even before inserting the records on the table.
Troubleshooting
Error | Reason | Resolution |
---|---|---|
Some characters appear as junk values after bulk load. | The Snaplex uses character sets defined in the OS on which they are installed. Due to this, any unrecognized character set is not supported by the Snaplex as well. As a result, such characters in the data set are represented as junk values in the database after a bulk load operation. | This problem can be resolved by editing the bcp.bat file to accept custom characters. And using the absolute path to this bcp file in the BCP absolute path property. The bcp.bat file must contain the following: This resolution is applicable only to Windows-based Snaplexes. |
Example
This example pipeline demonstrates how to load data from table bulk_test_source to table bulk_test_target with SQL Server Bulk Load Snap.
The SQL Server Select Snap gets records in the table bulk_test_source and passes them to the SQL Server Bulk Load Snap:
The SQL Server Bulk Load Snap that loads inputs to table bulk_test_target looks as follows:
The output of the SQL Server Bulk Load Snap after executing the pipeline:
Release Snap Pack Version Date Type Updates February 2025 440patches29922 Latest Fixed an issue with the SQL server Select, Execute, and Insert Snaps that failed with ClassCastException for geometry and geography data types when using custom jar files. February 2025 main29887 Stable Updated and certified against the current SnapLogic Platform release. November 2024 main29029 Stable Updated and certified against the current SnapLogic Platform release. August 2024 438patches28829 Latest Reinstated support for the jTDS driver in the SQL Server Snap Pack. August 2024 main27765 Stable Updated and certified against the current Snaplogic Platform release. May 2024 437patches27732 Latest Fixed an issue with the SQL Server - Select Snap configured with an Ultra task to handle temporary database unavailability. The Snap now validates the database connection to ensure that it is reestablished after temporary database outages. May 2024 437patches27328 Latest Fixed an issue with the SQL Server Insert Snap that caused an error when inserting the infinity value into a May 2024 437patches27091 Latest Fixed a case-sensitivity issue with the SQL Server—Bulk Load Snap that caused a May 2024 main26341 Stable Updated the Delete Condition (Truncates a Table if empty) field in the SQL Server - Delete Snap to Delete condition (deletes all records from a table if left blank) to indicate that all entries will be deleted from the table when this field is blank, but no truncate operation is performed. February 2024 436patches26177 Latest Fixed an issue with the SQL Server Snap Pack that displayed an error when numeric values with scale 0 were inserted into the database with DECIMAL or NUMERIC type columns, instead of inserting the value with decimal digits truncated. Fixed an issue with the SQL Server Snap Pack that displayed an error when fractional numeric values (numbers with a decimal point) were inserted into the database with an INT type column, instead of inserting the value with decimal digits truncated. February 2024 436patches25757 Latest Fixed an issue with the SQL Server - Insert Snap that previously displayed an error when attempting to insert a true or false value into a February 2024 436patches25548 Latest Added support for XML and spatial types (Geography and Geometry) for SQL Server Snap Pack. Fixed an issue with the SQL Server - Insert Snap that displayed an error when an empty or blank string was passed as a value to an Behavior change: February 2024 main25112 Stable As of November 2023 main23721 Stable Updated and certified against the current SnapLogic Platform release. August 2023 434patches22758 Latest Fixed an issue with the SQL Server Stored Procedure and Table List Snaps that caused no retries to be executed even if you select the number of retries in the UI when a custom JDBC driver was used. August 2023 434patches22579 Latest Improved the SQL Server Bulk Load Snap to reduce the chance of causing a deadlock error. August 2023 main22460 Stable The SQL Server - Execute Snap now includes a new Query type field. When Auto is selected, the Snap tries to determine the query type automatically. May 2023 433patches22090 Latest The SQL Server Stored Procedure and SQL Server Table List Snaps now support the retry functionality. May 2023 433patches21808 Latest The SQL Server Snap Pack is upgraded to the latest version of the Microsoft JDBC Driver 12.2.0.jre11 for SQL Server: Pipelines using the default JAR in the SQL server accounts might fail after the driver upgrade because the latest driver is backward-incompatible. To prevent your accounts from failing, reconfigure the URL properties field in account settings as follows: Pipelines NOT using the default driver (bundled with the SQL Server Snap Pack) will not fail. Fixed an issue with the SQL Server Insert Snap that was causing performance degradation between GA release 4.32 and 4.33 if the network connection between the Groundplex and the database server was slow. May 2023 433patches21386 - The SQL Server Snap Pack is upgraded to the latest version of the Microsoft JDBC Driver 12.2.0.jre11 for SQL Server: Pipelines using the default JAR in the SQL server accounts might fail after the driver upgrade because the latest driver is backward-incompatible. To prevent your accounts from failing, reconfigure the URL properties field in account settings as follows: Pipelines NOT using the default driver (bundled with the SQL Server Snap Pack) will not fail. The Microsoft JDBC Driver May 2023 433patches21119 Latest Updated the Bulk Load Snap to preserve empty strings as empty strings and null as nulls. May 2023 main21015 Stable Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. February 2023 main19844 Stable Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. November 2022 431patches19263 Latest The SQL Server Insert Snap no longer no longer includes the Preserve case-sensitivity checkbox because the database is case-insensitive. The database stores the data regardless of whether the columns in the target table and the input data are in mixed, lower, or upper case. November 2022 431patches19268 Latest The SQL Server-Insert Snap now displays the error, November 2022 431patches19234 Latest A memory leak in the SQL Server Stored Procedure Snap is fixed. The Snap now clears the closed connections from memory and retains the open connections. November 2022 431patches19000 Stable/Latest The SQL Server accounts failed with a certificate error on Windows Snaplexes when using the default SQL driver with the November 2022 main18944 Stable The MySQL Insert Snap now creates the target table only from the table metadata of the second input view when the following conditions are met: The Create table if not present checkbox is selected. The target table does not exist. The table metadata is provided in the second input view. August 2022 430patches17064 Latest The SQL Server - Select Snap now has the Convert rowversion datatype to integer checkbox to support the 4.30 Patch 430patches17368 Latest The SQL Server Execute Snap containing an explicit SQL transaction now works as expected when using a default JDBC driver. August 2022 main17386 Stable Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. 4.29 Patch 429patches16235 Latest Fixed an issue with SQL Server Execute Snap where the Snap did not display a valid error message when the delete condition is invalid. 4.29 main15993 Stable Enhanced the SQL Server - Bulk Load Snap with the Batch Size field to process records in a batch. 4.28 Patch 428patches14649 Latest Enhanced the SQL Server - Select and SQL Server - Lookup Snaps with Option for Unique Identifier Column that allows you to convert the case to lower or upper while displaying the Unique Identifier output (display) value. 4.28 main14627 Stable Updated the label for Delete Condition to Delete Condition (Truncates Table if empty) in the SQL Server Delete Snap. 4.27 main12833 Stable Enhanced the SQL Server - Execute Snap to invoke stored procedures. 4.26 Patch 426patches12535 Latest Fixed an issue in the SQL Server Bulk Load snap where boolean data type failed to load into BIT field. 4.26 main11181 Stable Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. 4.25 Patch 425patches10797 Latest Fixed an issue with the SQL Server - Bulk Load Snap where the Snap fails when the login password contains a colon or a less than (<) symbol. 4.25 main9554 Stable Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. 4.24 Patch 424patches8657 Latest Enhances the SQL Server - Select Snap by introducing a new field, Query Hints, which helps to customize and optimize the database engine to process query statements. 4.24 main8556 Stable Enhances the SQL Server - Select Snap to return only the selected output fields or columns in the output schema (second output view) using the Fetch Output Fields In Schema check box. If the Output Fields field is empty all the columns are visible. Enhances the SQL Server - Stored Procedure to accept parameters from input documents by column keys. If the values are empty, the parameters are populated based on the column keys for easier mapping in the upstream Mapper Snap. 4.23 Patch 423patches8190 Latest Fixes an issue with SQL Server - Execute to handle SQL statements that begin with special characters. 4.23 main7430 Stable Enhances the accounts in this Snap Pack to allow Windows-based (Active Directory) authentication and user impersonation for SQL Server user accounts. 4.22 Patch 422patches6728 Latest Enhances the SQL Server Snap pack to allow Windows (Active Directory) based authentication and user impersonation for SQL Server user accounts. 4.22 main6403 Stable Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. 4.21 Patch 421patches6272 Latest Fixes the issue where Snowflake SCD2 Snap generates two output documents despite no changes to Cause-historization fields with DATE, TIME and TIMESTAMP Snowflake data types, and with Ignore unchanged rows field selected. 4.21 Patch 421patches6144 Latest Fixes the following issues with DB Snaps: The connection thread waits indefinitely causing the subsequent connection requests to become unresponsive. Connection leaks occur during Pipeline execution. 4.21 Patch MULTIPLE8841 Latest Fixes the connection issue in Database Snaps by detecting and closing open connections after the Snap execution ends. 4.21 Patch db/sqlserver8837 Latest Fixed the SQL Server - Stored Procedure Snap to support the UUID datatype. 4.21 snapsmrc542 Stable Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. 4.20 Patch db/sqlserver8793 Latest Fixed an issue in the SQL Server - Insert Snap due to which the Snap failed to load values of data type INT. 4.20 Patch db/sqlserver8796 Latest Fixed the SQL Server - Bulk Load Snap to mask the password in the logged exception messages. 4.20 snapsmrc535 Stable Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. 4.19 Patch db/sqlserver8413 Latest Fixed an issue with the SQL Server - Update Snap wherein the Snap is unable to perform operations when: An expression is used in the Update condition property. Input data contain the character '?'. 4.19 snaprsmrc528 Stable Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. 4.18 Patch db/sqlserver7989 Latest Fixed an issue in the SQL Server - Merge Snap wherein identity columns are not handled correctly. Also, added a field, Enable Identity Insert, that enables you to insert values into an identity column. 4.18 snapsmrc523 Stable Added support for SQL Server account Active Directory authentication for SQL server for driver JAR version Reverts a 4.17-patch (db/sqlserver7394) update regarding how BIT and BOOLEAN column data type values are displayed. They now display as true or false (4.17 GA behavior in snapsmrc515) rather than converting to 0 or 1 values (4.17-patch behavior). 4.17 Patch MULTIPLE7479 Latest Fixed an issue with the SQL Server - Lookup Snap wherein it fails a UUID search. 4.17 ALL7402 Latest Pushed automatic rebuild of the latest version of each Snap Pack to SnapLogic UAT and Elastic servers. 4.17 snapsmrc515 Latest Fixed an issue with the SQL Server Execute Snap wherein the Snap would send the input document to the output view even if the Pass through field is not selected in the Snap configuration. With this fix, the Snap sends the input document to the output view, under the key original, only if you select the Pass through field. Added the Snap Execution field to all Standard-mode Snaps. In some Snaps, this field replaces the existing Execute during preview check box. 4.16 Patch db/sqlserver6981 Latest Fixed an issue of slow performance in SQL Server Snaps while using SQL Server Dynamic account type. 4.16 Patch db/sqlserver6818 Latest Fixed an issue with the Lookup Snap passing data simultaneously to output and error views when some values contained spaces at the end. 4.16 snapsmrc508 Stable Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. 4.15 Patch db/sqlserver6337 Latest Replaced Max idle time and Idle connection test period properties with Max life time and Idle Timeout properties respectively, in the Account configuration. The new properties fix the connection release issues that were occurring due to default/restricted DB Account settings. 4.15 snapsmrc500 Stable Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. 4.14 Patch db/sqlserver5912 Latest Fixed an issue to parse the right data type and display it in the input schema for SQL Server Snap.. 4.14 Patch db/sqlserver5665 Latest Implemented a connection retry logic in the SQL Server account to resolve the connection loss issue in a customer's org. 4.14 snapsmrc490 Stable Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. 4.13 snapsmrc486 Stable Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. 4.12 snapsmrc480 Stable Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. 4.11 Patch db/sqlserver4388 Latest Fixed an issue with the Stored Procedure Snap that does not maintain the columns' order on the output as per table's definition. 4.11 Patch db/sqlserver4288 Latest SQL Server Snap Pack - Fixed an issue when inserting a valid NaN value into a column. 4.11 snapsmrc465 Stable Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. 4.10 Patch sqlserver3953 Latest Fixed an issue where the SQL Server Stored Procedure gets hanged when more than one Snap existed in the pipeline each processing greater than 1K documents. 4.10 snapsmrc414 Stable Added Auto commit property to the Select and Execute Snaps at the Snap level to support overriding of the Auto commit property at the Account level. 4.9.0 Patch sqlserver3224 Latest Addressed an issue with SQL Server - Bulk Load execution even with 0 input documents 4.9.0 Patch sqlserver3076 Latest Fixed an issue regarding connection not closed after login failure; Expose autocommit for "Select into" statement in PostgreSQL Execute Snap and Redshift Execute Snap 4.9 snapsmrc405 Stable Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. 4.8.0 Patch sqlserver2803 Latest Addressed an issue with slow performance with Bulk Load BCP. 4.8.0 Patch sqlserver2761 Latest Potential fix for JDBC deadlock issue. 4.8.0 Patch sqlserver2706 Latest Fixed SQL Server Snap Pack rendering dates that are one hour off from the date returned by database query for non-UTC Snaplexes. 4.8 snapsmrc398 Stable Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. 4.7 snapsmrc382 Stable Extended support for SQL Server Dynamic accounts. Updated the SQL Server Stored Procedure Snap with the Pass through field. 4.6 snapsmrc362 Stable Resolved an issue in SQL Server Bulk Load Snap that caused BCP program related failures. Enhanced to fully support SQL statements with/without expressions & SQL bind variables. Resolved an issue that caused failures when executing merge statements. 4.5.1 snapsmrc344 Latest Upgraded with the latest SnapLogic Platform release. 4.5 snapsmrc344 Stable Resolved an issue in SQL Server Execute Snap that erroneously reported a database/schema mismatch during Snap/pipeline execution. Resolved an issue in SQL Server Lookup Snap that occurred when handling case-insensitive field values. 4.4.1 NA Latest Introduced the SQL Bulk Load in this release. February 2025 February 2025 Latest Latestdecimal
-type column.NullPointerException
when retrieving the PATH
environment variable in a Windows environment. This change is applicable only to Windows, as environment variables are case-sensitive in Linux.TinyInt
datatype. The Snap now correctly inserts 1 or 0 for true or false in the table, respectively. integer-type
column.
As part of the JOOQ upgrade done in main25112
, the SQL Server-Insert Snap displayed the following error when an empty string was inserted to an integer-type column:Caused by: java.lang.NumberFormatException: Character n is neither a decimal digit number, decimal point, nor "e" notation exponential mark
Now, the Snap inserts a null value in this scenario.main25112
, the SQL Server Snap Pack no longer supports the jDTS driver. If you are using the latest SQL Server driver versions (2014 and higher), we recommend you use the driver that is bundled with the SQL Server Snap Pack. Note that the older SQL Server versions are supported as is.trustServerCertificate = true
Note: This update will be a part of the stable distribution with the GA release on August 9, 2023.
Learn more about the SQL Server driver upgrade: FAQ for Upgrading to SQL Server JDBC Driver 12.2.0 trustServerCertificate = true
12.2.0.jre11
for SQL Server included in the SQL Server Snap Pack is currently NOT available with the latest distribution. However, you can still consume this patch through 433patches21386
. This update is scheduled to be included in the upcoming distribution release on July 12, 2023, and will be a part of the stable distribution with the GA release on August 9, 2023.Number overflow: <number>
(instead of Batch operation failed
) when inserting a number into tinyinit column.4.31 main18944
build. This patch addresses the certificate error issue.ROWVERSION
data type. Select this checkbox to display the ROWVERSION
data type as integers in the output.mssql-jdbc-6.2.2-jre8.jar
.