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Question

How do I set up ClickHouse with a Docker image to connect to Microsoft SQL Server?

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Answer

Notes on this example
  • Uses the ClickHouse Docker Ubuntu image
  • Uses the FreeTDS Driver
  • Uses MSSQL Server 2012R2
  • Windows hostname for this example is MARSDB2.marsnet2.local at IP: 192.168.1.133 (update with your hostname and/or IP)
  • MSSQL Instance name MARSDB2
  • MSSQL Login and datbase users are sql_user

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Example setup in MSSQL for testing ###

Database and table created in MSSQL: MSSQL Login User, sql_user: Database membership roles for sql_user: Database User with Login:

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Configuring ClickHouse with ODBC

Create a working directory: 
mkdir ch-odbc-mssql
cd ch-odbc-mssql
Create an odbc.ini file: 
vim odbc.ini
Add the following entries to update the name of the DSN and IP: 
[marsdb2_mssql]
Driver = FreeTDS
Server = 192.168.1.133
Create an odbcinst.ini file: 
vim odbcinst.ini
Add the following entries (trace is optional but helps with debugging): 
[ODBC]
Trace = Yes
TraceFile = /tmp/odbc.log

[FreeTDS]
Description = FreeTDS
Driver = /usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu/odbc/libtdsodbc.so
Setup = /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/odbc/libtdsS.so
UsageCount = 1

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Configure a Dockerfile to download the image and add the TDS and required ODBC libraries

Create the Dockerfile: 
vim Dockerfile
Add the contents of the Dockerfile: 
FROM clickhouse/clickhouse-server:23.10

# Install the ODBC driver

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends unixodbc \
    && apt-get install -y freetds-bin freetds-common freetds-dev libct4 libsybdb5 \
	&& apt-get install tdsodbc
Build the new docker image: 
docker build . -t marsnet/clickhouse-odbc:23.10
Create a docker-compose.yml file: 
vim docker-compose.yml
Add the following contents to the YAML: 
version: '3.7'
services:
  clickhouse:
    image: marsnet/clickhouse-odbc:23.10
    container_name: clickhouse-odbc
    hostname: clickhouse-host
    ports:
      - "9000:9000"
      - "8123:8123"
      - "9009:9009"
    volumes:
      - ./odbc.ini:/etc/odbc.ini
      - ./odbcinst.ini:/etc/odbcinst.ini
    restart: always
    ulimits:
      memlock:
        soft: -1
        hard: -1
      nofile:
        soft: 262144
        hard: 262144
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          memory: 4g
Start the container: 
docker compose up --detach
After you start the container, you should see something like this: 
ch-odbc-mssql % docker compose up --detach
[+] Running 1/1
 ✔ Container clickhouse-odbc  Started
Check to ensure the container is running: 
ch-odbc-mssql % docker ps
CONTAINER ID   IMAGE                           COMMAND            CREATED          STATUS              PORTS                                                                    NAMES
87a400b803ce   marsnet/clickhouse-odbc:23.10   "/entrypoint.sh"   57 minutes ago   Up About a minute   0.0.0.0:8123->8123/tcp, 0.0.0.0:9000->9000/tcp, 0.0.0.0:9009->9009/tcp   clickhouse-odbc

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Test ODBC connection

Login with the ClickHouse client: 
./clickhouse client
Test the SELECT using the odbc table function to the remote MSSQL Database table: 
clickhouse-host :) SELECT * from odbc('DSN=marsdb2_mssql;port=1433;Uid=sql_user;Pwd=ClickHouse123;Database=db1', 'table1');

SELECT *
FROM odbc('DSN=marsdb2_mssql;port=1433;Uid=sql_user;Pwd=ClickHouse123;Database=db1', 'table1')

Query id: 23494da2-6e12-4ade-95fa-372a0420cac1

┌─id─┬─column1─┐
│  1 │ abc     │
│  2 │ def     │
│  3 │ ghi     │
└────┴─────────┘

3 rows in set. Elapsed: 0.188 sec.
You can also create a remote table using the odbc table engine: 
CREATE TABLE table1_odbc_mssql
(
    `id` Int32,
    `column1` String
)
ENGINE = ODBC('DSN=marsdb2_mssql;port=1433;Uid=sql_user;Pwd=ClickHouse123;Database=db1', 'dbo', 'table1')
Use a SELECT query to test the new remote table: 
clickhouse-host :) select * from table1_odbc_mssql;

SELECT *
FROM table1_odbc_mssql

Query id: 94724368-485d-4364-ae58-a435a225c37d

┌─id─┬─column1─┐
│  1 │ abc     │
│  2 │ def     │
│  3 │ ghi     │
└────┴─────────┘

3 rows in set. Elapsed: 0.218 sec.
For more information, please see: