Query Active Directory Data as a SQL Server Database in Node.js

You can use CData Connect Cloud to query Active Directory data through a SQL Server interface. Follow the procedure below to create a virtual database for Active Directory in Connect Cloud and start querying using Node.js.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure MySQL, cloud-to-cloud interface for Active Directory, allowing you to easily query live Active Directory data in Node.js — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you query data in Node.js, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Active Directory, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Active Directory data.

Configure Active Directory Connectivity for NodeJS

Connectivity to Active Directory from NodeJS is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Active Directory data from NodeJS, we start by creating and configuring a Active Directory connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "Active Directory" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Active Directory.

   To establish a connection, set the following properties:

   • Valid User and Password credentials (e.g., Domain\BobF or cn=Bob F,ou=Employees,dc=Domain).
   • Server information, including the IP or host name of the Server, as well as the Port.

   • BaseDN: This will limit the scope of LDAP searches to the height of the distinguished name provided.

     Note: Specifying a narrow BaseDN may greatly increase performance; for example, cn=users,dc=domain will only return results contained within cn=users and its children.

   
4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Active Directory Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect Cloud through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect Cloud. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect Cloud app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Active Directory data from Node.js.

Query Active Directory from Node.js

The following example shows how to define a connection and execute queries to Active Directory with the SQL Server module. You will need the following information:

• server: tds.cdata.com
• port: 14333
• user: a Connect Cloud user (e.g. [email protected])
• password: the PAT for the above user
• database: The connection you configured for Active Directory (ActiveDirectory1)

Connect to Active Directory data and start executing queries with the code below:

var sql = require('mssql')
var config = {
	server: 'tds.cdata.com',
	port: 14333, 
	user: '[email protected]', //update me
	password: 'CONNECT_USER_PAT', //update me	
	options: {
		encrypt: true,
		database: 'ActiveDirectory1'
	}
}

sql.connect(config, err => { 
    if(err){
        throw err ;
    }
    new sql.Request().query('SELECT * FROM User', (err, result) => {
        console.dir(result)
    })
        
});

sql.on('error', err => {
    console.log("SQL Error: " ,err);
})