Table as a service: integration designing with D365F&O -- a walkthrough

 


What is TAAS

Table as a service is a very convenient way of high frequency, high volume data exchange, operations, without the need of worrying about the supporting architecture, speed and efficiency. I can make my data be stored and arranged as per any need, without sticking to a fixed metadata, beforehand – as compared to conventional DBMS definition. Your Table exists as an API, whereby you can call the API and enforcing PUT, POST and delete actions thereby.

 



Table as a service as a storage

Azure table storage exists as a patterned NoSql data in Azure, resulting in a schema-less design.

Table storage generally comprises of following components:

Accounts: a subscription account that connects all the storage offerings(Blobs/files, queues, containers, tables)

Tables: a table can comprise of several entities

Entities: an entity is like a row that comprises of several properties

Properties: Key-value pair

Look at the following example, that comes from a TAAS on a successful creation:

<content type = “application/xml”>

<m:properties>

              <d:PartitionKey>RecId</d:PartitionKey>

              <d:RowKey>2121212313</d:RowKey>

<d:TimeStamp m:Type=”Edm.DateTime”>2019-12-22T06:06:06.673110727</d:TimeStamp>

              <d:AcqMethod>Test3</d:acqMethod>

              <d:Description>Test desc</d:Description>

 

<m:properties>

</content>

The above example results from an attempt to write into a table, with fields AcqMethod and Description. PartitionKey and RowKey are evidently unqiue key pair. Here the record exists as a property (starting from <d:PartitionKey> to <d:Description>). The table does not have any fixed schema as contrary to our concept of RDBMS.

Creating a table storage

Step 1:

Navigate to ~\Home\All services\Storage accounts\admin storage account. Choose from ‘Tables’.

Step 2:

Create a new table à give a table name(avoid using ‘_’ or special characters). Press OK to to continue.

This would result in creating your table. See the adjoining URL, implying that it exists as an endpoint API.



Step3:

Shared access signature (SAS):

A shared access signature is an easy way common palette of data access for various modes of data storages: Blob, Queues, tables or containers.

Navigate to left hand pane à Shared access signature à Generate SAS and Connection string button. Tick on ‘Table’ à to create Keys for Table. Also click on the necessary allowed permissions:



This will generate the following access key/connection strings:



 

Querying your table from Postman:

Copy the ‘Table service SAS URL’ à Open postman à paste it in the browser à amend to include the table name you have created between ? and the last ‘\’ à do a ‘GET’ à Send

It will result in the records of the table as an XML’s key value pair dataset:



Note: how the name of the table has been given at the end of the SAS key.

Viewing from Azure browser

You can download Azure browser from:

https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=708343&clcid=0x4009

You can install the storage explorer. It’s an ultimate tool to upload, download, maintain and query your storage contents – just like the older days of SSMS.

Browse down to à on the left hand pane Subscription name à Storage accounts à created table:



You can query quite easily using query button from above:



 

 

Using logic apps: integration

Logic apps could be used successfully as a messenger exposing your Table Services to expose, interpret/Parse and consume data. You can expose your table as a service and then write a trigger to be fired when the data comes to your table as a HTTP request.

Steps:

a.       Figure out an HTTP request with the following JSON payload as its sample payload:

{

              “PartitionKey”: “RecId”

              “RowKey”: 122121212121,

              “Acqmethod”: “Test1”,

              “Description”: “Test1 desc”

}

b.       You can optionally choose a ‘compose’ action from above result.

c.       Add an action as ‘Insert entity’ by choosing from ‘Table storage’ connecter.

d.       Choose from step-b, choose from the Table that you have created (evidently it relates the set of tables available from the same azure subscription.

e.       Add a ‘Get entity’ action à it acts like an query, select the table you created and ‘PartitionKey’ and ‘RowKey’ values from the payload defined on Step-a.

So as a result the code for the logic app looks like:

{

 "definition": {

 "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/providers/Microsoft.Logic/schemas/2016-06-01/workflowdefinition.json#",

 "actions": {

 "Compose": {

 "inputs": "@triggerOutputs()['queries']",

 "runAfter": {},

 "type": "Compose"

},

 "Get_entity": {

 "inputs": {

 "host": {

 "connection": {

 "name": "@parameters('$connections')['azuretables']['connectionId']"

}

},

 "method": "get",

 "path": "/Tables/@{encodeURIComponent('_Table_Name_')}/entities(PartitionKey='@{encodeURIComponent(triggerBody()?['PartitionKey'])}',RowKey='@{encodeURIComponent(triggerBody()?['RowKey'])}')"

},

 "runAfter": {

 "Insert_Entity": [

 "Succeeded"

]

},

 "type": "ApiConnection"

},

 "Insert_Entity": {

 "inputs": {

 "body": "@outputs('Compose')",

 "host": {

 "connection": {

 "name": "@parameters('$connections')['azuretables']['connectionId']"

}

},

 "method": "post",

 "path": "/Tables/@{encodeURIComponent('_Table_Name_')}/entities"

},

 "runAfter": {

 "Compose": [

 "Succeeded"

]

},

 "type": "ApiConnection"

},

 "Post_a_message_(V3)": {

 "inputs": {

 "body": {

 "body": {

 "content": "<p>@{outputs('Compose')}</p>",

 "contentType": "html"

}

},

 "host": {

 "connection": {

 "name": "@parameters('$connections')['teams']['connectionId']"

}

},

 "method": "post",

 "path": "/v3/beta/teams/@{encodeURIComponent('*****')}/channels/@{encodeURIComponent('***@thread.skype')}/messages"

},

 "runAfter": {

 "Get_entity": [

 "Succeeded"

]

},

 "type": "ApiConnection"

}

},

 "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",

 "outputs": {},

 "parameters": {

 "$connections": {

 "defaultValue": {},

 "type": "Object"

}

},

 "triggers": {

 "manual": {

 "inputs": {

 "schema": {

 "properties": {

 "AcqMethod": {

 "type": "string"

},

 "Description": {

 "type": "string"

},

 "PartitionKey": {

 "type": "string"

},

 "RowKey": {

 "type": "string"

}

},

 "type": "object"

}

},

 "kind": "Http",

 "type": "Request"

}

}

},

 "parameters": {

 "$connections": {

 "value": {

 "azuretables": {

 "connectionId": "/subscriptions/****/resourceGroups/****/providers/Microsoft.Web/connections/azuretables",

 "connectionName": "azuretables",

 "id": "/subscriptions/*****/providers/Microsoft.Web/locations/westus/managedApis/azuretables"

},

 "teams": {

 "connectionId": "/subscriptions/****/resourceGroups/****/providers/Microsoft.Web/connections/teams-1",

 "connectionName": "teams-1",

 "id": "/subscriptions/****/providers/Microsoft.Web/locations/westus/managedApis/teams"

}

}

}

}

}

 

 

 

The logic app gives the following outcome, when fired from Postman:



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