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Grafana Cloud Enterprise Open source
Last reviewed: May 19, 2026

Microsoft SQL Server data source

Microsoft SQL Server (MSSQL) is one of the most widely used relational databases for business applications, analytics, and operational workloads. The built-in MSSQL data source lets you query your existing SQL Server instance directly from Grafana, no data migration or additional plugins required.

You can connect to Microsoft SQL Server 2012 or newer, Azure SQL Database, and Azure SQL Managed Instance.

Supported features

FeatureSupported
MetricsYes
AlertingYes
AnnotationsYes

Supported versions

VersionSupported
Microsoft SQL Server 2012+Yes
Azure SQL DatabaseYes
Azure SQL Managed InstanceYes

Grafana recommends using the latest available service pack for optimal compatibility.

Authentication methods

The Microsoft SQL Server data source supports the following authentication methods:

MethodBest forGrafana CloudSelf-managedSupports alerting
SQL Server AuthenticationAny deploymentYesYesYes
Windows Authentication (Integrated Security)On-premises with Windows SSONoYesYes
Windows AD (Kerberos)Enterprise Active Directory environmentsNoYesYes
Azure Entra ID (App Registration)Azure SQL with service principalYesYesYes
Azure Entra ID (Managed Identity)Grafana hosted in AzureNoYesYes
Azure Entra ID (Current User)User-level access control with Azure SQLYesYesNo

Note

Azure Entra ID (Current User) authentication doesn’t support alerting, reporting, or recorded queries because these features run on the backend without a user session.

For configuration details, refer to Configure the Microsoft SQL Server data source.

Get started

The following documentation helps you set up and use the Microsoft SQL Server data source:

Additional features

After you configure the data source, you can: