Bring Oracle Database data into Azure and Power BI
Unlock Oracle Database
Yres connects directly to an Oracle database. You do not enter a database name but the Oracle service name (or the older SID), together with the host, listener port (1521 by default) and an account with read access to the schemas you want to load. The connection is encrypted by default and currently runs on the Azure Data Factory cloud runtime, so the Oracle server has to be reachable from Azure. The selected tables are loaded with history into an Azure SQL database in your own tenant for Power BI.
At a glance
- Connection
- Direct connection: host, listener port, service name, user name and password
- Default port
- 1521 (the Oracle listener)
- Service name
- Oracle asks for a service name or the older SID, not a database name. Yres builds the server address from it in the form host:port/service name
- Encryption
- Enabled by default, including an integrity check on the traffic. Nothing to configure yourself
- Network
- The connection currently always runs on the cloud runtime; Oracle has to be reachable from Azure
- Incremental loading
- Yes, on one or two change columns. Full loads are possible too
- Credential storage
- Server address, user name and password are held as separate secrets in your own Azure Key Vault, not in the Yres web app
What you arrange yourself
- 1Ask your Oracle administrator for the host and listener port.
- 2Look up the service name: it is in tnsnames.ora, can be queried on the server with lsnrctl status, or is known to your DBA.
- 3Have a separate database account created with read-only access to the schemas you want to expose.
- 4Agree with network management how the Oracle server becomes reachable from Azure.
- 5Add the Oracle source in Yres, refresh the metadata and pick the tables.
When you need this — and when you don't
A standalone connector is enough if…
If you only report on the one system that runs on Oracle and that system's own reports are sufficient, you do not need a separate data warehouse.
Yres adds value if…
Yres earns its place when a core system runs on Oracle and its figures have to sit next to other sources in Power BI, without report builders working directly on the Oracle database. The data warehouse also keeps the history of every change.
Frequently asked questions: Oracle
What is the difference between a service name and a database name, and where do I find the service name?
Oracle identifies a database for connections by a service name, or a SID on older installations. That is why Yres asks for that value instead of a database name. You find it in the tnsnames.ora file on the server or client, through lsnrctl status on the server, or from your DBA.
Our Oracle database is on-premises. Does that work?
Not at the moment without extra work. You can pick an integration runtime in Yres, but for Oracle that choice is not yet applied to the connection: it always runs on the cloud runtime. A database behind a firewall requires a manual change to the connection in Azure Data Factory. A fix for this is planned.
Is the traffic between Oracle and Azure encrypted in transit?
Yes. For Oracle, Yres uses a driver with encryption (AES or 3DES) and a SHA-based checksum switched on by default. This is arranged automatically when the source is created.
Which permissions does the Oracle account need?
Read access only, on the schemas you want to load from. The advice is a separate service account rather than a personal or admin account, so the connection stays limited to what is needed.
Full technical description in the knowledge base →·Last reviewed:
Data warehouse automation that runs in your own Azure
Built for organisations on Azure and Power BI. Yres connects your sources, keeps the history and promotes changes in a controlled way, without manual work.