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Error "Data source name not found and no default driver specified" Connecting to SQL Server Data Source


Published: 21 Mar 2014
Last Modified Date: 24 Aug 2022

Issue

When you try to connect to a published Microsoft SQL Server data source or refresh a published extract, one of the following errors might occur:

The drivers necessary to connect to this database server are not properly installed. Visit http://www.tableausoftware.com/drivers to download driver setup files.

The driver necessary to connect to the database server '<server name>' are not properly installed on Tableau Server. Visit http://www.tableausoftware.com/drivers to download driver setup files.
[Microsoft][ODBC Driver Manager] Data source name not found and no default driver specified

Or
 
An unexpected error occurred on the server. If you continue to receive this error please contact your Tableau Server Administrator.

DataSourceException: To connect to the <server name> database, you must install at least version 10.0 of the driver. Version 0.0.0 of the driver is currently installed.
Visit http://www.tableausoftware.com/drivers to download driver setup files. [Microsoft][ODBC Driver Manager] Data source name not found and no default driver specified

Some workbooks that connect to the data source, connect without errors, while others will generate the above error. Some extracts of the data source refresh as expected, while others generate the above error.

Environment

  • Tableau Server
  • Microsoft SQL Server

Resolution

On the computer running Tableau Server, download and install the Microsoft SQL Server driver from the Drivers & Activation page.

If running Tableau Server in a distributed environment, install the drivers on all computers running Tableau Server, including workers.

Cause

The computers running Tableau Server do not have the new version of the Microsoft SQL Server driver, and are using the default SQL Server driver installed with the Windows operating system. The default SQL Server driver works with many Microsoft SQL Server features, but advanced features of the newer versions of Microsoft SQL server are not compatible with the default SQL Server driver.
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