sql-server.md

---
title: SQL Server
---

# SQL Server

To add a database connection, click on the **gear** icon in the top right, and navigate to **Admin settings** > **Databases** > **Add a database**.

Fill out the fields for that database, and click **Save changes** at the bottom.

## Settings

You can edit these settings at any time. Just remember to save your changes.

### Display name

The display name for the database in the Metabase interface.

### Host

Your database's IP address, or its domain name (e.g., esc.mydatabase.com).

### Port

The database port. E.g., 1433. To use Dynamic Ports, leave this field empty.

### Database name

The name of the database you're connecting to.

### Database instance name

If you're running multiple databases on the same host, you can include the instance name here.

### Username

The database username for the account that you want to use to connect to your database. You can set up multiple connections to the same database using different user accounts to connect to the same database, each with different sets of [privileges](../users-roles-privileges.md).

### Password

The password for the username that you use to connect to the database.

### Use a secure connection (SSL)

Metabase automatically tries to connect to databases with SSL first, then without if that doesn't work. If it's possible to connect to your database with an SSL connection, Metabase will make that the default setting for your database. If you prefer to connect without this layer of security, you can always change this setting later, but we highly recommend keeping SSL turned on to keep your data secure.

### ROWCOUNT Override

If left empty, Metabase will apply a 2000 row limit to query results. You can set a different limit here, or set to 0 for "unconstrained".

### Use an SSH tunnel

See our [guide to SSH tunneling](../ssh-tunnel.md).

### Additional JDBC connection string options

You can append options to the connection string that Metabase uses to connect to your database.

### Re-run queries for simple explorations

Turn this option **OFF** if people want to click **Run** (the play button) before applying any [Summarize](../../questions/query-builder/introduction.md#grouping-your-metrics) or filter selections.

By default, Metabase will execute a query as soon as you choose an grouping option from the **Summarize** menu or a filter condition from the [drill-through menu](https://www.metabase.com/learn/questions/drill-through). If your database is slow, you may want to disable re-running to avoid loading data on each click.

### Choose when Metabase syncs and scans

Turn this option **ON** to manage the queries that Metabase uses to stay up to date with your database. For more information, see [Syncing and scanning databases](../sync-scan.md).

#### Database syncing

If you've selected **Choose when syncs and scans happen** > **ON**, you'll be able to set:

- The frequency of the [sync](../sync-scan.md#how-database-syncs-work): hourly (default) or daily.
- The time to run the sync, in the timezone of the server where your Metabase app is running.

### Scanning for filter values

Metabase can scan the values present in each field in this database to enable checkbox filters in dashboards and questions. This can be a somewhat resource-intensive process, particularly if you have a very large database.

If you've selected **Choose when syncs and scans happen** > **ON**, you'll see the following options under **Scanning for filter values**:

- **Regularly, on a schedule** allows you to run [scan queries](../sync-scan.md#how-database-scans-work) at a frequency that matches the rate of change to your database. The time is set in the timezone of the server where your Metabase app is running. This is the best option for a small database, or tables with distinct values that get updated often.
- **Only when adding a new filter widget** is a great option if you want scan queries to run on demand. Turning this option **ON** means that Metabase will only scan and cache the values of the field(s) that are used when a new filter is added to a dashboard or SQL question.
- **Never, I'll do this manually if I need to** is an option for databases that are either prohibitively large, or which never really have new values added. Use the [Re-scan field values now](../sync-scan.md#manually-scanning-column-values) button to run a manual scan and bring your filter values up to date.

### Periodically refingerprint tables

> Periodic refingerprinting will increase the load on your database.

Turn this option **ON** to scan a sample of values every time Metabase runs a [sync](../sync-scan.md#how-database-syncs-work).

A fingerprinting query examines the first 10,000 rows from each column and uses that data to guesstimate how many unique values each column has, what the minimum and maximum values are for numeric and timestamp columns, and so on. If you leave this option **OFF**, Metabase will only fingerprint your columns once during setup.

### Default result cache duration

{% include plans-blockquote.html feature="Database-specific caching" %}

How long to keep question results. By default, Metabase will use the value you supply on the [cache settings page](../../configuring-metabase/caching.md), but if this database has other factors that influence the freshness of data, it could make sense to set a custom duration. You can also choose custom durations on individual questions or dashboards to help improve performance.

Options are:

- **Use instance default (TTL)**. TTL is time to live, meaning how long the cache remains valid before Metabase should run the query again.
- **Custom**.

If you are on a paid plan, you can also set cache duration per questions. See [Advanced caching controls](../../configuring-metabase/caching.md#advanced-caching-controls).

## Further reading

- [Managing databases](../../databases/connecting.md)
- [Metadata editing](../../data-modeling/metadata-editing.md)
- [Models](../../data-modeling/models.md)
- [Setting data access permissions](../../permissions/data.md)