diff --git a/plugins/inputs/sql/sql.go b/plugins/inputs/sql/sql.go
index 5c34ac7a2..1bcb0cb7b 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/sql/sql.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/sql/sql.go
@@ -462,12 +462,10 @@ func (q *query) parse(acc telegraf.Accumulator, rows *dbsql.Rows, t time.Time, l
 			if q.fieldFilterInt.Match(name) {
 				v, err := internal.ToInt64(columnData[i])
 				if err != nil {
-					if err != nil {
-						if !errors.Is(err, internal.ErrOutOfRange) {
-							return 0, fmt.Errorf("converting field column %q to int failed: %w", name, err)
-						}
-						logger.Warnf("field column %q: %v", name, err)
+					if !errors.Is(err, internal.ErrOutOfRange) {
+						return 0, fmt.Errorf("converting field column %q to int failed: %w", name, err)
 					}
+					logger.Warnf("field column %q: %v", name, err)
 				}
 				fields[name] = v
 				continue
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/sql/sql_test.go b/plugins/inputs/sql/sql_test.go
index f74d60b8a..2bca70528 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/sql/sql_test.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/sql/sql_test.go
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package sql
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
-	"math/rand"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
@@ -16,18 +15,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/testutil"
 )
 
-func pwgen(n int) string {
-	charset := []byte("abcdedfghijklmnopqrstABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789")
-	nchars := len(charset)
-
-	buffer := make([]byte, 0, n)
-	for i := 0; i < n; i++ {
-		buffer = append(buffer, charset[rand.Intn(nchars)])
-	}
-
-	return string(buffer)
-}
-
 func TestMariaDBIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 	if testing.Short() {
 		t.Skip("Skipping integration test in short mode")
@@ -36,7 +23,7 @@ func TestMariaDBIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 	logger := testutil.Logger{}
 
 	port := "3306"
-	passwd := pwgen(32)
+	password := testutil.GetRandomString(32)
 	database := "foo"
 
 	// Determine the test-data mountpoint
@@ -47,7 +34,7 @@ func TestMariaDBIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 		Image:        "mariadb",
 		ExposedPorts: []string{port},
 		Env: map[string]string{
-			"MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD": passwd,
+			"MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD": password,
 			"MYSQL_DATABASE":      database,
 		},
 		Files: map[string]string{
@@ -58,8 +45,7 @@ func TestMariaDBIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 			wait.ForListeningPort(nat.Port(port)),
 		),
 	}
-	err = container.Start()
-	require.NoError(t, err, "failed to start container")
+	require.NoError(t, container.Start(), "failed to start container")
 	defer container.Terminate()
 
 	// Define the testset
@@ -99,7 +85,7 @@ func TestMariaDBIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, tt := range testset {
 		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			// Setup the plugin-under-test
-			dsn := fmt.Sprintf("root:%s@tcp(%s:%s)/%s", passwd, container.Address, container.Ports[port], database)
+			dsn := fmt.Sprintf("root:%s@tcp(%s:%s)/%s", password, container.Address, container.Ports[port], database)
 			secret := config.NewSecret([]byte(dsn))
 			plugin := &SQL{
 				Driver:  "maria",
@@ -135,7 +121,7 @@ func TestPostgreSQLIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 	logger := testutil.Logger{}
 
 	port := "5432"
-	passwd := pwgen(32)
+	password := testutil.GetRandomString(32)
 	database := "foo"
 
 	// Determine the test-data mountpoint
@@ -146,7 +132,7 @@ func TestPostgreSQLIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 		Image:        "postgres",
 		ExposedPorts: []string{port},
 		Env: map[string]string{
-			"POSTGRES_PASSWORD": passwd,
+			"POSTGRES_PASSWORD": password,
 			"POSTGRES_DB":       database,
 		},
 		Files: map[string]string{
@@ -157,8 +143,7 @@ func TestPostgreSQLIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 			wait.ForListeningPort(nat.Port(port)),
 		),
 	}
-	err = container.Start()
-	require.NoError(t, err, "failed to start container")
+	require.NoError(t, container.Start(), "failed to start container")
 	defer container.Terminate()
 
 	// Define the testset
@@ -198,7 +183,7 @@ func TestPostgreSQLIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, tt := range testset {
 		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			// Setup the plugin-under-test
-			dsn := fmt.Sprintf("postgres://postgres:%v@%v:%v/%v", passwd, container.Address, container.Ports[port], database)
+			dsn := fmt.Sprintf("postgres://postgres:%s@%s:%s/%s", password, container.Address, container.Ports[port], database)
 			secret := config.NewSecret([]byte(dsn))
 			plugin := &SQL{
 				Driver:  "pgx",
@@ -252,8 +237,7 @@ func TestClickHouseIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 			wait.ForLog("Saved preprocessed configuration to '/var/lib/clickhouse/preprocessed_configs/users.xml'.").WithOccurrence(2),
 		),
 	}
-	err = container.Start()
-	require.NoError(t, err, "failed to start container")
+	require.NoError(t, container.Start(), "failed to start container")
 	defer container.Terminate()
 
 	// Define the testset
@@ -293,7 +277,7 @@ func TestClickHouseIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, tt := range testset {
 		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			// Setup the plugin-under-test
-			dsn := fmt.Sprintf("tcp://%v:%v?username=%v", container.Address, container.Ports[port], user)
+			dsn := fmt.Sprintf("tcp://%s:%s?username=%s", container.Address, container.Ports[port], user)
 			secret := config.NewSecret([]byte(dsn))
 			plugin := &SQL{
 				Driver:  "clickhouse",
diff --git a/plugins/outputs/sql/README.md b/plugins/outputs/sql/README.md
index f1f66f803..3a4cefe44 100644
--- a/plugins/outputs/sql/README.md
+++ b/plugins/outputs/sql/README.md
@@ -84,12 +84,12 @@ See the [CONFIGURATION.md][CONFIGURATION.md] for more details.
   ## Database driver
   ## Valid options: mssql (Microsoft SQL Server), mysql (MySQL), pgx (Postgres),
   ##  sqlite (SQLite3), snowflake (snowflake.com) clickhouse (ClickHouse)
-  # driver = ""
+  driver = ""
 
   ## Data source name
   ## The format of the data source name is different for each database driver.
   ## See the plugin readme for details.
-  # data_source_name = ""
+  data_source_name = ""
 
   ## Timestamp column name
   # timestamp_column = "timestamp"
diff --git a/plugins/outputs/sql/sample.conf b/plugins/outputs/sql/sample.conf
index f1b7f297f..9535b861a 100644
--- a/plugins/outputs/sql/sample.conf
+++ b/plugins/outputs/sql/sample.conf
@@ -3,12 +3,12 @@
   ## Database driver
   ## Valid options: mssql (Microsoft SQL Server), mysql (MySQL), pgx (Postgres),
   ##  sqlite (SQLite3), snowflake (snowflake.com) clickhouse (ClickHouse)
-  # driver = ""
+  driver = ""
 
   ## Data source name
   ## The format of the data source name is different for each database driver.
   ## See the plugin readme for details.
-  # data_source_name = ""
+  data_source_name = ""
 
   ## Timestamp column name
   # timestamp_column = "timestamp"
diff --git a/plugins/outputs/sql/sql.go b/plugins/outputs/sql/sql.go
index b3b1f6943..ec7e90806 100644
--- a/plugins/outputs/sql/sql.go
+++ b/plugins/outputs/sql/sql.go
@@ -25,6 +25,17 @@ import (
 //go:embed sample.conf
 var sampleConfig string
 
+var defaultConvert = ConvertStruct{
+	Integer:         "INT",
+	Real:            "DOUBLE",
+	Text:            "TEXT",
+	Timestamp:       "TIMESTAMP",
+	Defaultvalue:    "TEXT",
+	Unsigned:        "UNSIGNED",
+	Bool:            "BOOL",
+	ConversionStyle: "unsigned_suffix",
+}
+
 type ConvertStruct struct {
 	Integer         string `toml:"integer"`
 	Real            string `toml:"real"`
@@ -58,20 +69,46 @@ func (*SQL) SampleConfig() string {
 	return sampleConfig
 }
 
+func (p *SQL) Init() error {
+	// Set defaults
+	if p.TableExistsTemplate == "" {
+		p.TableExistsTemplate = "SELECT 1 FROM {TABLE} LIMIT 1"
+	}
+
+	if p.TimestampColumn == "" {
+		p.TimestampColumn = "timestamp"
+	}
+
+	if p.TableTemplate == "" {
+		if p.Driver == "clickhouse" {
+			p.TableTemplate = "CREATE TABLE {TABLE}({COLUMNS}) ORDER BY ({TAG_COLUMN_NAMES}, {TIMESTAMP_COLUMN_NAME})"
+		} else {
+			p.TableTemplate = "CREATE TABLE {TABLE}({COLUMNS})"
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Check for a valid driver
+	switch p.Driver {
+	case "clickhouse":
+		// Convert v1-style Clickhouse DSN to v2-style
+		p.convertClickHouseDsn()
+	case "mssql", "mysql", "pgx", "snowflake", "sqlite":
+		// Do nothing, those are valid
+	default:
+		return fmt.Errorf("unknown driver %q", p.Driver)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 func (p *SQL) Connect() error {
-	dsn := p.DataSourceName
-	if p.Driver == "clickhouse" {
-		dsn = convertClickHouseDsn(dsn, p.Log)
+	db, err := gosql.Open(p.Driver, p.DataSourceName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("creating database client failed: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	db, err := gosql.Open(p.Driver, dsn)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
-	err = db.Ping()
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
+	if err := db.Ping(); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("pinging database failed: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	db.SetConnMaxIdleTime(time.Duration(p.ConnectionMaxIdleTime))
@@ -80,9 +117,8 @@ func (p *SQL) Connect() error {
 	db.SetMaxOpenConns(p.ConnectionMaxOpen)
 
 	if p.InitSQL != "" {
-		_, err = db.Exec(p.InitSQL)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
+		if _, err = db.Exec(p.InitSQL); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("initializing database failed: %w", err)
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -275,94 +311,64 @@ func (p *SQL) Write(metrics []telegraf.Metric) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (p *SQL) Init() error {
-	if p.TableExistsTemplate == "" {
-		p.TableExistsTemplate = "SELECT 1 FROM {TABLE} LIMIT 1"
-	}
-	if p.TimestampColumn == "" {
-		p.TimestampColumn = "timestamp"
-	}
-	if p.TableTemplate == "" {
-		if p.Driver == "clickhouse" {
-			p.TableTemplate = "CREATE TABLE {TABLE}({COLUMNS}) ORDER BY ({TAG_COLUMN_NAMES}, {TIMESTAMP_COLUMN_NAME})"
-		} else {
-			p.TableTemplate = "CREATE TABLE {TABLE}({COLUMNS})"
-		}
-	}
-
-	return nil
-}
-
-func init() {
-	outputs.Add("sql", func() telegraf.Output { return newSQL() })
-}
-
-func newSQL() *SQL {
-	return &SQL{
-		Convert: ConvertStruct{
-			Integer:         "INT",
-			Real:            "DOUBLE",
-			Text:            "TEXT",
-			Timestamp:       "TIMESTAMP",
-			Defaultvalue:    "TEXT",
-			Unsigned:        "UNSIGNED",
-			Bool:            "BOOL",
-			ConversionStyle: "unsigned_suffix",
-		},
-		// Defaults for the connection settings (ConnectionMaxIdleTime,
-		// ConnectionMaxLifetime, ConnectionMaxIdle, and ConnectionMaxOpen)
-		// mirror the golang defaults. As of go 1.18 all of them default to 0
-		// except max idle connections which is 2. See
-		// https://pkg.go.dev/database/sql#DB.SetMaxIdleConns
-		ConnectionMaxIdle: 2,
-	}
-}
-
 // Convert a DSN possibly using v1 parameters to clickhouse-go v2 format
-func convertClickHouseDsn(dsn string, log telegraf.Logger) string {
-	p, err := url.Parse(dsn)
+func (p *SQL) convertClickHouseDsn() {
+	u, err := url.Parse(p.DataSourceName)
 	if err != nil {
-		return dsn
+		return
 	}
 
-	query := p.Query()
+	query := u.Query()
 
 	// Log warnings for parameters no longer supported in clickhouse-go v2
 	unsupported := []string{"tls_config", "no_delay", "write_timeout", "block_size", "check_connection_liveness"}
 	for _, paramName := range unsupported {
 		if query.Has(paramName) {
-			log.Warnf("DSN parameter '%s' is no longer supported by clickhouse-go v2", paramName)
+			p.Log.Warnf("DSN parameter '%s' is no longer supported by clickhouse-go v2", paramName)
 			query.Del(paramName)
 		}
 	}
 	if query.Get("connection_open_strategy") == "time_random" {
-		log.Warn("DSN parameter 'connection_open_strategy' can no longer be 'time_random'")
+		p.Log.Warn("DSN parameter 'connection_open_strategy' can no longer be 'time_random'")
 	}
 
 	// Convert the read_timeout parameter to a duration string
 	if d := query.Get("read_timeout"); d != "" {
 		if _, err := strconv.ParseFloat(d, 64); err == nil {
-			log.Warn("Legacy DSN parameter 'read_timeout' interpreted as seconds")
+			p.Log.Warn("Legacy DSN parameter 'read_timeout' interpreted as seconds")
 			query.Set("read_timeout", d+"s")
 		}
 	}
 
 	// Move database to the path
 	if d := query.Get("database"); d != "" {
-		log.Warn("Legacy DSN parameter 'database' converted to new format")
+		p.Log.Warn("Legacy DSN parameter 'database' converted to new format")
 		query.Del("database")
-		p.Path = d
+		u.Path = d
 	}
 
 	// Move alt_hosts to the host part
 	if altHosts := query.Get("alt_hosts"); altHosts != "" {
-		log.Warn("Legacy DSN parameter 'alt_hosts' converted to new format")
+		p.Log.Warn("Legacy DSN parameter 'alt_hosts' converted to new format")
 		query.Del("alt_hosts")
-		p.Host = p.Host + "," + altHosts
+		u.Host = u.Host + "," + altHosts
 	}
 
-	p.RawQuery = query.Encode()
-	dsn = p.String()
-
-	return dsn
+	u.RawQuery = query.Encode()
+	p.DataSourceName = u.String()
+}
+
+func init() {
+	outputs.Add("sql", func() telegraf.Output {
+		return &SQL{
+			Convert: defaultConvert,
+
+			// Defaults for the connection settings (ConnectionMaxIdleTime,
+			// ConnectionMaxLifetime, ConnectionMaxIdle, and ConnectionMaxOpen)
+			// mirror the golang defaults. As of go 1.18 all of them default to 0
+			// except max idle connections which is 2. See
+			// https://pkg.go.dev/database/sql#DB.SetMaxIdleConns
+			ConnectionMaxIdle: 2,
+		}
+	})
 }
diff --git a/plugins/outputs/sql/sql_test.go b/plugins/outputs/sql/sql_test.go
index 9bb67e750..62b9e55d9 100644
--- a/plugins/outputs/sql/sql_test.go
+++ b/plugins/outputs/sql/sql_test.go
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
-	"math/rand"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
@@ -19,36 +18,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/testutil"
 )
 
-func TestSqlQuoteIntegration(t *testing.T) {
-	if testing.Short() {
-		t.Skip("Skipping integration test in short mode")
-	}
-}
-
-func TestSqlCreateStatementIntegration(t *testing.T) {
-	if testing.Short() {
-		t.Skip("Skipping integration test in short mode")
-	}
-}
-
-func TestSqlInsertStatementIntegration(t *testing.T) {
-	if testing.Short() {
-		t.Skip("Skipping integration test in short mode")
-	}
-}
-
-func pwgen(n int) string {
-	charset := []byte("abcdedfghijklmnopqrstABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789")
-
-	nchars := len(charset)
-	buffer := make([]byte, 0, n)
-	for i := 0; i < n; i++ {
-		buffer = append(buffer, charset[rand.Intn(nchars)])
-	}
-
-	return string(buffer)
-}
-
 func stableMetric(
 	name string,
 	tags []telegraf.Tag,
@@ -169,7 +138,7 @@ func TestMysqlIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 	// var. We'll use root to insert and query test data.
 	const username = "root"
 
-	password := pwgen(32)
+	password := testutil.GetRandomString(32)
 	outDir := t.TempDir()
 
 	servicePort := "3306"
@@ -195,11 +164,14 @@ func TestMysqlIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 	address := fmt.Sprintf("%v:%v@tcp(%v:%v)/%v",
 		username, password, container.Address, container.Ports[servicePort], dbname,
 	)
-	p := newSQL()
-	p.Log = testutil.Logger{}
-	p.Driver = "mysql"
-	p.DataSourceName = address
-	p.InitSQL = "SET sql_mode='ANSI_QUOTES';"
+	p := &SQL{
+		Driver:            "mysql",
+		DataSourceName:    address,
+		Convert:           defaultConvert,
+		InitSQL:           "SET sql_mode='ANSI_QUOTES';",
+		ConnectionMaxIdle: 2,
+		Log:               testutil.Logger{},
+	}
 	require.NoError(t, p.Init())
 
 	require.NoError(t, p.Connect())
@@ -249,7 +221,7 @@ func TestPostgresIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 	// default username for postgres is postgres
 	const username = "postgres"
 
-	password := pwgen(32)
+	password := testutil.GetRandomString(32)
 	outDir := t.TempDir()
 
 	servicePort := "5432"
@@ -276,10 +248,13 @@ func TestPostgresIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 	address := fmt.Sprintf("postgres://%v:%v@%v:%v/%v",
 		username, password, container.Address, container.Ports[servicePort], dbname,
 	)
-	p := newSQL()
-	p.Log = testutil.Logger{}
-	p.Driver = "pgx"
-	p.DataSourceName = address
+	p := &SQL{
+		Driver:            "pgx",
+		DataSourceName:    address,
+		Convert:           defaultConvert,
+		ConnectionMaxIdle: 2,
+		Log:               testutil.Logger{},
+	}
 	p.Convert.Real = "double precision"
 	p.Convert.Unsigned = "bigint"
 	p.Convert.ConversionStyle = "literal"
@@ -335,7 +310,7 @@ func TestClickHouseIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 	// username for connecting to clickhouse
 	const username = "clickhouse"
 
-	password := pwgen(32)
+	password := testutil.GetRandomString(32)
 	outDir := t.TempDir()
 
 	servicePort := "9000"
@@ -364,10 +339,13 @@ func TestClickHouseIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 	// host, port, username, password, dbname
 	address := fmt.Sprintf("tcp://%s:%s/%s?username=%s&password=%s",
 		container.Address, container.Ports[servicePort], dbname, username, password)
-	p := newSQL()
-	p.Log = testutil.Logger{}
-	p.Driver = "clickhouse"
-	p.DataSourceName = address
+	p := &SQL{
+		Driver:            "clickhouse",
+		DataSourceName:    address,
+		Convert:           defaultConvert,
+		ConnectionMaxIdle: 2,
+		Log:               testutil.Logger{},
+	}
 	p.Convert.Integer = "Int64"
 	p.Convert.Text = "String"
 	p.Convert.Timestamp = "DateTime"
@@ -446,8 +424,13 @@ func TestClickHouseDsnConvert(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 
-	log := testutil.Logger{}
-	for _, test := range tests {
-		require.Equal(t, test.expected, convertClickHouseDsn(test.input, log))
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		plugin := &SQL{
+			Driver:         "clickhouse",
+			DataSourceName: tt.input,
+			Log:            testutil.Logger{},
+		}
+		require.NoError(t, plugin.Init())
+		require.Equal(t, tt.expected, plugin.DataSourceName)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/plugins/outputs/sql/sqlite_test.go b/plugins/outputs/sql/sqlite_test.go
index 051525ad6..4bcba28b6 100644
--- a/plugins/outputs/sql/sqlite_test.go
+++ b/plugins/outputs/sql/sqlite_test.go
@@ -21,10 +21,13 @@ func TestSqlite(t *testing.T) {
 	// Use the plugin to write to the database address :=
 	// fmt.Sprintf("file:%v", dbfile)
 	address := dbfile // accepts a path or a file: URI
-	p := newSQL()
-	p.Log = testutil.Logger{}
-	p.Driver = "sqlite"
-	p.DataSourceName = address
+	p := &SQL{
+		Driver:            "sqlite",
+		DataSourceName:    address,
+		Convert:           defaultConvert,
+		ConnectionMaxIdle: 2,
+		Log:               testutil.Logger{},
+	}
 	require.NoError(t, p.Init())
 
 	require.NoError(t, p.Connect())
diff --git a/testutil/testutil.go b/testutil/testutil.go
index 7925a17d3..6c44107b1 100644
--- a/testutil/testutil.go
+++ b/testutil/testutil.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package testutil
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"math/rand"
 	"net"
 	"net/url"
 	"os"
@@ -42,6 +43,24 @@ func GetLocalHost() string {
 	return localhost
 }
 
+// GetRandomString returns a random alphanumerical string of the given length.
+// Please note, this function is different to `internal.RandomString` as it will
+// not use `crypto.Rand` and will therefore not rely on the entropy-pool of the
+// host which might be drained e.g. in CI pipelines. This is useful to e.g.
+// create random passwords for tests where security is not a concern.
+func GetRandomString(chars int) string {
+	charset := []byte("abcdefghijklmnopqrstABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789")
+
+	nchars := len(charset)
+	buffer := make([]byte, chars)
+	for i := range chars {
+		//nolint:gosec // Using a weak random number generator on purpose to not drain entropy
+		buffer[i] = charset[rand.Intn(nchars)]
+	}
+
+	return string(buffer)
+}
+
 // MockMetrics returns a mock []telegraf.Metric object for using in unit tests
 // of telegraf output sinks.
 func MockMetrics() []telegraf.Metric {