I have a website that is backed by a database. I requested a SQL Server login with read/write/execute privileges to be created in our Production environment, and our DBA indicated that a non-interactive service account would be preferred.
Are there any potential issues with using a service account in this manner over a SQL Server login?
According to Microsoft, it is a "best practice" to use a service account (i.e. Windows account) and use SQL logins only for legacy applications that are not able to use Windows accounts (see Microsoft Recommendation).
So, only if your website is based on a non Microsoft technology or not hosted by IIS an SQL login might be the better choice.
At my current employer's we've been using non interactive Windows accounts to connect from our ASP.NET applications to SQL server all the time without any problems. It also makes managing and deploying connection strings easier because you don't have to care about securing them.
If you have an ASP.NET application it's good to add the account under which the IIS app pool runs (or a domain group it's in) as a login on the SQL Server.
However an SQL login might also have the practical advantage to be easier to test with: E.g. you can connect to the server using this account with SQL Management Studio to check if the permissions are sufficient.
Related
Testing SQL queries with large datasets against Azure SQL server may be costly, so it is better for me to test my code against a local server. I would like to create a new local server with "SQL Server authentication" rather than "Windows authentication", and I would like to keep my default local server that uses Windows authentication.
In lack of better phrasing:... is it "common" to have multiple SQL servers with different authentication methods on the same Windows-10 pc ?
If it is "straight-forward" to do this, then please share "how-to", or share better jargon for web searches. I did not find much information on this when googling "create new local server with sql server authentication"
As you may easily catch from the text: I'm not an IT expert...
Yes, you can use at an instance and solely your will to provide the accesses.
where you can use Windows Authentication mode and mixed mode.
More information about Windows Authentication may be found at: Connecting Using Windows Authentication.
We may utilize SQL Server Authentication to solve your problem by passing the user name and password.
We're a team of 4 developers that all have access to all servers (dev, test, uat, production) and we are trying to choose the best (secure, reliable, simple etc) way to connect SQL Server (currently 2008 R2).
Things we considering:
Windows / SQL Server authentication?
What roles?
Same for all servers or different for the production servers?
Please let me know what you do and what you recommend.
If you all require the same permissions, assuming that you are working on a domain and the servers are also on the domain.
Create a Developers group on the windows domain.
Add the 4 developers to that group.
Create a Login on each sql server mapped to that group. CREATE LOGIN [domain\group] FROM WINDOWS
Assign permissions to that login, depending on what you need.
Then a new developer just needs to be added to the domain group to get the permissions to all the servers. Also any changes to permissions only have to be done once to that group.
To answer your considerations.
You should use Windows authentication over SQL Authentication where possible.
The roles you need and whether to have them the same on all servers can only be answered by yourselves IMO, but you should use the principle of least privilege and give only the minimum permissions required by the developers per server.
What we use:
Dev/test servers - Windows Authentication for ease and simplicity
UAT - SQL Server authentication (because it's usually in a different domain)
Production - No direct access - you have to use RDP. You don't want anyone accidentally connecting to production when they think they're connecting to something else.
Development
Windows authentication
Member of the db_owner role
test
Windows authentication
Member of "End user" roles
uat
Windows authentication
Member of the db_datareader role
prod
No access
We only use windows authentication because we set permissions on a domain group.
We use windows authentication
Developer Group under PDC.
Developer have full access to development/testing server and only
selects on production server some(confidential data tables even though the data is encrypted) are though not allowed like pricelist etc.
I am trying to use IIS 7.5 Application Pool identity as login on SQL Server 2008 R2 so that my ASP.NET web app can connect to the database...
Using this approach worked fine on my local dev machine (IIS 7.5 and SQL Server 2008 R2 on same machine).
However, when I try to set up the same on production (IIS and SQL servers are separate) I am unable to add "IIS APPPOOL\MyAppAppPool" login to SQL Server 2008 R2.
Notice that in either case you cannot use "Browse..." when creating a login in SQL Server since "IIS APPPOOL\MyAppAppPool" user identity is dynamic (or "special")...
Any ideas?
Update:
For more info on Application Pool Identities see here.
From article:
Whenever a new Application Pool is
created, the IIS management process
creates a security identifier (SID)
that represents the name of the
Application Pool itself. For example,
if you create an Application Pool with
the name "MyNewAppPool," a security
identifier with the name
"MyNewAppPool" is created in the
Windows Security system. From this
point on, resources can be secured by
using this identity. However, the
identity is not a real user account;
it will not show up as a user in the
Windows User Management Console.
That articles states (under "Accessing the Network") you still use the <domainname>\<machinename>$ aka machine account in the domain.
So if both servers are in "foobar" domain, and the web box is "bicycle", the login used to the SQL Server Instance is foobar\bicycle$
If you aren't in a domain, then there is no common directory to authenticate against. Use a SQL login with username and password for simplicity
Edit, after comment
If the domains are trusted then you can use the machien account still (use domain local groups for SQL Server, into which add a global groups etc)
As for using app pool identities, they are local to your web server only as per article. They have no meaning to SQL Server. If you need to differentiate sites, then use proper domain accounts for the App Pools.
You can't have it both ways...
I'm want to create a SQl Server login for a IIS web application. Since the Web Application using IIS 7.5 identity, and in addition in production the Sql Server may be in a separate machine, I'm looking for use a user and password based connection string.
Now, I'm a little confused how to create this login in Sql Server 2008 R2. Should I use databawse specific User, or a global login? Should I Database Role or Application Role?
What are the best practices to get a login for an IIS application that don't use Stored Procedures, but makes a use of an ORM tool, like NHibernate?
The following article:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb882673.aspx
recommends using Integrated Security to connect to the database.
We have an application, consisting of an MS Access frontend (2007, mdb format), a few .net libraries and an SQL Server (2008) backend. I am working on an installer, which automatically installs the MS Access Runtime, our application, our libraries, SQL Server Express and configures everything.
Clearly, the MS Access application and the libraries (running in a normal, non-admin user context) need access to the SQL Server database. What is the best way to grant access to the application?
This is what I came up with. Unfortunately, all of these seem to have drawbacks:
SQL Server Compact Edition: Does not support views.
Application Roles: This seems to be best practice. However, it requires executing a stored procedure before accessing the database (I cannot pass the app credentials in the connection string). Thus, I cannot use this to attach the SQL Server tables as a linked tables in the Access MDB, which is a requirement of our Access application.
SQL Server User Instance: To quote from MSDN: "This feature will be removed in a future version of Microsoft SQL Server. Avoid using this feature in new development work..."
SQL Authentication: Microsoft says: "When possible, use Windows Authentication."
Using Windows authentication and granting BUILTIN\USERS full access: This is by far the easiest solution, but somehow it "seems wrong" to do that...
The application is targeted at a non-technical audience, so asking the user to configure permissions is not an option.
EDIT: Some clarification: It's a "local" application, i.e., the SQL Server is located on the same machine as the application; SQL Server access from the network is neither necessary nor desired. The software (a regular business application for managing stocks, invoices, etc.) will be available to download for free, so it should run in a variety of environments (domain/non-domain, different operating systems, etc.), and IT knowledge should not be required to install it -- apart from the usual "click on setup.exe, confirm UAC prompt, acknowledge the installation directory, etc.". I expect the most common scenarios to be "Windows XP, local admin user" and "Windows Vista/7, local admin user with UAC enabled". Since we want to follow good practices, running the application should not require "Run as Administrator" in the latter case.
#Heinzi write:
Using Windows authentication and
granting BUILTIN\USERS full access:
This is by far the easiest solution,
but somehow it "seems wrong" to do
that...
The usual approach here is to add a custom user group (e.g., "db-users") and put the users in that group. That way you can control exactly who is allowed access.
How about:
Use an Access ADP project, pre-configured to connect to the locally installed SQL Server instance.
Connect using BuiltIn\Users group (or SQL authentication) but grant only the bare minimum credentials. Enough to logon and ...
Call sp_setappprole to "elevate" the client connection to your defined application role's identity.
If sound like you have only got the tie of the iceberg. When it comes to selling and deploying access SQL applications.
I have take a different route. I have virtual computers as standalone workstation and domain server and workstation all virtual.
I have write a scripts they are a combination of VBA and VBScript.
Ask
Is the DB and App to run on single computer or different computers.
If different computer what is the name of the computer the DB is located on.
Is the DB and App to in a workgroup, homegroup or domain environment
Is the DB computer already have SQL Express or above
Is the App computer already have Access or Access Runtime installed.
If yes which version.
Will all or only limited users have access.
If limited what is the user group name of user to be have access to the data.
Does this group already exist
If No List the Name of the Users that Should Be Added to the Group
Also questions about the Admin Users and Group
The script start the virtual machines and goes through a series of steps to rep the MDB and SQL DB for deployment. Then creates an MSI for the Server Install with include a custom script that sets up the environment. Finally packages MDB in a nice MSI.
I have since enhanced the process to allow some questions to be answered at the beginning of the server installation. This means the user groups and users can be selected from the lists in the workstation or domain depending on prior questions asked.
If user the app user is a member of the Admin Group of the Workstation or Domain. They get extra menu options. That allow them to add or remove members from the DB user group for the workstation or domain. This I find is helpful.
I am now moving to the next stage and looking at hosting my assess app as an SasS (Software as a Service) (Rental). So the app can be use in any HTML5 Browser, Windows or Mac as Virtual Desktop or Android and Apple device. Having said that Access is a bit ugly on mobile devices.
When I am up and running I will make the platform available to others.