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How to determine membership in Windows Groups using T-SQL
I lead a recent serverdatabase migration from SQL Server 2000 to SQL Server 2005. Several of my team were supposed to be added to a Windows group that was to have been granted access to the new SQL Server. We tested their access and they were not able to authenticate to the new SQL Server . Read on as I explain how I determined whether they were in fact members of a particular group.
Building SharePoint-Based Applications?
I know a lot of people we talk with are – and doing so against SQL Server can get intimidating. If you need to build a solution in this type of environment, check out CorasWorks Data Integration Toolset. You’ll be able to connect to and integrate data from SQL Server databases — moving it right into your SharePoint applications. You’ll also be able to write back information to the source. From mash-ups to all sorts of other solid applications, CorasWorks can help. Get more information here.
Watch the Latest SQL Server Video Program
SQL Server 2008 Features: Chris Shaw takes a look at some of the new features of SQL Server – and how they work. This is a special airing of his session from the June Virtual Conference. Find out about key features, what benefits they offer, how they could apply to your work and your upgrade efforts and more.
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Information Chain Of Evidence
Not really looking to beat this whole thing to death – of making sure the right people have responsibility for the data, its uses, etc. I do have one other thought on this. It goes back to the whole "how do you trust the data you’re using" and sort of ignores the whole question, for now, of how you’re using it.
It seems to me that we trust the information we’re working with implicitly. We first assume it’s valid until proven otherwise. Of course "invalid" information could come from someone messing with the data between the source and our use of it, it could come from an improper query setup or any number of things. But, if we’re looking at the data in cube form, or summary form, or… well, just about any form that we don’t want to sit and look at all of the detail-level data for, we’re susceptible to this assumption.
How do you protect against that? I know a couple of years ago, I spoke with someone at a major software company, the biggest in fact (hmmmm… wonder which one that might be?) that was talking about this very issue. They were seeing, in the future sometime, the need to protect, lock-down and control the use and modification of data. At the time, it was very much like a chain of evidence type issue. "This data is valid, and the fourth row was modified by Tom Smith." Then you can decide whether you want to use Tom’s modifications or the original data.
Of course this is a super-simple example. But… do you have any mechanisms in place to
a) test that information that reports are based on is, and remains, valid and applicable?
b) assure that information is not changed, before it’s used in the various ways it’s relied upon?
Drop me a note – what do you think? How do you handle this?
…I think I’ll go dig out my notes and see if I can find out if any movement has been made on this front from any vendors out there…
Featured White Paper(s)
MS SQL Server – An Overview
Whether you’re running a small business that’s ready to take the next step in its growth or an SMB that’s ready to “grow into… (read more)
Top Ten Steps to Secure Your SQL Server
In most organizations today, business critical and confidential data increasingly resides in Microsoft SQL Server databases. … (read more)