CREATE CREDENTIAL (Transact-SQL)
Creates a credential.
Transact-SQL Syntax Conventions
- credential_name
-
Specifies the name of the credential being created. credential_name cannot start with the number (#) sign. System credentials start with ##.
- IDENTITY = 'identity_name'
-
Specifies the name of the account to be used when connecting outside the server.
- SECRET = 'secret'
-
Specifies the secret required for outgoing authentication. This clause is optional.
A credential is a record that contains the authentication information that is required to connect to a resource outside SQL Server. Most credentials include a Windows user and password.
When IDENTITY is a Windows user, the secret can be the password. The secret is encrypted using the service master key. If the service master key is regenerated, the secret is re-encrypted using the new service master key.
After creating a credential, you can map it to a SQL Server login by using CREATE LOGIN or ALTER LOGIN. A SQL Server login can be mapped to only one credential, but a single credential can be mapped to multiple SQL Server logins. For more information, see Credentials.
Information about credentials is visible in the sys.credentials catalog view.
