Creating SQL Server Logins

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Users gain access to Microsoft® SQL Server™ databases through a login that establishes their permission to connect (authentication). Because SQL Server uses Microsoft® Windows® 2000 authentication, each SQL Server login must be associated with a valid Windows account. Then, each SQL login based on the Windows user or group account can be granted permissions to connect to SQL Server.

Note   SQL Server 7.0 and SQL Server 2000 no longer manage groups independently from the operating system. The groups from earlier versions of SQL Server have been replaced with roles, which are more powerful. However, you can manage SQL Server security at the level of an entire Windows group.

If you have system administrator privileges on SQL Server, you can create and modify SQL Server logins using the following methods:

  • Creating SQL Server logins with Enterprise Manager
  • Creating SQL Server logins with the SQL Server Workflow Template Instantiation wizard

You can add logins to SQL Server when you create an instance of a workflow application from a template using the wizard. However, this functionality succeeds only when the person creating the application has system administrator privileges on the SQL Server and if the SQL Server logins already have valid Windows accounts. A member of modAppOwners does not have the ability to create SQL Server logins unless the server administrator also gives the modAppOwners group system administrator privileges on the SQL Server.

Naming Rules

A user or group name cannot be identical to any other user or group name of the domain or computer being administered. It can contain up to 20 uppercase or lowercase characters except for the following:

" /  \ [  ] :  ; |  = ,  + *  ? <  >

A user or group name cannot consist solely of periods (.) and spaces.

For additional information about naming conventions for SQL Server logins, see the SQL Server Books Online.

See Also

Windows 2000 and SQL Server Security | Creating SQL Server Logins with Enterprise Manager | Creating SQL Server Logins with the SQL Server Workflow Template Instantiation Wizard | Creating User and Group Accounts