Authenticating Logins - Authentication in SQL Server 6.5
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Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 is the second phase of Microsoft’s strategy of moving away from SQL Server’s origins as Sybase SQL Server for OS/2 and toward a database management system integrated into the Windows operating system. Although there is a significant difference between the interfaces of SQL Server 4.21a, which is the first Microsoft version to run on Windows NT, and version 6.5, much of 6.5’s authentication architecture is identical to that used in earlier versions. Sybase originally designed SQL Server to run on multiple operating systems, so the way that authentication works reflects this. SQL Server needed to be able to handle authentication on its own and not depend on the operating system.
When Microsoft ported SQL Server from OS/2 to Windows NT 3.5, SQL Server continued to validate login credentials itself to maintain backward compatibility. A little later, Microsoft introduced a new mode that allowed users to log into SQL Server using their Windows NT domain accounts. Nevertheless, the standard practice continues to be to have SQL Server manage its login accounts, probably because it is easier to use and it maintains backward compatibility.
In this section, you’ll look in detail at how authentication works in SQL Server
6.5 and at the different authentication modes that can be used. The choice of network library has a significant effect on the login process, because each library has different options for authenticating the client’s identity, including different ways of protecting the user’s account and password during the login process. Therefore, you’ll also spend some time in this chapter looking at logins for the three most common network libraries: TCP/IP, Named Pipes, and multiprotocol.
SQL Server 6.5 has three modes for authenticating user logins:
- Standard Security, which uses SQL Server to manage the login
- Integrated Security, which relies on Windows NT for authentication
- Mixed Mode, which just combines the first two modes by allowing users to log in with either a SQL Server login account or a Windows NT account
 This is from SQL Server Security Distilled, second edition, by Morris Lewis (Apress, ISBN 1590592190). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today. Buy this book now. |
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