2.6 MS SQL Server (Revision #2)

Register Microsoft SQL Server - SQL Server registrations should be straight forward.

Windows Single Sign-On - Aqua Data Studio supports trusted single sign-on connections to SQL Server on the Windows platform. You may specify the authentication as "Windows Single Sign-On", which will allow ADS to login into a server using the currently logged in authentication of the OS. This is only supported on the Windows platform, and not on Linux, OSX or other platforms. For other platforms use the "Windows Authentication" option.

Windows Authentication - Aqua Data Studio supports trusted connections to SQL Server on non-Windows platforms. You may specify the authentication as "Windows Authentication" and specify the Domain/Username and password of the user to authenticate with.

Connecting to Multiple Instances of SQL Server on the same machine - When registering an SQL Server you may specify in the Hostname text the name of the SQL Server and the Instance name in the format \\ServerName\InstanceName without a port, to enable an Instance connection. You may also connect to multiple Instances of SQL Server on the same machine by identifying on what ports each Instance is running. For SQL Server 2000 you can run the "SQL Server Network Utility". You may then select the Instance of SQL Server and make sure the "TCP/IP" protocol is enabled. Then you may select the TCP/IP protocol and click properties, this should tell you the default port.

Once you know the port of each Instance you may register a connection for each Instance by specifying the hostname and the port for each connection/instance.

Tab Coloring

To Identify Server Environments, whether it is a Production, Development or Test, use Tab Coloring feature :

• Locate the Server in the Server Browser
• Right Click on the Server - A Popup Menu Appears
• Click on the Item which displays Server Properties.
• Based on the Server Type, you can edit the Tab Coloring option to identify your environments.

Tip : Using the Keyboard combination "CTRL + SHIFT + P", you may quickly access Server Properties and edit Tab Coloring options.

In Windows 7, to get Aqua Data Studio to authenticate with a SQL server setup that only allows Window Authentication AND when the client computer is not a member of a domain  or trusted domain.

On the client computer you must do the following:

Step 1): Create a Windows explorer shortcut to the Aquadata executable then edit the shortcut target as follows (adjusting the domain and user name as necessary)

C:\Windows\System32\runas.exe /netonly /user:TARGET_DOMAIN\TARGET_USER "C:\Program Files\Aqua Data Studio 9.0 - 32bit\datastudio.exe"

Step 2): When registering the SQL server in Aqua Data Studio use "single signon" instead of "Windows Authentication" as the connection method.

Connecting and Use with MS SQL Server Debugger (Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and above) -  The Advanced Tab requires entering Domain, Username and Password when connecting to SQL Server 2005 for debugging.  If your SQL Server is not part of a domain, enter its IP address as the domain.

When registering an SQL Server for use with the MS SQL Server Debugger it is important to set the security on the server itself to allow for the debugger’s connection. On the server hosting SQL Server 2005, the following must be set correctly to allow for debugging.

• Configure DCOM Security
• Disable the server’s Firewall.

Configuring DCOM security on SQL Server for Aqua Data Studio debugger:

In case granting "administrators" permission is a concern, then :-

• You can create a local user under "Users" group.
• Then go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options :-
  • Double-click "DCOM: Machine Access Restrictions" policy, click Edit Security, add the user created above, allow "Remote Access"
  • Double-click "DCOM: Machine Launch Restrictions" policy, click Edit Security, add the user created above, allow "Local Launch", "Remote Launch", "Local Activation", "Remote Activation"
  • Double-click "Network Access: Sharing and Security Model for local accounts" policy, and set to Classic"
• Go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Component Services > Computers > right-click My Computer > click Properties > click COM Security tab :-
  • In Access Permissions section, click Edit Default > add the user created above, allow "Remote Access"
  • In Launch and Activation Permissions section > click Edit Default > add the user created above, allow "Local Launch", "Remote Launch", "Local Activation", "Remote Activation"
• Disable Windows Firewall or any other Firewall software that would prevent DCOM clients from connecting to the DCOM server.

• (You can also go to a specific component in the Component Services section to grant permission, instead of granting permission from "My Computer" which is a blanket grant)

Using Filters Options in Registration (Filters Tab)

Edit the Server Properties, to use FILTER options for a Server in Aqua Data Studio:

• Locate the Server in the Server Browser
• Right Click on the Server - A Popup Menu Appears
• Click on the Item which displays Server Properties.
• Go to the Filters Tab and make changes in the Options.

• Filter Databases/Schemas: Allows the user to specify the main schema browser filter for databases or schemas, on whether to include or exlude all.
• Include Databases/Schemas: A list of databases/schemas to include after the main filter is applied.
• Exclude Databases/Schemas: A list of databases/schemas to exclude after the main filter is applied.

• Filter Objects: Allows the user to specify the main schema browser filter for object types, on whether to include or exlude all.
• Include Objects: A list of objects to include after the main filter is applied.
• Exclude Objects: A list of objects to exclude after the main filter is applied.

Features

• You can Create, Edit or Delete Object Folders. Default Folders are Tables, System Tables, Views, Indexes, Triggers, Procedures, Functions.
• Sometimes you would like to view only specific Schemas. Use options to INCLUDE or EXCLUDE all Schemas and Folders.
• Enter the Schema or Folder name in the specified text area and Press OK. Current Connection will be terminated. Reconnect to see the changes.

Tip : Using the dropdown at the top of the Filter Tab, quickly change your Schema or Folder View.

Using Advanced Properties (Advanced Tab)

Edit the Server Properties to use Advanced Properties in Aqua Data Studio:

• Locate the Server in the Server Browser.
• Right Click on the Server - A Popup Menu Appears.
• Click on the Item which displays Server Properties.
• Go to the Advanced Tab and make changes in the Options.

  With options in Advanced properties of a Server, you can :

• Change Transaction Isolation Modes.
• Driver Parameters.
• Enable Database Filters in Query Analyzer.
• Change Read Only / Read- Write Mode.
• Change Object Folder Display.

• Txn Isolation Level: Support for setting Transaction Isolation Level
  - TRANSACTION_NONE - A constant indicating that transactions are not supported.
  - TRANSACTION_READ_COMMITTED - A constant indicating that dirty reads are prevented; non-repeatable reads and phantom reads can occur.
  - TRANSACTION_READ_UNCOMMITTED - A constant indicating that dirty reads, non-repeatable reads and phantom reads can occur.
  - TRANSACTION_REPEATABLE_READ - A constant indicating that dirty reads and non-repeatable reads are prevented; phantom reads can occur.
  - TRANSACTION_SERIALIZABLE - A constant indicating that dirty reads, non-repeatable reads and phantom reads are prevented.
• Set quoted_identifier: Causes connection to follow the SQL-92 rules regarding quotation mark delimiting identifiers and literal strings.
• Set ansi_nulls: Causes connection to follow SQL-92 compliant behavior of the Equals (=) and Not Equal to (<>) comparison operators when used with null values.
• Set ansi_null_dflt_on: Causes connection behavior to override default nullability of new columns when the ANSI null default option for the database is false.
• Set ansi_padding: Changes connection behavior in the way the column stores values shorter than the defined size of the column, and the way the column stores values that have trailing blanks in char, varchar, binary, and varbinary data.
• Set ansi_warnings: Specifies SQL-92 standard behavior for several error conditions.
• Data Warehouse Mode: Read Only or Read/Write
• Object Folder Display: [Default], [Name], [Schema].[Name] or [Name]([Schema]) sets how the Schemas will be displayed.
• Object Folder Schema Folder Grouping: Default, Yes or No. Schema Folder Grouping makes finding tables much easier because it groups them instead of showing each object individually.

Debugger (see the section above "Connecting and Use with MS SQL Server Debugger")

Tip : Using the dropdown at the bottom of the Advanced Tab, quickly change your Object Display in the Server Browser.

Using Driver Properties (Driver Tab)

Edit the Drivers Properties to use Driver Parameters in Aqua Data Studio:

• Locate the Server in the Server Browser.
• Right Click on the Server - A Popup Menu Appears.
• Click on the Item which displays Server Properties.
• Go to the Driver Tab and make changes in the Options.

  With options in Driver properties of a Server, you can edit/view the :

• Driver: This displays the JDBC driver used for this connection.
• Driver Parameters: This option is to allow a user to specify extra JDBC parameters that a user might want use in estabilishing a connection.
• Connection URL: This displays the connection URL for this server connection.
• Driver Parameters Quickfilter: This option is to allow a user to search JDBC parameters that a user might want to use in estabilishing a connection.

Server Permissions (Permissions Tab)

  Edit the Permissions in Server Properties in Aqua Data Studio:

• Locate the Server in the Server Browser
• Right Click on the Server - A Popup Menu Appears
• Click on the Item which displays Server Properties.
• Go to the Permissions Tab and make changes in the Options.

  With options in Permissions Tab of a Server, you can :

• Control Statement execution and Properties of the Query Analyzer, Table Data Editor and Visual Editing.
• Grant / Revoke Permissions easily for executing DDL and DML Statements in the Query Analyzer.
• Change the behaviour of the Table Data Editor for manipulating rows in Tables.
• Grant / Revoke Alters, Creates, Drops and View Properties of Visual Editing Tools.
• Allow SQL debugging for this server connection.

Server Scripts (Scripts Tab)

  Edit Scripts in Server Properties in Aqua Data Studio:

• Locate the Server in the Server Browser
• Right Click on the Server - A Popup Menu Appears
• Click on the Item which displays Server Properties.
• Go to the Scripts Tab and make changes in the Options.

  With scripts in the Scripts Tab of a Server, you can :

• enter an SQL Script that is executed each time a new connection is established.
• This allows user to SET connection settings for a server connection. (eg: SET ROLE, ALTER SESSION SET XXX)

Registering Servers - SQL Server Express 2005

Configuring SQL Express and connecting with Aqua Data Studio.

Connecting to SQL Server Express with Aqua Data Studio requires that you have remote connections enabled accepting TCP/IP connections. Once you have TCP/IP network connections enabled, you can connect to SQL Server Express using the hostname and instance name in the Host: parameter.

SQL Server Express Surface Area

1. Launching ’SQL Server Surface Area Configuration’ tool: First step is to launch the SQL Server surface area configuration tool that is installed with SQL Server Express.

Remote Surface Area Configuration

2. Configuring TCP/IP Remote Connections: Select ’Surface Area Configuration and Services and Connections’ option and then select ’Remote Connections’ in the tree browser. Choose the ’Using TCP/IP Only’ or ’Using both TCP/IP and named pipes’, the click on ’Ok’ or ’Apply’.

Register Server

3. Register Connections: Now, register a server connection in Aqua Data Studio using ’HostnameSQLEXPRESS’ as the hostname parameter, where Hostname is the hostname or ip address of the SQL Server and SQLEXPRESS is the instance name.

The MS SQL Server Debugger works with MS SQL Server 2005 Express just as it does for MS SQL Server 2005. Click here for more information on how to register a server for debugging with the MS SQL Server Debugger.

Registering Servers - SQL Server 2000 MSDE (Desktop Edition)

Configuring MSDE and connecting with Aqua Data Studio.

Connecting to SQL Server 2000 MSDE with Aqua Data Studio requires that you have remote connections enabled accepting TCP/IP connections. Once you have TCP/IP network connections enabled, you can connect to SQL Server MSDE using the hostname and instance name in the Host: parameter.

1. Installing MSDE with Network Connections enabled:

First step is to install MSDE with network connections enabled. By default, MSDE is installed with network connections disabled. To install MSDE with with network connections, you must run the setup.exe from the command prompt and specifying the DISABLENETWORKPROTOCOLS=0. As described in the MSDE installation docs ...

Setup Parameters

Installation docs:
MSDE Installation Instructions

MSDE SupeSocketNetLib Registry

MSDE TCP Registry

2. Verifing TCP/IP Remote Connections:

To verify that your MSDE installation has remote connections enabled you may run "regedit" to view your registry settings. Verify the following keys ...

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\
MSDE\MSSQLServer\SuperSocketNetLib\ProtocolList=[tcp np]

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\
MSDE\MSSQLServer\SuperSocketNetLib\Tcp\TcpPort=[Port]

Registration - SQL Server

3. Register Connections: Now, register a server connection in Aqua Data Studio using ’Hostname\SQLEXPRESS’ as the hostname parameter, where Hostname is the hostname or ip address of the SQL Server and SQLEXPRESS is the instance name.

Shell Scripts (SQL Shell Tab)

  Edit Shell Scripts in Server Properties in Aqua Data Studio:

• Locate the Server in the Server Browser
• Right Click on the Server - A Popup Menu Appears
• Click on the Item which displays Server Properties.
• Go to the SQL Shell Tab and make changes in the Options.

  With scripts in the SQL Shell Tab of a Server, you can :

• enter an SQL Shell Script that is executed each time a new SQL Shell connection is established.
• This allows user to cd (change directory) for a server connection. (eg: cd /scripts)