AZURE SQL Server and Office 365 Excel Authentication - sql

We've been using Power Query within Excel 2013 to access an Azure SQL Server (which isn't ours but we have access to - Vendors application). Not sure at what point there was a change and what the change might have been (and apparently our vendor is clueless as well) but now every time I try to create a new workbook and use Power Query I can't seem to pass authentication to connect to the server.
Oddly, all of my legacy workbooks continue to work and my connection to the server works fine when connecting through Management Studio. Is there some sort of special permission on SQL Server (or somewhere else in the Azure environment) that requires specific configuration to allow connections from Power Query? I don't understand why management studio and legacy queries work fine but I can't create new connections.
Thank you!

Related

How to connect to a SQL Server from an m1 chip macbook

I am working on a project with a friend and he has deployed a SQL Server database. He uses a PC and can access the database using Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).
However I have a Macbook with an M1 chip and so I cannot use SSMS and need to figure out which SQL Server application I want.
It seems like the way to go is Microsoft Azure Data Studio. I cannot figure out how to connect properly, I have looked at several solutions posted online which all say to download docker, download the latest SQL Server image, use SQL edge, run SQL Server in a container and then open Azure and connect.
One caveat is that all these tutorials end with creating a SQL Server on the local host rather than connecting to an existing one.
In Azure, after entering server id, username and password, there is a green dot on the label of the DB on the left drop down menu, indicating that the connection to the DB was successful. However whenever I try to view the DB's from the drop down it loads and then errors:
Object Explorer task didn't complete within 45 seconds
and I cannot run any basic queries either.
At this point I don't care what IDE I use as long as it works. Any advice is much appreciated. It seems like this task should be super easy but has given me such a hard time and we cannot continue working on the project until I get access.
Anyways, thanks again in advance! and lmk if there's any other info I should provide.
Tried using docker with Azure Data Studio and my results were the same as when I only used Azure.
You'll want to use Azure Data Studio.
You don't need Docker at all to meet your goals. Those tutorials were in regards to running your own SQL Server instance on a Mac. You're trying to connect to an existing instance.
As mentioned in the comments, where is the existing SQL Server instance located?...is it on a server that's part of a domain. Is your Mac part of that same domain? It sounds like you're getting some kind of timeout issue or some sort of authentication issue. So this is more of an infrastructure question.
Once connected to the SQL Server instance in Azure Data Studio, what happens if you just open a blank worksheet and run the query SELECT ##SERVERNAME?

No UI dialogs in MS Azure / SQL Server Management Studio

Recently, I purchased a licence for a Microsoft Azure SQL Server 2012 (packet "S0" - Standard, 250 GB)
When I connect with SQL Server Management Studio 2012 to this database, then all the user interface dialogs for creating tables, setting up users, etc. are gone.
You can only script and execute pure SQL statements.
Even the table editor is gone, so you even cannot edit the data in a table!
If I connect to a local database, then everything works. So the problem must be related to the Azure Database. Can anyone help ?
If this is Azure SQL Database, then keep in mind that this is not the same as SQL Server 2012 although you can use the same tools to connect to it. This behavior is therefore correct and normal. If you have installed or used an image for SQL Server on a VM then you should have everything as you expect.

Connecting to a SQL Server Express 2012 from another computer using MS Access

I have set up an instance of SQL Server Express 2012 on a computer. On this computer I use MS Access as the client to access the data stored on the SQL Server Express. When I open MS Access and click on an object it then prompts me for the SQL Server username and password (I set up a SQL Server Native 11.0 Driver). This works fine. The goal is to put the file on others computers so they can access the data on our SQL Server. I also have enabled the TCP/IP protocols to allow remote connections as well as the Firewall settings that are necessary. However, when I place the file on another computer, it returns SQL Server Error 53.The strange thing is that I have another computer that I tested this on and it works perfectly fine.
My assumption is that I am missing software on the client computer. What software must be present on the client computers so it will be able to access my SQL Server Express on the "server computer"?
Please let me know if you have any questions, at this point I am stumped.
If you're using ODBC, then on the 2nd computer you need to
Start->Control Panel->Data Sources (ODBC)
Select System DSN tab
Click Add...
Select SQL Server Native Client
Give it the same name as the name on the working computer
Select the server to connect to etc.
and you should be OK

Creating a Database Server for home use in SQL Server 2005 Express

I am looking to create a database server that can be used to store data using a VB.net application. When I initially installed SQL Server 2005 Express edition, I believe I installed this using the LocalDB option.
As it stands my application is a simple tool which utilises the Process.Start command under certain situations, depending on user input, to launch Game Servers for use at a gaming LAN I assist in running.
I wish to progress the application by being able to update, delete and query a database created in SQL Server 2005 Express. I understand the use of connection strings etc, however I am wondering if the installation using LocalDB will mean that I cannot connect to the server to process the data I require.
Can I continue to use the LocalDB option and create a Database Server for specific use using my application or is a different installation option required?
Secondly, can someone point me in the right direction of how to create a new Server for this purpose? All of my searches so far have provided results for creating a database only, and not the server.
I have a couple questions about what you are trying to do.
First, why are you installing SQL Server 2005? It was released almost a decade ago.
I would go with 2012 express edition.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29062
Second, install the management tools. SSMS is a nice GUI to do work in.
Third, If you are spinning up anything other than express, there are licensing costs which are quite high. 9K for standard and 25K for enterprise per socket or such.
Here are the versions and features list from microsoft.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms144275.aspx
Last but not least, having the express edition on another computer is fine. However, you will have to use a network protocol such as TCP/IP instead of shared memory.
It will take longer to send Tabular Data Stream (TDS) to the other computer versus talking to memory on the same computer.
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/sqlserver/en-US/c4f06669-41fd-42e6-b4a9-564cf04ca9f7/how-to-choose-between-shared-memory-named-pipes-tcpip-via?forum=sqlgetstarted
Good luck with your project.
You can use a local instance of SQL Server just fine, if you want to set up a separate server for some reason then you'll need either a 2nd machine on which to install SQL Server, or to spin up a virtual machine. If running Windows 8 (and barring hardware limitations) you have Hyper-V at your fingertips.
This is not a complete answer for you but may give you some things to think about.
First you might want to think about your choice of database. If you don't have a compelling reason for using 2005 you will probably at least want to move to SQL Express 2008.
Second, to answer the part about creating a server... A server is something that serves data. In a general sense a computer configured to be contacted by external machines and respond with data is a server. A web server runs a program like IIS or Apache to respond with web pages. A database server contains a database and allows connections to that database. So as long as you install the database on a computer and configure it to allow external connections, you have your database server.
In MS SQL there are several things that need to be set up to allow a database to accept external connections. One is that the SQL Server Browser service will need to be active. Another is that the database itself will need to be configured to allow external connections (SQL Authentication type probably).
Hope this helps.
Addition:
SQL Remote Connection Configuration
Disclaimer, I don't have SQL Express 2005 installed but I think the settings are found in the same place in 2008. If the info here is not exact to SQL Express 2005, the general terminology used here should be enough to get you headed in the right direction to find the specifics.
While viewing the database in Server Management Studio or Enterprise Manager, right click the database server instance name (the root of the tree) and select properties. There should be a section title Connections and within this section there should be an option "Allow remote connections to this server". Make sure it is checked. The other setting you need in this properties menu is under the security area. There is a radio button for "Windows Authentication Mode" and "SQL Server and Windows Authentication Mode", you want the second that allows both.
The next step you have may be to create a new user, add a password, and connect the user to the database. That will give you the credentials you will use in your database connection string while programming. I usually add new users through the security section of the database then set the User Roles for each database that I need to connect to. It is good practice to limit the permissions to those needed by the application. Typically this is read and write, but sometimes you can get away with just read. The less the better.

password protecting my SQL Server database from users

I am a bit confused after reading around the internet that this cannot be done.
I have an application that I install on clients machine. This application uses SQL Server 2008 database that is installed along with the application. The database contains some tables that contain important information like giftvoucher balance.
I want to prevent unauthorised access to the database but problem is since I am installing my database on client machine they already have access to the SQL management studio through windows authentication.
Is it possible to prevent them from getting access to my database and tables ?
Your options:
DBDefence (not free)
Transparent Data Encryption
Switch to Sql Server Compact Edition