
The PROVIDER keyword tells ADO to use the SQLOLEDB provider. Mixed-Security Connection PROVIDER=SQLOLEDB SERVER= DSN-less Connection DRIVER=\ value tells the connection to use the Microsoft SQL Server ODBC driver.ĥ. The UID and PWD keywords pass in authentication information.Ħ. This Data Source Name (DSN) connection string uses the DSN keyword to identify the existing DSN, MyDSN. DSN Connection DSN=MyDSN UID=MyID PWD=MyPwd These connection-string examples illustrate the seven most common connection scenarios.ħ. (See also, " Mastering ADO" and " Using a. Instead, the credentials are replaced with an access token, much like you would use when you call an API.The connection string is essential for connecting your ADO database applications to SQL Server. Connecting to Azure SQL using Azure Active Directory authenticationĪs mentioned before, this approach doesn’t use the traditional way of having a connection string that contains a username and a password. In this post, we’ll talk about how one can connect to Azure SQL using token-based Azure Active Directory authentication, and how to do so using Entity Framework Core. We think this is more secure, because the less sensitive information to protect, the less chance of them being accessed by unauthorised parties.Īfter all, isn’t the best password one that doesn’t exist in the first place? The main benefit comes from the fact that we don’t need to manage and protect the credentials required to connect to the database. Acquire a token from Azure Active Directory, and use it to establish the connection to the database.Grant the necessary permissions to this identity on the target Azure SQL database.If not done already, assign a managed identity to the application in Azure.Instead of using a connection string that contains a username and a password, we’re using the following strategy: In the case of Azure SQL, however, we’re using a slighty different technique, by leveraging Azure Active Directory authentication, and more specifically token-based authentication. The approach we’re using is to store these in Key Vault instances, which can be accessed by the applications that require them, thanks to Azure managed identities. One aspect of this is how we deal with sensitive information, like database connection strings, API keys, or AAD client secrets. We’re trying to improve the security posture of our internal applications. How to connect to Azure SQL with AAD authentication and Azure managed identities Introduction
