Logins, SIDs, and Kerberos from First Principles, Part 8: Auditing Logins with Service Broker
The series so far has answered who can connect ( showed even that requires asking Windows) and how they prove it ( and ). The closing question is who actually does. Group-based access means the…
Logins, SIDs, and Kerberos from First Principles, Part 5: Windows Groups and the Invisible Members
Every post in this series so far has dealt with principals you can see: a login row in sys.server_principals with a name and a SID. Windows groups break that comfortable assumption. Grant a group a…
Logins, SIDs, and Kerberos from First Principles, Part 3: Migrating Logins Without Losing Them
Server migrations have a predictable failure mode: the databases restore perfectly, the application connection strings are updated, and then nothing can log in. Or worse, everything can log in but half the database users are…
Can You Actually Downgrade to Standard Edition? Ask the Database First
Since SQL Server 2016 SP1, sys.dm_db_persisted_sku_features over-reports edition features. How to read it before downgrading to Standard.
Upgrading Database Compatibility Levels Across a Whole Instance
The instance upgrade went perfectly. You moved from SQL Server 2019 to 2022, the installer turned green, the services came back up, and the application connected on the first try. A week later someone asks…