Microsoft SQL server configuration

Configuring Microsoft SQL servers

For seamless synchronization of the Risk analysis module and MSSQL server, administrators must implement the prerequisites stated in the SQL server configuration prerequisites page.

To configure Microsoft SQL server for data discovery scans, follow these steps:

• Select Risk Analysis from the application drop-down.
• Go to Configuration > Data Sources > MSSQL Server.
• Click +Add MSSQL server.
• Enter Server Name.
• Enter Instance Name and Port Number.
• Choose the Authentication Type from the drop-down.
  Note: When chosen, both SQL server authentication and Windows authentication will use the credentials of the user whose details are requested below.
• Provide the username and password based on the authentication type.

  Tip for choosing authentication type:

  • When choosing Windows authentication, use a user account with domain admin credentials to ensure the product has sufficient permission to collect logs. If you do not want to provide domain admin credentials, follow the steps in the permissions and privileges guide to set up a service account with the least privileges required.
  • When choosing SQL Server Authentication, use a user account configured within the target SQL server instance and has a minimum level permission, in this case, Read. For more details on the steps to set up a user account with the least privileges required, refer to the permissions and privileges guide.
• Click Save.

Note: Once the Microsoft SQL server is configured successfully, data discovery scans will be scheduled automatically by DataSecurity Plus.

Also, DataSecurity Plus will list the databases present within the MSSQL server instance. The information also includes database size.

For data discovery scans, you can enable or disable specific databases within the SQL server instance.

Note: If there is an issue in running data discovery scans in the configured Microsoft SQL server, you can find its details under the Remarks columns in the MSSQL Server Configuration table.

Running data discovery scans

Once the Microsoft SQL server is configured successfully, data discovery scans will be scheduled automatically by DataSecurity Plus.

Incremental file scans that tracks and scans only new and modified files will be run periodically by DataSecurity Plus irrespective of the build the customer is in.

The time taken to complete a scan depends on the resources allocated for the data discovery scan and the volume of data to be scanned.

Check the status of the data discovery scan for any configured MSSQL server by following these steps:

• Select Risk Analysis from the application drop-down.
• Go to Configuration > Data Sources > SQL Server.
• Click View History under the Execution History column of the server whose scan history you want to analyze.
• The complete scan history for that server, including scan start time, end time, and current status, will be displayed.

You can manually initiate a scan of a whole database server or a specific share within the server by clicking the rescan icon on the MSSQL Server Configuration page.

Stopping data discovery scans:

To stop data discovery scans running on a specific SQL server, follow these steps:

• Select Risk Analysis from the application drop-down.
• Go to Configuration > Data Sources > MSSQL Server.
• Click Under Process [More info] under the Last Schedule Status column of the file server whose scan history you want to analyze.
• Click the Stop Scanning in the Schedule Status window.

The Schedule Status window will also display information on the total number of entities processed, rule matched file count, total data size processed, etc.

Note: Data discovery scans once stopped cannot be resumed. Users can choose to initiate a new data discovery scan by clicking the rescan icon on the MSSQL Server Configuration page.

Configuring heap size

Heap size is the ongoing process memory space that is allocated for DataSecurity Plus functions. A heap memory of 1 to 2 GB is sufficient for all DataSecurity Plus modules except Risk Analysis. For Risk Analysis, allocate 4GB, as data discovery is a memory-intensive process.

Note: 4GB heap memory can be allocated only in the 64-bit version of DataSecurity Plus. Migrate to the 64-bit version if you are using the 32-bit version by following the steps in the migration guide.

To configure heap size, follow these steps:

• Select Admin Console from the application drop-down.
• Go to General Settings > DataSecurity Plus Server.
• Choose the desired Heap Memory from the drop-down.
• Click Save.