How to connect an existing SQL Server login to an existing SQL Server database user of same name
To link an existing SQL Server login to a corresponding database user, here is a straight forward SQL command:
Simply replace YourDB with your database name, YourUser and YourLogin with the existing user and login names, respectively. Voila! Your database user is now bound to the login, paving the way for a seamless integration within SQL Server.
Understanding Orphaned Users
In SQL Server world, we call a database user that does not correlate with a SQL Server login an 'Orphan User'. It sounds as forlorn as it really is. It predominantly occurs when we detach a database, shift it somewhere else, and then re-attach it, thus, ditching the original login. It's like leaving your child at a pizza parlor and shifting homes!
Fixing Orphaned Users
Have no worries, SQL Server has a neat trick to fix these orphans using the sp_change_users_login stored procedure. It maps an existing database user to a SQL Server login:
Just substitute 'OrphanUser' and 'UserPassword' with the real user name and password.
Error handling
Inevitably, you may run into errors during the user-login mapping process. An usual culprit:
- Error: "User, group, or role 'username' already exists in the current database."
- Solution:
ALTER USERremaps the user to the login without creating duplicates.
Be mindful to set the database context specific to the database you're struggling with.
Roles and Permissions
When connecting a login to a database user, understanding the roles and permissions associated with the user is vital as a cake at a birthday party. Roles dictate what actions a user can perform within the database.
Updating login credentials
To update the login password, you need to execute:
Suddenly... a wild new password appears!
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