by Dan Sullivan

Databases are repositories for a wide variety of enterprise information. Much of that information is confidential and in some cases subject to regulations governing how securely it should be stored and transmitted. SQL Server is Microsoft’s relational database, and like many other enterprise applications from that vendor, it supports the use of SSL certificates to improve the security of communications between the database server and client devices. Again, we assume you have purchased or generated an SSL certificate for use with your SQL Server database.

by Dan Sullivan

SharePoint Server2010 has a multi-step installation process supported by the installation wizard. Once SharePoint is installed, though, additional steps are required to install an SSL certificate.

by Dan Sullivan

SharePoint server is a collaboration portal. Documents, calendars, images, and other potentially confidential and private documents are stored and exchanged in this application. Secure communications are important here just as they are in Microsoft Exchange.

by Dan Sullivan

Enterprise Microsoft Exchange deployments can require a somewhat complex architecture. The reason is that Microsoft Exchange has been designed to maintain adequate performance levels while scaling to a large user base. The common way to deal with the need for scalability (as well as reliability) is to distribute the workload over multiple servers.

by Dan Sullivan

Microsoft Exchange Server is a widely used email server and a logical candidate for supporting encrypted communications. In this section, we will discuss the need for SSL in Exchange Server, how to install an SSL certificate in Exchange Server, and how to verify an SSL certificate in Exchange Server. Let’s start with the motivation for using SSL certificates in email servers.

by Dan Sullivan

Once the Certificate Store has been set up on a server, we need to acquire an SSL certificate for the application we are working with. We can use a certificate from a trusted third-party provider or we can generate a self-signed certificate. As noted earlier, the former is appropriate for production servers that will be used by the public or business partners outside of the organization; the latter is appropriate for testing and development.

by Dan Sullivan

SSL certificates are often associated with Web servers such as Microsoft IIS, but they are actually used in a variety of Microsoft applications, including Microsoft Exchange email server, Microsoft SharePoint collaboration server, and the Microsoft SQL Server database. The process of installing an SSL certificate has both common and application-specific steps across these applications. This final chapter discusses how to install a SSL certificate in Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SharePoint Server, and Microsoft SQL Server. We begin with a quick overview of the common parts of the installation process, then discuss each application in more detail.

by Richard Siddaway

Database mirroring was introduced with SQL Server 2005 and enhanced in SQL Server 2008. It is a method of replicating a database to another server. That server can be in the same location or a distant location. Mirroring provides database-level protection as it is configured at the database level rather than at the server.

by Richard Siddaway

One of the primary responsibilities of a DBA is to ensure the safety of the data held in the databases they are responsible for administering. This is often expressed in terms of having a sound, and tested, backup policy. In reality, a sound restore policy is required, with the backup policy defining how you generate [...]