How to Track User Login SQL Server Activity? A Complete Guide

Today, a huge number of users rely on and use SQL Server Databases to store and manage their data. However, it becomes difficult for the database administrators to keep track of the user login SQL Server activities being carried out in the database. Furthermore, in case of malicious attacks or data theft, it becomes crucial for the database administrators to know who logged into the database, and what queries they executed in the SQL Server. 

With the help of this write-up, we will take a closer look at the reasons why SQL Server track user activity is important, and how we can seamlessly do the same. 

 

Understanding the Need to Track User Login SQL Server

Before getting on the methods for SQL Server track user activity, we will first take a look at the reasons why it is necessary to keep a track of user activities. With the help of these reasons, we can understand the purpose of this entire process and further try the methods available for the same. Here are some of the reasons:

• For Security Purposes
  SQL Server user login tracking is majorly carried out for security purposes. With the login activity tracking, the database administrators can keep an eye on both successful and failed login attempts in the SQL Server. 
• For Compliance Requirements
  Major industries and organizations work under strict data protection regulations and audits. Hence, keeping a track of the users and activities in the database helps with meeting the compliance requirements more precisely. 
• To Resolve Connection Issues in SQL Server Database
  If a user is facing frequent login or access failures in their SQL Server databases, it can be a sign of underlying issues within the database. Now, these issues can be detected by tracking the user login SQL Server and further be resolved accordingly. 
• For User Accountability
  Keeping a track of users who logged in to the system can help with understanding the risks or threats within the database. This helps the database administrators to inspect and detect any malicious activities in the database. 

These are the factors that make it crucial and necessary for the users to SQL Server track user activity. Now, we will take a look at the ways that will help the users with this activity tracking of users. 

Methods to Help With Monitoring User Login SQL Server Efficiently

Here are some of the methods that will allow users to effectively monitor user activity in SQL Server and detect any issues or malicious activity in the database. We will take a look at these methods one by one and try to understand the execution of these methods. 

Method 1: With the Help of SQL Server Error Log

The server log in SQL is an in-built tool that keeps the records of all the crucial events, including the login failures in SQL Server. The SQL Server simply works by writing and providing the login-related events and messages to the database administrators. Users can easily access the SQL Server error logs by using SQL Server Management Studio or by running a T-SQL command as mentioned here:

EXEC xp_readerrorlog 0, 1, ‘Login’;

By reading the error log, database administrators can more easily track who logged into the database, whether generally or at a specified time. 

Method 2: With the Help of SQL Server Audits

As the SQL Server error logs record the failed or unsuccessful login attempts, the SQL Server audits are comparatively stronger. This tracks and records the login details, both successful and unsuccessful, in one place. Let’s take a look at how the SQL Server audits work. 

1. Initially, the user has to create a SQL Server Audit for storing the log data. 
2. Next, they have to specify the audits to capture the given events. 
3. If the desired events for capture are successful and failed login attempts, then the events created are:
   1. SUCCESSFUL_LOGIN_GROUP
   2. FAILED_LOGIN_GROUP

These audits will provide more precise and detailed information on user login SQL Server.

Method 3: Using a Professional Software For SQL Server Track User Activity

In various situations, it is required for the database administrators to not only track the user login attempts, but also the activities they might have performed in the database. These operations can be effectively tracked along with the user login in the SQL Server database. The solution we can use in this scenario is the SQL Log Analyzer for efficient reports of user login SQL Server.

Here are the steps that will allow users to track user activity in SQL Server with ease. 

1. Install and launch the suggested software. Click on the Open button to add the (.ldf)/(.mdf) file.
2. Choose the Online DB option and enter the Server Name and Authentication.
3. Once the scanning is completed, all the transaction details with number of DELETES, INSERTS, and UPDATES will be displayed for preview. After preview, click on the export button.
4. Use the provided filters to select the desired data for export and select the destination where you want your data to be exported.
5. Click on the Export button to finally export the data.

With the help of these steps, users can effectively track the activities of the logins in the SQL Server database. 

Method 4: Track Activity With the Help of DMVs

The DMVs in SQL Server are responsible for providing the current active sessions in the SQL Server Database. The DMVs store the data about the current connections to the SQL Server, but do not have any user history or older transactions. Here is how the DMVs work to track user activity. 

There are several queries, like sys.dm_exec_sessions and sys.dm_exec_connections, that allow the database administrators to track connections in SQL. With these queries, database administrators can find list of users in SQL Server who made a connection in the specified period. These commands help effectively as there is no need for setup to run these queries, and further, they can help with monitoring the data easily. 

With these methods, users can track if there is any malicious or suspicious events are occurring in the database. This will help the users to secure the database from any security risks.  

Conclusion

Through this write-up, we have learned about the importance of user login SQL Server activities. We have also discussed the need for monitoring of the SQL Server user activities. Lastly, to make monitoring easy, we have suggested the best ways. These methods will allow users and database administrators with SQL Server track user activity effectively.