Requirements for SQL Server environments

To allow Delphix-initiated backups, the service account running each SQL Server instance (the Instance Owner) should be one of:

• A domain user (e.g. MYDOMAIN\accountname) (RECOMMENDED)
  

• A Managed Service Account or Group Managed Service Account ( MYDOMAIN\accountnameundefined)
  (requires Windows 2012 and later, and SQL Server 2008R2 or later)
  

• The LOCAL SYSTEM account (NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM)

•  The NETWORK SERVICE account (NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE)

Backups initiated by the Delphix Engine (Delphix Managed Backups or manual snapshots which request a backup) will fail if the service account cannot access backups created by the Source database instance

The source host, proxy and staging environments must have appropriate cross-domain trust relationships

For more information on these requirements, see the document Delphix in Multi-domain Windows Environments.

Have the "Log on as batch" privilege on the source host

This permission is required for remote PowerShell execution. This privilege can be assigned through the Local Security Policy (Local Policies → User Rights Assignment → Log on

Have read permission for "Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ Control\SecurePipeServers\winreg"on the source host

This permission is required to have access to the remote registry. Delphix uses this privilege to discover SQL Server instances and gather system details, using Windows remote registry access.

Be a member of the Users group on the Staging Host

In order to discover and query SQL Server instances as the Source Windows User, scripts are run on that user at the Staging Host.

Have the "Log on as batch" privilege on the Staging host

This permission is required for remote PowerShell execution. This privilege can be assigned through the Local Security Policy (Local Policies → User Rights Assignment → Log on as batch job).

Be able to login to each SQL Server instance that the Delphix Engine will communicate with

These requirements are described in the Source Database Login Requirements section below.

Be a member of the Backup Operators group on the Source Host

Delphix uses this privilege to discover SQL Server instances and gather system details, using Windows remote registry access.

Be a member of the Users group on the Staging Host

In order to discover and query SQL Server instances as the Source Windows User, scripts are run on that user at the Staging Host.

Have the "Log on as batch" privilege on the Staging host

We require this permission for remote PowerShell execution. This privilege can be assigned through the Local Security Policy (Local Policies → User Rights Assignment → Log on as batch job).

Be able to login to each SQL Server instance that the Delphix Engine will communicate with

These requirements are described in the Source Database Login Requirements section below.

Server

CONNECT SQL

Y

Y

Access to the SQL Server instance

Database: master

db_datareader

Y

Y

Access to information about attached databases

Database: msdb

db_datareader

Y

Access to the backup history

Each user database to be linked

PUBLIC

Y

Delphix will periodically run queries to check the current size of the database

Each user database to be linked

db_backupoperator

Y

Optional: Required for backups to be initiated by Delphix (using Delphix Managed Backups, or when Delphix initiates a backup during a manual Snapshot)

Server

VIEW ANY DEFINITION

Y

Y

Optional: Required for the discovery of databases in Availability Groups

Server

VIEW SERVER STATE

Y

Y

Optional: Required for the SnapSync and discovery of Availability Groups

Object: master.dbo.sqbutility

EXECUTE

Y

Optional: Required when using backups created by Red Gate SQL Backup

Object: master.dbo.xp_sqllightspeed_version

EXECUTE

Y

Optional: Required when using backups created by Quest LiteSpeed for SQL Server

master.sys.databases

Used to determine the name and recovery model of databases within discover SQL Server instances

master.sys.availability_groups

Used for discovering all the availability groups within an Availability Group source environment.

master.sys.availability_group_listeners

Used for discovering all the availability group listeners within an Availability Group source environment. 

• A requirement for dSource linking of SQL Server clustered databases (replicas) is to provide an AG (Availability Group) listener for AG cluster source discovery. This is implemented on AG cluster source discovery as a failsafe if AG cluster source database authentication configuration change down the line, ensuring the Delphix engine has a way to reach the cluster and continue certain operations.

master.sys.availability_databases_cluster

Used for discovering all the availability group clusters within an Availability Group source environment.

master.sys.availability_replicas

Used for discovering all the availability group replicas within an Availability Group source environment.

master.sys.database_files

Used to determine the size of databases and whether filestream is enabled for a database

master.sys.dm_exec_requests

Used to enable Delphix to report backup operation progress

master.sys.master_files

Used to determine the primary file of a database

master.sys.filegroups

Used to determine the filegroups of a database so that Delphix can configure VDBs with the same filegroups

msdb.dbo.backupset

Used to determine new backups that have been taken. This table is regularly queried to find out if a new backup image has been taken and needs to be synchronized with Delphix.

msdb.dbo.backupmediafamily

Used to determine the physical device names of the backup files comprising a backup.

The service account running each SQL Server instance (the Instance Owner) must be one of:

• A domain user (e.g. MYDOMAIN\accountname) (RECOMMENDED)

• A Managed Service Account or Group Managed Service Account ( MYDOMAIN\accountname$)(requires Windows 2012 and later, and SQL Server 2008R2 or later)

• The LOCAL SYSTEM account (NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM)

• The NETWORK SERVICE account (NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE)

Access to existing database backups for Snapshots and Validated Sync operations will fail if the service account cannot access backups created by the Source database instance.

The source host, proxy and staging environments must have appropriate cross-domain trust relationships

For more information on these requirements, see the document Delphix in Multi-domain Windows Environments.

The edition of the installed SQL Server instance(s) must support all database features used by linked Source databases

SQL Server may raise an error during some dSource operations if the Staging SQL Server Instance does not support features used by the Source Database. 

This is most easily addressed by using the same edition of SQL Server as the Source database.

Features in use on the Source database can be checked using the sys.dm_db_persisted_sku_features dynamic view.

Must have both the Source and Staging Windows Users configured as local Windows users

See the sections Source Windows User Requirements and Staging Windows User Requirements for more detail.

Delphix Connector software is installed and running

See Installing the Delphix Connector Service on the Target Database Servers for instructions on installing the Delphix Connector.

Recommended iSCSI Registry settings must be in place

See Requirements for Windows iSCSI Configuration and Knowledge Base Article KBA1251 for instructions on applying these settings*.

*Please note that in 6.0.x, these performance settings are subject to change based on further tuning efforts by Delphix Engineering.

sqlcmd command line utility must be installed on the servers hosting VDBs and staging databases. The utility should be in the Delphix operating system user’s PATH environment variable.

Delphix does not run sqlcmd (or any other process) directly on the source SQL Server instance. It runs sqlcmd on the staging/connector host.

Shared Memory must be enabled as a Network Protocol for the SQL instances on the target.  To enable this, in SQL Server Config Manager, navigate to Client Protocols > Shared Memory.

Without the Shared Memory > Network Protocol, errors like sqlcmd : Sqlcmd: Error: Microsoft ODBC Driver 13 for SQL Server : Shared Memory Provider: Could not open a connection to SQL Server may occur while adding the staging environment during the discovery process.

Be a member of the Windows "Local Administrators" group on the Staging Host

We require this permission for mounting iSCSI LUNs presented by the Delphix Engine to the staging and target hosts.  Microsoft utilities used by the Delphix Engine, such as diskpart, require membership of this group.

Have the "Log on as batch" privilege on the Staging host

We require this permission for remote PowerShell execution.  This privilege can be assigned through the Local Security Policy (Local Policies → User Rights Assignment → Log on as batch job).

Be able to access existing backups from the Source Database

If accessing existing native, Red Gate, or LiteSpeed backups, the following permissions are required: 

• The Staging Windows User and the service account running SQL Server must both have permission to access the database backups via SMB (Windows file sharing) 

• The Staging Windows User and the service account running SQL Server must both have NTFS Permissions to access the database backups 

 Separate documents describe requirements if Linking a dSource from a NetBackup SQL Server Backup or Linking a dSource from a Commvault SQL Server Backup.

Be able to login to each SQL Server instance that the Delphix Engine will communicate with

These requirements are described in the Staging Database Login Requirements section below.

Server

CONNECT SQL

Y

Access to the SQL Server instance

Server

sysadmin

Y

The staging and target databases are managed and administered completely by Delphix. Our functionality requires many administrative operations on those databases and requires full access to them. 

Since database ownership can be changed by customers as part of configuring virtual databases, we require the sysadmin role to continue to administer the databases.

Delphix Connector software is installed and running

See Installing the Delphix Connector Service on the Target Database Servers for instructions on installing the Delphix Connector.

Recommended iSCSI Registry settings must be in place

See Requirements for Windows iSCSI Configuration and Knowledge Base Article KBA1251 for instructions on applying these settings.

The edition of the installed SQL Server instance(s) must support all database features used by linked Source databases

SQL Server may raise an error during some dSource operations if the Staging SQL Server Instance does not support features used by the Source Database.

This is most easily addressed by using the same edition of SQL Server as the Source database.

Features in use on the Source database can be checked using the sys.dm_db_persisted_sku_features dynamic view.

sqlcmd command line utility must be installed on the servers hosting VDBs and staging databases. The utility should be in the Delphix operating system user’s PATH environment variable.

SQL Server sqlcmd command line utility requires an ODBC Driver to perform queries in the Continuous Data engine.
You can check the SQL Server sqlcmd command line utility, which has its dependencies installed by establishing a connection by whoever the target SQL Server user is, whether the primary environment user or another AD login user account, to the SQL Server instance from a Powershell console prompt. Start Powershell console as an Administrator.”

To test SQL Server connectivity:

“sqlcmd -E -S <Hostname\SQLServer_Instance_Name>”.
For example, if the hostname is ‘10-43-64-60’ and the instance name is ‘SQL2019’ this is the command line used to verify connectivity (Use -E for trusted connection - ie. the Windows session login):

CODE

sqlcmd -E -S '10-43-64-60\SQL2019'

For more information about sqlcmd refer to this page: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/tools/sqlcmd/sqlcmd-utility?view=sql-server-ver16&tabs=go%2Cwindows&pivots=cs1-bash

Delphix does not run sqlcmd (or any other process) directly on the source SQL Server instance. It runs sqlcmd on the staging/connector host.

Shared Memory must be enabled as a Network Protocol for the SQL instances on the target.  To enable this, in SQL Server Config Manager, navigate to Client Protocols > Shared Memory.

Without the Shared Memory > Network Protocol, errors like sqlcmd : Sqlcmd: Error: Microsoft ODBC Driver 13 for SQL Server : Shared Memory Provider: Could not open a connection to SQL Server may occur while adding the target environment during the discovery process.

Be a member of the Windows "Local Administrators" group on the Target Host

We require this permission for mounting iSCSI LUNs presented by the Delphix Engine to the staging and target hosts.  Microsoft utilities used by the Delphix Engine, such as diskpart, require membership of this group.

Have the "Log on as batch" privilege on the Target Host

We require this permission for remote PowerShell execution.  This privilege can be assigned through the Local Security Policy (Local Policies → User Rights Assignment → Log on as batch job).

Be able to login to each SQL Server instance that the Delphix Engine will communicate with

These requirements are described in the Target Database Login Requirements section below.

Delphix Connector software is installed and running

See Installing the Delphix Connector Service on the Target Database Servers for instructions on installing the Delphix Connector.

Server

CONNECT SQL

Y

Access to the SQL Server instance

Server

sysadmin

Y

The staging and target databases are managed and administered completely by Delphix. Our functionality requires many administrative operations on those databases and requires full access to them. 

Since database ownership can be changed by customers as part of configuring virtual databases, we require the sysadmin role to continue to administer the databases.

Y

Yes

N

No

Instance Type

Added As

Source Environment

Staging Environment

Target Environment

Standalone Instance

Standalone

Y *

Y

Y

Failover Cluster Instance (FCI)

Standalone

Y *

N

N

Failover Cluster Instance (FCI)

Cluster

N

N

Y

Always On Availability Group (AG)

Cluster

Y

N

Y