- Hosts: Steve Stedman / George Stedman
- Topic: Login Auditing
- Recording Date:
- Listen on Spotify!
Login Auditing Stedman SQL Podcast Sn 3 Ep 9
In this episode of the Stedman SQL Server Podcast, Steve and George Stedman compare two powerful native SQL Server options for login auditing: SQL Server Audit and Extended Events. They explain why auditing logins matters for compliance requirements such as SOX, PCI, and HIPAA, demonstrate how to configure both approaches with downloadable scripts, and discuss the pros, cons, performance impact, and data captured by each method. The episode also highlights why logging successful logins to the SQL Server error log is a poor practice, explores real-world auditing and troubleshooting scenarios, and shares best practices for long-term audit retention, security monitoring, and identifying suspicious login activity. Whether you’re a DBA, developer, or security professional, this episode provides practical guidance for implementing reliable SQL Server login tracking without sacrificing performance.