Advised auditing method for MS SQL to track changes made to a specific table by a specific user?

Posted by scape on Server Fault See other posts from Server Fault or by scape
Published on 2012-11-08T16:16:37Z Indexed on 2013/11/01 21:58 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 165

Filed under:

sql-server

|

logging

|

sql-server-2008-r2

|

transaction-log

What is the best method for tracking changes or logging the queries done to a table by a specific user when the person is using Management Studio?

I'm using 2008 R2 Express Edition and want to specifically track a single user who logs in through Management studio and runs queries to make changes manually. I want to see what query was run and thus determine what was changed and how. I am not interested in restoring the information. I considered Change Tracking but read that it is not ideal for auditing as well I am unsure how to read the data, then I considered the Bulk-Logging option on the database however I then have to consider handling the log files which may grow huge as the database is used constantly by a web app. I am wondering if there is a more concise method to do what I want?

© Server Fault or respective owner

Related posts about sql-server

SQL SERVER – Beginning SQL Server: One Step at a Time – SQL Server Magazine

as seen on SQL Authority - Search for 'SQL Authority'
I am glad to announce that along with SQLAuthority.com, I will be blogging on the prominent site of SQL Server Magazine. My very first blog post there is already live; read here: Beginning SQL Server: One Step at a Time. My association with SQL Server Magazine has been quite long, I have written nearly… >>> More
How to install SQL Server 2005 Configuration Manager without installing SQL Server Management Studio

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
Hi, I need to configure SQL Server aliases on a public-facing production server. To do that, I need to install SQL Server Configuration Manager. I was not able to find a standalone installer for that, so I am having to install SQL Server 2005 Client Components. This approach is not ideal as we don't… >>> More
[MAJ] SQL Server 2005 Express Edition - La version gratuite de SQL Server 2005

as seen on ASP-PHP.net - Search for 'ASP-PHP.net'
Modification technique pour le site de l'article. >>> More
How to create SQL Server Express DB from SQL Server DB

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I have a SQL Server 2008 DB. I want to extract SOME tables (and associated schema, constraints, indexes, etc) and create a SQL Server Express DB. It isn't a sync of the target, we stomp on it. We ONLY need to do this in the file system (not across the wire). We are not fond of the synchronization… >>> More
sql server 2000 error, error trying to connect to sql server 2005

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
i am connecting to sql server 2000 on a remote computer with a dotnet application, but when i try to open the connection it gives the following error: When connecting to SQL Server 2005, this failure may be caused by the fact that under the default settings SQL Server does not allow remote connections What… >>> More

Related posts about logging

log file is not getting created using JDK logging with Commons-logging

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
When I run the TestJcLLoggingService class log messages are coming to Console but no log file is created, please help me if you know the answer. two source files are pasted below. TestJcLLoggingService.java package com.amadeus.psp.pasd.logging; import org.apache.commons.logging.Log; import org… >>> More
Python logging before you run logging.basicConfig?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
It appears that if you invoke logging.info() BEFORE you run logging.basicConfig, the logging.basicConfig call doesn't have any effect. In fact, no logging occurs. Where is this behavior documented? I don't really understand. >>> More
Python: combine logging and wx so that logging stream is redirectet to stdout/stderr frame

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Here's the thing: I'm trying to combine the logging module with wx.App()'s redirect feature. My intention is to log to a file AND to stderr. But I want stderr/stdout redirected to a separate frame as is the feature of wx.App. My test code: import logging import wx class MyFrame(wx.Frame): … >>> More
Redirect logging output using custom logging handler

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Hi Guys, I'm using a module in my python app that writes a lot a of messages using the logging module. Initially I was using this in a console application and it was pretty easy to get the logging output to display on the console using a console handler. Now I've developed a GUI version of my app… >>> More
Java Logger API

as seen on Oracle Blogs - Search for 'Oracle Blogs'
This is a more like a tip rather than technical write up and serves as a quick intro for newbies. The logger API helps to diagnose application level or JDK level issues at runtime. There are 7 levels which decide the detailing in logging (SEVERE, WARNING, INFO, CONFIG, FINE, FINER, FINEST)… >>> More