Securing Analysis Services Databases

Last Updated: October 26, 2023

This document provides a comprehensive guide to securing your SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) databases. Effective security measures are crucial to protect your sensitive data, control access, and ensure data integrity.

Understanding Security Roles

Analysis Services security is primarily managed through roles. Roles define sets of permissions that can be granted to users or groups, allowing fine-grained control over data access at various levels:

• Database Roles: Permissions applied to the entire Analysis Services database.
• Object-Level Security: Permissions applied to specific objects within a database, such as cubes, dimensions, and measures.
• Cell-Level Security: Permissions that restrict access to specific data cells within a cube based on user or role membership.

Creating and Managing Roles

You can create and manage roles using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or through scripting. The process typically involves:

1. Connecting to your Analysis Services instance in SSMS.
2. Right-clicking on the database and selecting "New Role".
3. Defining the role name and assigning members (users or Windows groups).
4. Configuring the permissions for the role.

Permissions Explained

Analysis Services supports a variety of permissions that can be assigned to roles:

• Read Definition: Allows users to view the metadata of objects (e.g., cube structure, dimension definitions) but not data.
• Read Data: Allows users to read data from objects.
• Process: Allows users to process (refresh) data in dimensions and cubes.
• Control: Grants full control over the object, including security settings.
• Full Control: Grants all permissions on the object.

Example: Granting Read Access to a Cube

To allow a group of users to query a specific cube, you would create a role, add the users to the role, and grant them "Read Data" permission on that cube. You might also grant "Read Definition" permission if they need to see the cube's structure.

-- Example XMLA for creating a role with read access to a cube
<Batch xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/analysisservices/2003/engine">
  <Alter NameSpaceObjects="true">
    <ObjectDefinition xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/analysisservices/2003/engine">
      <DatabaseID>YourDatabaseName</DatabaseID>
      <Roles>
        <Role xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/analysisservices/2003/engine">
          <Name>CubeReaders</Name>
          <Members>
            <Member>
              <Name>YourDomain\CubeQueryGroup</Name>
            </Member>
          </Members>
          <Permissions>
            <DatabasePermission xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/analysisservices/2003/engine">
              <Read>Allowed</Read>
              <Process>Allowed</Process>
              <Administer>Allowed</Administer>
            </DatabasePermission>
            <CubePermission xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/analysisservices/2003/engine">
              <CubeID>YourCubeName</CubeID>
              <Read>Allowed</Read>
              <ReadDefinition>Allowed</ReadDefinition>
            </CubePermission>
          </Permissions>
        </Role>
      </Roles>
    </ObjectDefinition>
  </Alter>
</Batch>
            

Securing at the Server Level

While most security is managed at the database and object levels, server-level roles also exist. The "Server Administrators" role grants full control over the Analysis Services instance itself.

Best Practices for SSAS Security

• Use Windows Authentication: Leverage Active Directory for managing user accounts and groups.
• Implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Define roles with specific permissions.
• Apply the Principle of Least Privilege: Grant only necessary permissions.
• Secure Administrative Access: Limit the number of users with server administrator privileges.
• Regularly Audit Security Settings: Periodically check permissions and role memberships.
• Use Encryption: Consider encrypting sensitive data if required.

Authentication and Authorization

Analysis Services supports both Windows Authentication and SQL Server Authentication. Windows Authentication is generally recommended for its robust security features and integration with Active Directory.

Further Resources

• Managing Analysis Services Permissions
• Understanding Roles in Analysis Services
• Analysis Services Security Overview