Dynamic Content Option for Password Field in SFTP Connector in Azure Synapse Analytics

Question

I am working on a feature in Azure Synapse Analytics that connects to different SFTP servers dynamically based on a meta-data table. As I proceeded through it, I found out that in SFTP Linked Service, the PASSWORD field does not allow dynamic content. Rest of the connectors like Azure SQL DB and SQL Server allow dynamic content. Is there an issue with the SFTP Linked Service or is it due to some reason that it does not allow dynamic content?

Answer 1

Hi @Khushank Madaan

Thanks for the question and using MS Q&A platform.

I understand that you are trying to connect to different SFTP servers dynamically based on a meta-data table, but you have found that the PASSWORD field in the SFTP Linked Service does not allow dynamic content.

To answer your question, the reason why the PASSWORD field in the SFTP Linked Service does not allow dynamic content is due to security reasons. Storing passwords in plain text is not secure, and allowing dynamic content in the PASSWORD field would require storing the password in plain text. Therefore, the PASSWORD field only allows static values.

However, there is a workaround for your scenario. You can use Azure Key Vault to store the SFTP password securely and then reference it in the Linked Service. This way, you can still connect to different SFTP servers dynamically based on a meta-data table without compromising security.

For more information: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-factory/store-credentials-in-key-vault

Hope this helps. Do let us know if you any further queries.

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