ServiceMasterKey Class

The ServiceMasterKey object represents a Microsoft SQL Server service master key.

Inheritance Hierarchy

System.Object
  Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.SmoObjectBase
    Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.SqlSmoObject
      Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.ServiceMasterKey

Namespace:  Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo
Assembly:  Microsoft.SqlServer.Smo (in Microsoft.SqlServer.Smo.dll)

Syntax

'Declaration
<SfcElementTypeAttribute("MasterKey")> _
Public NotInheritable Class ServiceMasterKey _
    Inherits SqlSmoObject
'Usage
Dim instance As ServiceMasterKey

[SfcElementTypeAttribute("MasterKey")]
public sealed class ServiceMasterKey : SqlSmoObject

[SfcElementTypeAttribute(L"MasterKey")]
public ref class ServiceMasterKey sealed : public SqlSmoObject

[<SealedAttribute>]
[<SfcElementTypeAttribute("MasterKey")>]
type ServiceMasterKey =  
    class 
        inherit SqlSmoObject 
    end

public final class ServiceMasterKey extends SqlSmoObject

The ServiceMasterKey type exposes the following members.

Properties

	Name	Description
	Parent	Gets the Server object that is the parent of the ServiceMasterKey object.
	Properties	Gets a collection of Property objects that represent the object properties. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	State	Gets the state of the referenced object. (Inherited from SmoObjectBase.)
	Urn	Gets the Uniform Resource Name (URN) address value that uniquely identifies the object. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	UserData	Gets or sets user-defined data associated with the referenced object. (Inherited from SmoObjectBase.)

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Methods

	Name	Description
	ChangeAccount	Encrypts the service master key with the new, specified credentials.
	Discover	Discovers a list of type Object. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	Equals	(Inherited from Object.)
	Export	Saves the service master key to the specified system path location with the specified password.
	FormatSqlVariant	Formats an object as SqlVariant type. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	GetContextDB	Gets the context database that is associated with this object. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	GetDBName	Gets the database name that is associated with the object. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	GetHashCode	(Inherited from Object.)
	GetPropValue	Gets a property value of the SqlSmoObject object. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	GetPropValueOptional	Gets a property value of the SqlSmoObject object. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	GetPropValueOptionalAllowNull	Gets a property value of the SqlSmoObject object. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	GetServerObject	Gets the server of the SqlSmoObject object. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	GetType	(Inherited from Object.)
	Import	Loads the service master key from the file located at the specified system path by using the specified password.
	Initialize()	Initializes the object and forces the properties be loaded. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	Initialize(Boolean)	Initializes the object and forces the properties be loaded. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	IsObjectInitialized	Verifies whether the object has been initialized. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	IsObjectInSpace	Verifies whether the object is isolated or connected to the instance of SQL Server. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	Recover	Recovers a service master key, in case the service master key has been changed external to SQL Server.
	Refresh	Refreshes the object and retrieves properties when the object is next accessed. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	Regenerate()	Regenerates the database master key by using the specified new password.
	Regenerate(Boolean)	Regenerates the service master key with the option to force the regeneration, and removes all items that cannot be successfully decrypted.
	SetParentImpl	Sets the parent of the SqlSmoObject to the newParent parameter. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	ToString	Returns a String that represents the referenced object. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	Validate	Validates the state of an object. (Inherited from SmoObjectBase.)

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Events

	Name	Description
	PropertyChanged	Represents the event that occurs when a property is changed. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	PropertyMetadataChanged	Represents the event that occurs when property metadata changes. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)

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Explicit Interface Implementations

	Name	Description
	IAlienObject.Discover	Discovers any dependencies. Do not reference this member directly in your code. It supports the SQL Server infrastructure. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	IAlienObject.GetDomainRoot	Returns the root of the domain. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	IAlienObject.GetParent	Gets the parent of this object. Do not reference this member directly in your code. It supports the SQL Server infrastructure. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	IAlienObject.GetPropertyType	Gets the type of the specified property. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	IAlienObject.GetPropertyValue	Gets the value of the specified property. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	IAlienObject.GetUrn	Gets the Unified Resource Name (URN) of the object. Do not reference this member directly in your code. It supports the SQL Server infrastructure. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	IAlienObject.Resolve	Gets the instance that contains the information about the object from the Unified Resource Name (URN) of the object. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	IAlienObject.SetObjectState	Sets the object state to the specified SfcObjectState value. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	IAlienObject.SetPropertyValue	Sets the property value. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)
	ISfcPropertyProvider.GetPropertySet	Gets the interface reference to the set of properties of this object. (Inherited from SqlSmoObject.)

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Remarks

A service master key is the lop layer in the encryption hierarchy. It is used to encrypt all the lower layers of the encryption hierarchy, such as database master keys, certificates, asymmetric and symmetric keys. The service master key is generated by Windows and secured by the Windows data protection API. It can only be opened by the Windows service account under which it was created, or by a user who knows both the service account name and its password.

To get the ServiceMasterKey object properties, users can be a member of the public fixed server role.

To set the ServiceMasterKey object properties, users must have CONTROL SERVER permission on the server or be a member of the sysadmin fixed server role.

To back up or restore the service master key, users must have CONTROL SERVER permission on the server or be a member of the sysadmin fixed server role.

Examples

Using Encryption

Thread Safety

Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

See Also

Reference

Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo Namespace

Other Resources

Encryption Hierarchy

ALTER SERVICE MASTER KEY (Transact-SQL)