The geodatabase administrator in SQL Server

In Microsoft SQL Server, the geodatabase administrator can be either a user named sde or a login that is mapped to the dbo user in the database that contains the geodatabase. The geodatabase administrator is responsible for the administration of the following:

Because the geodatabase administrator owns all the geodatabase system files, directories, and tables, the geodatabase administrator account must be created before the geodatabase can be created. To create an sde-schema geodatabase, you must have a user named sde. To create a dbo-schema geodatabase, you must connect with a login that is the dbo user in the database. You have the following options for creating the geodatabase administrator and geodatabase:

For more information on the two types of geodatabase administrators, see A comparison of geodatabase owners in SQL Server.

The geodatabase administrator and schema

In SQL Server, users do not automatically have a schema with the same name as their user name. However, to use SQL Server with ArcGIS, your user names must have corresponding default schema names. This applies to the geodatabase administrator user as well as nonadministrative users who create data. In the case of dbo users, a dbo schema is present in all databases by default; any login that is dbo in the database will store data in the dbo schema. If you use a geodatabase administrator named sde, it must own a schema named sde, and that schema must be the sde user's default schema. As mentioned previously, the Create Enterprise Geodatabase tool creates the sde user's schema if you use a SQL Server-authenticated sde user. If you create the sde user manually, you must also create an sde schema.

It is recommended that the geodatabase administrator and its schema only be used to manage and store the ArcSDE geodatabase repository. You should create separate user schemas in which to store your data objects, such as feature classes and raster datasets. Following the practice of storing only system tables in the geodatabase administrator's storage space simplifies the management of the geodatabase and makes it easier for you to delete the geodatabase from your database if you ever decide to do so.

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8/21/2013