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SQL Server Agent fixed database roles

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Applies to: SQL Server Azure SQL Managed Instance

Important

On Azure SQL Managed Instance, most, but not all SQL Server Agent features are currently supported. See Azure SQL Managed Instance T-SQL differences from SQL Server for details.

SQL Server has the following msdb database fixed database roles, which give administrators finer control over access to SQL Server Agent. The roles listed from least to most privileged access are:

  • SQLAgentUserRole
  • SQLAgentReaderRole
  • SQLAgentOperatorRole

When users who aren't members of one of these roles are connected to SQL Server in SQL Server Management Studio, the SQL Server Agent node in Object Explorer isn't visible. A user must be a member of one of these fixed database roles or a member of the sysadmin fixed server role to use SQL Server Agent.

Permissions of SQL Server Agent fixed database roles

The SQL Server Agent database role permissions are concentric in relation to one another. In other words, more privileged roles inherit the permissions of less privileged roles on SQL Server Agent objects (including alerts, operators, jobs, schedules, and proxies). For example, if members of least-privileged SQLAgentUserRole have been granted access to proxy_A, members of both SQLAgentReaderRole and SQLAgentOperatorRole automatically have access to this proxy even though access to proxy_A hasn't been explicitly granted to them. This might have security implications, which are discussed in the following sections about each role.

SQLAgentUserRole permissions

SQLAgentUserRole is the least privileged of the SQL Server Agent fixed database roles. It has permissions on only operators, local jobs, and job schedules. Members of SQLAgentUserRole have permissions on only local jobs and job schedules that they own. They can't use multiserver jobs (master and target server jobs), and they can't change job ownership to gain access to jobs that they don't already own. SQLAgentUserRole members can view a list of available proxies only in the Job Step Properties dialog box of SQL Server Management Studio. Only the Jobs node in SQL Server Management Studio Object Explorer is visible to members of SQLAgentUserRole.

Important

The SQLAgentReaderRole and the SQLAgentOperatorRole are automatically members of the SQLAgentUserRole. This means that members of SQLAgentReaderRole and SQLAgentOperatorRole have access to all SQL Server Agent proxies that have been granted to the SQLAgentUserRole and can use those proxies.

The following table summarizes SQLAgentUserRole permissions on SQL Server Agent objects.

Action Operators Local jobs (owned jobs only) Job schedules (owned schedules only) Proxies
Create/modify/delete No Yes

Can't change job ownership.		 Yes No
View list (enumerate) Yes

Can get list of available operators for use in sp_notify_operator and the Job Properties dialog box of Management Studio.		 Yes Yes Yes

List of proxies only available in the Job Step Properties dialog box of Management Studio.
Enable/disable No Yes Yes Not applicable
View properties No Yes Yes No
Execute/stop/start Not applicable Yes Not applicable Not applicable
View job history Not applicable Yes Not applicable Not applicable
Delete job history Not applicable No

Members of SQLAgentUserRole must explicitly be granted the EXECUTE permission on sp_purge_jobhistory to delete job history on jobs that they own. They can't delete job history for any other jobs.		 Not applicable Not applicable
Attach/detach Not applicable Not applicable Yes Not applicable

SQLAgentReaderRole permissions

SQLAgentReaderRole includes all the SQLAgentUserRole permissions, as well as permissions to view the list of available multiserver jobs, their properties, and their history. Members of this role can also view the list of all available jobs and job schedules and their properties, not just those jobs and job schedules that they own. SQLAgentReaderRole members can't change job ownership to gain access to jobs that they don't already own. Only the Jobs node in SQL Server Management Studio Object Explorer is visible to members of the SQLAgentReaderRole.

Important

Members of SQLAgentReaderRole are automatically members of the SQLAgentUserRole. This means that members of SQLAgentReaderRole have access to all SQL Server Agent proxies that have been granted to SQLAgentUserRole and can use those proxies.

The following table summarizes SQLAgentReaderRole permissions on SQL Server Agent objects.

Action Operators Local jobs Multiserver jobs Job schedules Proxies
Create/modify/delete No Yes (owned jobs only)

Can't change job ownership.		 No Yes (owned schedules only) No
View list (enumerate) Yes

Can get list of available operators for use in sp_notify_operator and the Job Properties dialog box of Management Studio.		 Yes Yes Yes Yes

List of proxies only available in the Job Step Properties dialog box of Management Studio.
Enable/disable No Yes (owned jobs only) No Yes (owned schedules only) Not applicable
View properties No Yes Yes Yes No
Edit properties No Yes (owned jobs only) No Yes (owned schedules only) No
Execute/stop/start Not applicable Yes (owned jobs only) No Not applicable Not applicable
View job history Not applicable Yes Yes Not applicable Not applicable
Delete job history Not applicable No

Members of SQLAgentReaderRole must explicitly be granted the EXECUTE permission on sp_purge_jobhistory to delete job history on jobs that they own. They can't delete job history for any other jobs.		 No Not applicable Not applicable
Attach/detach Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable Yes (owned schedules only) Not applicable

SQLAgentOperatorRole permissions

SQLAgentOperatorRole is the most privileged of the SQL Server Agent fixed database roles. It includes all the permissions of SQLAgentUserRole and SQLAgentReaderRole. Members of this role can also view properties for operators and proxies, and enumerate available proxies and alerts on the server.

SQLAgentOperatorRole members have extra permissions on local jobs and schedules. They can execute, stop, or start all local jobs, and they can delete the job history for any local job on the server. They can also enable or disable all local jobs and schedules on the server. To enable or disable local jobs or schedules, members of this role must use the stored procedures sp_update_job and sp_update_schedule. Only the parameters that specify the job or schedule name or identifier and the @enabled parameter can be specified by members of SQLAgentOperatorRole. If they specify any other parameters, execution of these stored procedures fails. SQLAgentOperatorRole members can't change job ownership to gain access to jobs that they don't already own.

The Jobs, Alerts, Operators, and Proxies nodes in SQL Server Management Studio Object Explorer are visible to members of SQLAgentOperatorRole. Only the Error Logs node isn't visible to members of this role.

Important

Members of SQLAgentOperatorRole are automatically members of SQLAgentUserRole and SQLAgentReaderRole. This means that members of SQLAgentOperatorRole have access to all SQL Server Agent proxies that have been granted to either SQLAgentUserRole or SQLAgentReaderRole and can use those proxies.

The following table summarizes SQLAgentOperatorRole permissions on SQL Server Agent objects.

Action Alerts Operators Local jobs Multiserver jobs Job schedules Proxies
Create/modify/delete No No Yes (owned jobs only)

Can't change job ownership.		 No Yes (owned schedules only) No
View list (enumerate) Yes Yes

Can get list of available operators for use in sp_notify_operator and the Job Properties dialog box of Management Studio.		 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Enable/disable No No Yes

SQLAgentOperatorRole members can enable or disable local jobs they don't own by using the stored procedure sp_update_job and specifying values for the @enabled and the @job_id (or @job_name) parameters. If a member of this role specifies any other parameters for this stored procedure, execution of the procedure fails.		 No Yes

SQLAgentOperatorRole members can enable or disable schedules they don't own by using the stored procedure sp_update_schedule and specifying values for the @enabled and the @schedule_id (or @name) parameters. If a member of this role specifies any other parameters for this stored procedure, execution of the procedure fails.		 Not applicable
View properties Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Edit properties No No Yes (owned jobs only) No Yes (owned schedules only) No
Execute/stop/start Not applicable Not applicable Yes No Not applicable Not applicable
View job history Not applicable Not applicable Yes Yes Not applicable Not applicable
Delete job history Not applicable Not applicable Yes No Not applicable Not applicable
Attach/detach Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable Yes (owned schedules only) Not applicable

Assign multiple roles to users

Members of the sysadmin fixed server role have access to all SQL Server Agent functionality. If a user isn't a member of the sysadmin role, but is a member of more than one SQL Server Agent fixed database role, it's important to remember the concentric permissions model of these roles. Because more privileged roles always contain all the permissions of less privileged roles, a user who is a member of more than one role automatically has the permissions associated with the most privileged role that the user is a member of.

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