Not sure if I have the right forum for this question but thought I would give it a go.
I am working on documenting a new Excel 2007/2010 add-in which connects to a SQL db. The end users will be non-technical. The requirements are that user authentication will occur via Windows Active Directory. We want to avoid requiring the users to enter server connection information. Finally, there is the potential that we need to connect to different server environments, e.g. Development or Production. So there should be a default connection and then the ability to change the default.
So I am looking for feedback on the best approach for connecting to the SQL Db, with minimal user interaction. I have thought through three possible options so far. Please note that this is not an internal solution, it will go to some of our customers.
1. Create login window to select environment: This would require either the default connection info to be set up during installation or require the user to create the connection. This would enable the user to create additional connections to other environments as well. The connection info would be stored in a local config file.
2. Similar to #1 but no login window: this method would automatically connect to the default environment and then if the user needs to change, they can go to a connection window within the add-in to setup or switch environments. The connection info would be stored in a local config file.
3. Use a web service to get the available connections: This is a slick method I have seen before. So the add-in always points to a specific web service (which would have to be configured as well). The web service would pass the available connections for the user to select. The downside is that it will require a web service to be set up, which means another server.
Any thoughts on these approaches or other approaches that may be interesting? Thanks for all feedback.
Regards,
Mike
I am working on documenting a new Excel 2007/2010 add-in which connects to a SQL db. The end users will be non-technical. The requirements are that user authentication will occur via Windows Active Directory. We want to avoid requiring the users to enter server connection information. Finally, there is the potential that we need to connect to different server environments, e.g. Development or Production. So there should be a default connection and then the ability to change the default.
So I am looking for feedback on the best approach for connecting to the SQL Db, with minimal user interaction. I have thought through three possible options so far. Please note that this is not an internal solution, it will go to some of our customers.
1. Create login window to select environment: This would require either the default connection info to be set up during installation or require the user to create the connection. This would enable the user to create additional connections to other environments as well. The connection info would be stored in a local config file.
2. Similar to #1 but no login window: this method would automatically connect to the default environment and then if the user needs to change, they can go to a connection window within the add-in to setup or switch environments. The connection info would be stored in a local config file.
3. Use a web service to get the available connections: This is a slick method I have seen before. So the add-in always points to a specific web service (which would have to be configured as well). The web service would pass the available connections for the user to select. The downside is that it will require a web service to be set up, which means another server.
Any thoughts on these approaches or other approaches that may be interesting? Thanks for all feedback.
Regards,
Mike
