DROP SYMMETRIC KEY (Transact-SQL)

symmetric_key_name

Is the name of the symmetric key to be dropped.

REMOVE PROVIDER KEY

Removes an Extensible Key Management (EKM) key from an EKM device. For more information about Extensible Key Management, see Extensible Key Management (EKM).

If the key is open in the current session the statement will fail.

If the asymmetric key is mapped to an Extensible Key Management (EKM) key on an EKM device and the REMOVE PROVIDER KEY option is not specified, the key will be dropped from the database but not the device, and a warning will be issued.

Requires CONTROL permission on the symmetric key.

The following example removes a symmetric key named GailSammamishKey6 from the current database.

CLOSE SYMMETRIC KEY GailSammamishKey6;
DROP SYMMETRIC KEY GailSammamishKey6;
GO

Reference

Concepts