Connection Strings, Site Packager, and Admin Objects

To determine whether a property is a connection string, Site Packager uses connstr_db, the first part of the connection string name.

The administration objects use the f_IsConnStr flag in the ExtendedProps table in the MSCS_Admin database to determine whether the property is a connection string.

Connstr_db

When Site Packager reads connstr_db at the beginning of a property name during the unpacking process, it fills that property with data.

If you run Site Packager in the Quick unpack mode, the data is all defaulted and you cannot change it during the unpacking process. If you run Site Packager in the Custom unpack mode, the property is displayed along with the other connection strings and you can change the values.

If you want Site Packager to fill the connection string property with data, then name the property beginning with connstr_db. If you do not want this behavior, then name the property beginning with some other string. This test is the only one that the Site Packager uses to determine whether a given property is a connection string.

f_IsConnStr Flag

The administration objects use the f_IsConnStr flag in the ExtendedProps table in MSCS_Admin to determine whether the property is a connection string. When Site Packager packs a site, it exports all configuration data for the resources to plain text files and places them in the package. This is a security issue for the connection strings because they can contain user names and passwords. If f_IsConnStr is set to 1 (TRUE) then the export function of the administration object does not write out the value, and this keeps the user name and password private.

The configuration data is stored in the package in a named stream inside the compound file, and it can be easily viewed with public domain tools.

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