RDS Remote Application: MS SQL Server Studio (SSMS)

Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) is a Windows-based client application used to manage and interact with Microsoft SQL Server databases. When integrated with the 12Port Access Broker via Remote Desktop Services (RDS), SSMS enables secure, Zero Trust access to SQL Server instances through a fully monitored and credential-injected session. This integration allows users to perform administrative and query operations on SQL databases without direct network exposure or manual credential handling.

Installation and Configuration

1. Download Required Files
* Executable:
https://bin.12port.com/product/remote-apps/app-ssms.exe
* Configuration File (.ini):
https://bin.12port.com/product/remote-apps/app-ssms.ini

Source file: https://bin.12port.com/product/remote-apps/app-ssms.au3

* Place both the Executable (.exe) and Configuration (.ini) files in the same directory on the RDS Server where the Remote Application will be published. For example: C:\12Port-RDSApps.
* Install the MS SQL Server Studio application on the RDS Host Server so it will open to the login screen for the destination server. This may need to be done manually on the RDS Host Server first, for each RDS user, before 12Port will be able to launch it properly.

2. Modify Configuration (Optional)
The .ini configuration file can be updated to define the executable path of SSMS.exe on the RDS server and to define a custom delay (in milliseconds) between automated actions. Default configuration:

[app]
exe=C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio 21\Release\Common7\IDE\SSMS.exe 
delayms=200

* exe: Executable location used to launch the MS SQL Server Studio application on the RDS host.
* delayms: number of milliseconds between sending control sequences to guide MS SQL Server Studio to perform zero trust authentication.

3. Publish the Remote Application
Use the following PowerShell command as an example to publish MS SQL Server Studio as a RemoteApp on the RDS server. This command must be executed from an elevated (Administrator) PowerShell session:

New-RDRemoteApp `
  -CollectionName "QuickSessionCollection" `
  -Alias "app-ssms" `
  -DisplayName "app-ssms" `
  -FilePath "C:\12Port-RDSApps\app-ssms\app-ssms.exe" `
  -ShowInWebAccess $true `
  -CommandLineSetting "Allow"

Ensure the CommandLineSetting is set to "Allow" to enable the Access Broker to pass connection parameters to the application.

Note

Make sure the -FilePath value accurately reflects the location of the executable on the RDS server.

RDS Application Asset Configuration

To enable Zero Trust access to MS SQL Server Studio via the 12Port Access Broker:

In the RDS Remote Application asset, set the Remote App field to:
```
||app-ssms
```
Set the Remote Arguments field to:
```
Host,User,Password
```
- Specify Host as Server name for the MS SQL Server database.
- Specify User as a privileged account for zero trust access.
- Specify Password for the privileged account for zero trust access.

These values allow the Access Broker to inject credentials into the terminal session without exposing them to the user.