restoring symmetric keys without KEY_VALUE or IDENTITY_VALUE

• kevin.wu

  Mr or Mrs. 500

  Points: 581

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  February 2, 2010 at 12:53 pm

  #142142

  Long time lurker, first time poster.

  I'm aware there is no such thing as RESTORE SYMMETRIC KEY and that you need to effectively use CREATE SYMMETRIC KEY to generate identical keys across mutiple databases. You would do this if you have multiple databases (development, test, production).

  But is there a way to "restore" a symmetric key if the key was created without specifying values for KEY_VALUE or IDENTITY_VALUE? I've created a symmetric key like this -->

  CREATE SYMMETRIC KEY SSN_Key_01

  WITH algorithm = TRIPLE_DES encryption

  BY CERTIFICATE yourcertificate

  From what I've read, because the KEY_VALUE or IDENTITY_VALUE was not specified, a random key_guid will be used. If this is true, is it possible to make a backup of a key created like this and restore this to a separate database?

  I have access to the backup files of the service master key, database master key, and the certificate used with this symmetric key. And I also know the key_guid from the original symmetric key. I've restored the SMK, DBMK, and the certificates (even double checked the key_guid and cert_serial_number), but I dont know how to "restore" this symmetric key.

  Thanks!