Question

By default, it seems like my web application is using LocalSqlServer as the connection string to use for any application services such as Membership/Roles/Authentication/etc.

Is there any way I can change what the default connection string should be? It seems so arbitrary that the default is “LocalSqlServer” and the only way I was able to find this was by googling for this for about two hours.

I don’t want to be forced to have to name my server connection “LocalSqlServer” and I have no idea if this is a preexisting item that I might be overwriting.

Answer 1

Yes, these connection strings can be set in web.config:

Membership

<membership defaultProvider="SqlMembershipProvider">
  <providers>
      <add 
        name="SqlMembershipProvider" 
        type="System.Web.Security.SqlMembershipProvider" 
        connectionStringName="MyMembershipConnectionString"
       />
  </providers>
</membership>

Roles

<roleManager defaultProvider ="SqlRoleProvider" >
   <providers>
     <add
       name="SqlRoleProvider" 
       type="System.Web.Security.SqlRoleProvider" 
       connectionStringName="MyRolesConnectionString"
     />
   </providers>
</roleManager>

See here for more info: How to: Use the ASP.NET Membership Provider