Question

How do I access the default SqlProvider in a DAL? I’ve only ever done this before from webforms.

Answer 1

With the following

using System.Web.Security;
....
SqlRoleProvider roleProvider = new SqlRoleProvider();
string[] roles = roleProvider.GetAllRoles(); //for example to get all role names

EDIT

To configure your application to use the SqlRoleProvider you’ll need to add the following under the <system.web> section of your web.config file.

<roleManager enabled="true" defaultProvider="SqlRoleManager">
  <providers>
    <add name="SqlRoleManager" 
         type="System.Web.Security.SqlRoleProvider"
         connectionStringName="MyConnectionStringName" //change this to the name of your connection string
         applicationName="MyApplication" />
  </providers>
</roleManager>