Post-Installation Configuration

After you have determined your installation to be a success, you need to take care of a few post-install tasks .

Changing the sa Password

If you initially configured the sa account with a blank password or if you used a generic password that was shared with non-administrators assisting in the install, now is the time to change it. The sa password, like any other, can be changed from the Properties sheet for the account under the Enterprise Manager Security folder or with the sp_password stored procedure. For more information on changing passwords, see Chapter 15, "Security and User Administration."

Setting Up System Administrator Accounts

The sa account is not the only one with full access to your SQL Server installation. By default, when you install SQL Server, the members of the local administrators group on the server are members of the System Administrators Security Role. This is handy if you forget the sa password you used during the install; however, it also means that people who might be experienced Windows administrators, but know nothing about database management, have full access to your data. It will be up to you to decide whether the Windows administrators require this level of access.

I recommend creating additional accounts other than sa, with the appropriate levels of permissions, to be used to administer SQL Server. This provides accountability and a more granular approach to security. You can assign only the permissions required by an individual or group. Permissions can be assigned using Windows accounts or SQL Server accounts as appropriate.

Configuring the Error Log

SQL Server maintains error logs containing information and error messages. Each time SQL Server starts, it cycles a new log and saves the old log with a .1 extension. By default, six old logs, with corresponding extensions .1, .2, .3, and so on are kept. By right-clicking SQL Server logs under the Management folder in Enterprise Manager, you can configure the number of logs retained before they are recycled. The logs can also be cycled using the sp_cycle_errorlog stored procedure. The error logs are located by default in Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\Mssql\Log\Errorlog, and can be viewed with Enterprise Manager or any text editor.

Server Network Utility

The Server Network Utility is located in the SQL Server program group and can be used to make changes to the Network Libraries configuration after installation. From this application, protocols can be enabled or disabled, and configuration changes such as port assignments can be made.