SQL Server
Windows 7 is officially due out on October 22nd 2009 almost exactly 8 years after Windows XP hit the streets. Time flies. There is a feature in the new version that will help SQL Server. When we define a SQL Server service account, the best practice is to use a Domain user account so that we can share data across the network with other servers in the same domain. This service account is purpose-built and generally is not used for interactive login since it has powerful privilege and many times we mark the account as “password never expires”. This is because there is no obvious way to update the password both in the domain and then on the SQL Server. We could write a script but this adds some administrative complexity. If the password expires, the service will stop with a less than obvious error. Having an account with a password that never expires contravenes many a corporate policy and at the very least needs to be carefully protected as administrators accounts are. Add to that the fact that the same service account is often used for several services which all need to be changed also. Well, now using Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 you can set up a “Managed Service Account”. This means that when you change the password in the domain, the system will automatically change the password for the services at the same time. No more dual maintenance. One stop password changes. Very nice. The only drawback is that the service, in this case SQL Server, needs to run on Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 so it may be a while before we benefit from this new feature. But maybe we need a carrot like this to motivate us to upgrade. cheers Brian What’s New in Service Accounts: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-au/library/dd367859(WS.10).aspx
