Surface Area Configuration (SAC) tool Command Line Utility for SQL Server 2005

  • Article

I normally do not post an entire article, so I apologize for the length.  For this posting specifically, I had no choice the online article was not working properly with the links so I decide to bring this directly from the books online for SQL 2005.  I hope you enjoy the article, the SAC Utility is fantastic!

 

The easiest way to use the sac utility is to use the SQL Server Surface Area Configuration graphical user interface to configure one computer, then use sac to export the settings of that computer to a file. You can then use sac to apply the settings for all SQL Server 2005 components to other SQL Server 2005 instances on the local computer or on remote computers.

 

This sacutility is located at x:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Shared.

Syntax:

sac {in | out} filename [-S computer_name]

    [-U SQL_login [–P SQL_ password]]

    [-I instance_name ]

    [-DE] [-AS] [-RS] [-IS] [-NS] [-AG] [-BS] [-FT] [-AD]

    [-F] [-N] [-T] [-O]

    [-H | -?]

 

Parameters

in

Import the surface area settings from a file and configure the instance, specified by instance_name, using those settings.

 

out

Export the surface area configuration settings from an instance to the file specified by filename.

 

filename

The full path of the file used when importing or exporting the surface area settings.

 

-S computer_name

Specifies the name of a remote computer. If this argument is not specified, sac connects to the local computer.

 

-U SQL_login

Specifies the SQL Server Authentication login to use for the connection to the Database Engine. If not specified, sac uses Windows Authentication to connect to the Database Engine.

 

-P SQL_password

Specifies the password for SQL_login. If this argument is not specified, sac prompts for a password. If -P is specified at the end of the command without a value, sac uses a null password.

 

-I instance_name

Specifies the SQL Server instance to run sac against. If this option is not specified, sac connects to all SQL Server instances. For the default instance, the instance name is MSSQLServer.

 

-DE

Import or export Database Engine settings.

 

-AS

Import or export Analysis Services settings.

 

-RS

Import or export Reporting Services settings.

 

-IS

Import or export Integration Services settings.

 

-NS

Import or export Notification Services settings.

 

-AG

Import or export SQL Server Agent settings.

 

-BS

Import or export the SQL Server Browser service settings.

 

-FT

Import or export the Full-Text Search service settings.

 

-F

Import or export the state of the following features for the specified components:

 

     Component Features

     Database Engine                       Ad hoc remote queries

     CLR integration

     DAC

     Database Mail

     Native XML Web service

     OLE automation

     SQL Server Service Broker

     SQL Mail

     Web assistant

                                                                 xp_cmdshell

     Analysis Services                      Ad hoc data mining queries

    Anonymous connections

   Linked objects

                                                   User-defined functions

     Reporting Services                  Scheduled events and report delivery

   Web service and HTTP access

                                                   Windows integrated security

 

-N

Import or export the state of network protocols for remote connectivity for the specified components. Only the Database Engine and Analysis Services provide options for configuring remote connectivity.

 

-T

Import or export the state of the Windows services for the specified components.

 

-O

Specifies the name of the file that receives command-line output from sac.

 

-H | -?

Display command syntax. Other arguments are ignored.

 

Remarks

The following rules apply to sac:

 

  • Arguments are not case-sensitive.
  • Precede command arguments with either a hyphen (-) or a forward slash (/). These symbols are equivalent.
  • Include a space between the argument and its value.
  • Enclose any value that contains special characters in quotation marks.

 

Examples

The following examples show common usage scenarios for the sac utility:

 

A. Export All Default Instance Settings

The following example shows how to export all of the feature, connections, and service settings for the default SQL Server instance to the file server1.out. Because the example specifies a user name but no password, sac will prompt for a password.

            sac out server1.out –S server1 –U admin –I MSSQLSERVER

 

B. Import Feature Settings to Another Server

The following example imports only the feature settings from the file server1.out and applies them to the default SQL Server instance on server 2. Because this example does not provide a user name, sac uses Windows Authentication.

sac in server1.out –S server2 –F

 

C. Export All Local Feature and Network Settings

The following example will export all feature and connection settings, but not service settings, for all SQL Server instances and components on the local server to the file server1.out.

sac out server1.out –F –N

 

D. Import All Settings

The following example imports all settings available in the file server1.out to server2.

sac in server1.out –S server2

 

E. Export All Database Engine Settings

The following example exports all settings for all Database Engine instances on the local server to the file server1.out.

sac out server1.out –DE

 

F. Import Service State Settings

The following example imports only the service state settings from server1.out and applies the service settings to server2.

sac in server1.out –S server2 -T