Connecting to an SQL Server instance

Use the Connect to SQL Server dialog box to connect to the SQL Server you want to manage and specify the security authentication method to be used to establish the connection.

About the Connect to SQL Server dialog box

Use the Connect to SQL Server dialog box to connect to a specific SQL Server. When you specify or change the settings in this dialog box, SnapManager immediately connects to the specified SQL Server using the specified security authentication method. These settings remain in effect as the default settings until or unless you change them.

When you start SnapManager, the Connect to SQL Server dialog box opens automatically if a default SQL Server has not yet been specified. You cannot proceed to use SnapManager until you successfully connect to an SQL Server. Thereafter, whenever the SnapManager application is started, it automatically connects to the default SQL Server using the default security authentication method.

If at a later time you want to manage a different SQL Server, explicitly open the Connect to SQL Server dialog box to connect to the remote SQL Server using an SQL Server account that belongs to the Administrators group on that machine.

About SQL Server authentication

The same SQL Server user name and password with sysadmin server role privileges should be present in all SQL Server instances.The following limitations apply to using SQL Server authentication.

While creating a scheduled backup or verification job

SnapManager prevents you from creating a scheduled backup or verification job using any of the following types of SQL Server Agent:

An SQL Server Agent running as a cluster resource
An SQL Server Agent running on a remote computer
An SQL Server Agent running under the local system account

When using SQL Server authentication

When SQL Server authentication is used, SnapManager encrypts the SQL Server account password using the specified Windows account credentials.

In the case of SQL Server Agent jobs, SnapManager fails to decrypt the SQL Server account password if the Windows account under which the SQL Server Agent service runs is changed.
In the case of Windows Scheduled Task jobs, SnapManager fails to decrypt the SQL Server account password if the task "Run As" account is changed later.

Connecting to a different SQL Server

To connect to a different SQL Server, complete the following steps.

Note
This will change only the SnapManager server identity on the current machine and will not change the SnapManager server identity on the remote host.

Step	Action
1	Open the Connect to SQL Server dialog box. If the default SQL Server has not yet been specified, SnapManager automatically opens the dialog box when you start SnapManager. In this case, the SQL Server box is empty. If SnapManager is already connected to the default SQL Server, open the dialog box explicitly. To do this, go to the menu bar and select Action > Connect to Another SQL Server. In this case, the SQL Server box displays the name and connection authentication type of the currently connected SQL Server.
Select the SQL Server you want to manage.
2	In the SQL Server box, specify the SQL Server computer instance you want to manage. If you want to connect to the single SQL Server instance on the local host, select `[local]`. Otherwise, select the name of the SQL Server or SQL Server instance you want to manage.
Select the security authentication method to be used.
3	In the Connection panel, choose the security authentication method to be used to connect to the SQL Server. Windows authentication SQL Server authentication If you choose Windows authentication mode (the default selection), users with a valid Windows account can log in to Microsoft SQL Server without supplying a user name and password. Windows Authentication relies on the user being authenticated by the operating system and takes advantage of Windows user security and account mechanisms. Note Windows Authentication is the authentication mode recommended by Microsoft.
4	If you selected SQL Server authentication, you must also specify the login name and password. For more information, see SnapManager service account requirements.
Optional: Change the SQL Server user account to be used.
5	If you want to connect to the SQL Server using a different user account, click Change to open the Server Identity dialog box. Note To access the Reports on another SQL Server, you must connect using an SQL Server user account that belongs to the `Administrators` group on that machine. For more information, see SnapManager creates a share for remote access to the Report directory.. For details about using the Server Identity dialog box, see Changing the SQL Server user account.
Connect to the SQL Server.
6	Click OK. Result The Connect to SQL Server dialog box closes, and SnapManager connects to the specified SQL Server using the specified security authentication method. Note Whenever you connect to an SQL Server, SnapManager checks that the SQL Server computer is running the supported versions of SQL Server, Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC), and SnapDrive. These checkpoints are described within the procedure described in Starting SnapManager for the First Time.
7	If, instead of connecting to the specified SQL Server, SnapManager displays an error message regarding the SQL Server, MDAC, or SnapDrive version on that SQL Server computer, do the following: Refer to Windows host system requirements to determine which software components you need to update on the SQL Server computer. Close the SnapManager application. Upgrade the software on the SQL Server computer as needed. Restart SnapManager.