Professional Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Administration

9.4. Endpoints

Speaking of SQL Server surface area, let's talk about how to connect into SQL Server, a discussion that brings us to endpoints. An endpoint is simply a means of connecting to SQL Server. The term was introduced in SQL Server 2005 because this was the first version that gave us a lot of control over how connections could be made other than setting the protocols that were accepted.

9.4.1. Typical Endpoint Configuration

In most cases you will configure the protocols and, in the event of a TCP/IP endpoint, the port used. These are what are called TDS endpoints, because the Tabular Data Stream (TDS) protocol, the underlying communication protocol for SQL Server, is used to communicate with these endpoints. The SQL Server Configuration Manager handles the configuration of these TDS endpoints, of which there are four:

• Shared Memory

• Named Pipes

• TCP/IP

• VIA

You can see these endpoints within the SQL Server Configuration Manager by expanding SQL Server Network Configuration and clicking Protocols for <Instance> for the instance you want to manage (see Figure 9-6). The first option specifies whether or not you want to enable the protocol. Right-click the protocol in question and select Enable or Disable from the pop-up menu.

You can also set whether or not a protocol is enabled or disabled by selecting Properties from the pop-up menu or simply by double-clicking the protocol. The TCP/IP Properties dialog is shown in Figure 9-7. The Enabled option has a drop-down box from which ...