SQL Server 2017 Administrator's Guide

Virtual accounts

The default choice of any OS higher than Windows Server 2008 R2 is a virtual account. A virtual account is a managed local account for the simple administration of your services. One of the important benefits of virtual accounts is their auto management, so you don't need to worry about regular password updates on your accounts like you have to with domain and local accounts, where you're bound with your enterprise account and password policy.

A virtual account has two forms depending on whether the account is used for named or default SQL Server instances. If you're using a default instance, then the account is as follows:

• NT SERVICE\MSSQLSERVER for the MS SQL database service
• NT SERVICE\SQLSERVERAGENT for the MS SQL Agent ...