SQL Server® 2008 Administration: Real World Skills for MCITP Certification and Beyond

Configuring the Surface Area

One of the primary components in SQL Server used to implement best practices is surface area configuration. In the world of computer security, the surface area is a reference to the attack points exposed on the system. For example, a system with more services running and more open network ports has a larger attack surface than a system with fewer services and fewer open network ports. The goal of the security administrator is to reduce the attack surface of each and every node on his network and, therefore, of his entire network. Attack surface reduction should be performed for every SQL Server machine in your environment.

If you have created a secure baseline for your SQL Server 2008 deployments, you will already ...