Server configuration: remote access

This article is about the remote access configuration option, which is a deprecated SQL Server to SQL Server communication feature.

This option affects servers that are added by using sp_addserver and sp_addlinkedserver. You should leave remote access enabled (the default) if you use linked servers.

This feature will be removed in a future version of SQL Server. Avoid using this feature in new development work, and plan to modify applications that currently use this feature.

If you reached this page because you're having trouble connecting to SQL Server, see one of the following articles instead:

Programmers might be interested in the following articles:

Manage remote access

The remote access configuration option controls the execution of stored procedures from local or remote servers on which instances of SQL Server are running.

The default value for the remote access option is 1 (enabled). This grants permission to run local stored procedures from remote servers or remote stored procedures from the local server. To prevent local stored procedures from being run from a remote server or remote stored procedures from being run on the local server, set the option to 0 (disabled).

This setting doesn't take effect until you restart SQL Server.

Remote access is required for the log shipping status report in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) to work and the LSAlert Job to complete appropriately.

Permissions

Execute permissions on sp_configure with no parameters or with only the first parameter are granted to all users by default.

To execute sp_configure with both parameters to change a configuration option, or to run the RECONFIGURE statement, a user must be granted the ALTER SETTINGS server-level permission. The ALTER SETTINGS permission is implicitly held by the sysadmin and serveradmin fixed server roles.

Use SQL Server Management Studio

  1. In Object Explorer, right-click a server and select Properties.
  2. Select the Connections node.
  3. Under Remote server connections, select or clear the Allow remote connections to this server check box.

Use Transact-SQL

  1. Connect to the Database Engine.
  2. From the Standard bar, select New Query.
  3. Copy and paste the following example into the query window and select Execute. This example shows how to use sp_configure to set the value of the remote access option to 0 .
EXEC sp_configure 'remote access', 0; GO RECONFIGURE; GO

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