Connecting to SQL Server

Two methods define how the SQL Server Agent service connects to an instance of a local Microsoft® SQL Server™. Regardless of the method you select, the account must have system administrator permissions within SQL Server.

• Use Windows Authentication

  This method forces the SQL Server Agent service to connect to an instance of SQL Server using the Microsoft Windows NT® 4.0 or Windows® 2000 domain account you defined as the service startup account.

• Use SQL Server Authentication

  This method forces the SQL Server Agent service to connect to an instance of SQL Server using a SQL Server authenticated login. Only logins that are members of the sysadmin role are available.

  Select Use SQL Server Authentication if you are running SQLServerAgent on a server that is not running on the Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 operating system.

Both options allow you to set a time limit for logins. If the SQLServerAgent service requires more time to connect to the local instance of SQL Server than the duration you have specified, the login session will time out. You can specify a value from 5 through 45 seconds for the login time-out.

To set the SQL Server connection