^{Connecting to the Distributor}

The Distributor can be the same server as the Publisher (local Distributor), or it can be a separate server from the Publisher (remote Distributor). When using remote Distributors, you can configure the security necessary when the Publisher and Distributor connect.

The connection between a Publisher and a remote Distributor is a hybrid of a linked server and remote server. The connection uses the login distributor_admin. At the remote Distributor, the Publisher can be configured to be either trusted (no password is required for the distributor_admin login) or non-trusted (a password is required).

It is recommended that you use a non-trusted connection for the Publisher connection to the Distributor, requiring a distributor_admin password. This increases security at the Distributor by restricting access. Members of the sysadmin or db_owner roles who want to use a Distributor must know the administrative link password. An incorrect distributor_admin password at the Publisher causes the configuration of replication at the Publisher to fail.

Warning  Do not change the password for the distributor_admin manually. Always use either sp_changedistributor_password or the Distributor tab of the Publisher and Distributor Properties in SQL Server Enterprise Manager because password changes are then applied to local publications automatically. Changing the distributor_admin password manually causes publications using a local Distributor to fail.

To add or change a password on a Distributor