sp_serveroption

Transact-SQL Reference

Transact-SQL Reference

sp_serveroption

Sets server options for remote servers and linked servers.

In this release, sp_serveroption has been enhanced with two new options, use remote collation and collation name, that support collations in linked servers.

Syntax

sp_serveroption [@server =] 'server'
    ,[@optname =] 'option_name'
    ,
[@optvalue =] 'option_value'

Arguments

[@server =] 'server'

Is the name of the server for which to set the option. server is sysname, with no default.

[@optname =] 'option_name'

Is the option to set for the specified server. option_name is varchar(35), with no default. option_name can be any of the following values.

Value Description
collation compatible Affects Distributed Query execution against linked servers. If this option is set to true, Microsoft® SQL Server™ assumes that all characters in the linked server are compatible with the local server, with regard to character set and collation sequence (or sort order). This enables SQL Server to send comparisons on character columns to the provider. If this option is not set, SQL Server always evaluates comparisons on character columns locally.

This option should be set only if it is certain that the data source corresponding to the linked server has the same character set and sort order as the local server.

collation name Specifies the name of the collation used by the remote data source if use remote collation is true and the data source is not a SQL Server data source. The name must be one of the collations supported by SQL Server.

Use this option when accessing an OLE DB data source other than SQL Server, but whose collation matches one of the SQL Server collations.

The linked server must support a single collation to be used for all columns in that server. Do not set this option if the linked server supports multiple collations within a single data source, or if the linked server's collation cannot be determined to match one of the SQL Server collations.

connect timeout Time-out value for connecting to a linked server.

If 0, use the sp_configure default.

data access Enables and disables a linked server for distributed query access. Can be used only for sysserver entries added through sp_addlinkedserver.
dist Distributor.
dpub Remote Publisher to this Distributor.
lazy schema validation Determines whether the schema of remote tables will be checked.

If true, skip schema checking of remote tables at the beginning of the query.

pub Publisher.
query timeout Time-out value for queries against a linked server.

If 0, use the sp_configure default.

rpc Enables RPC from the given server.
rpc out Enables RPC to the given server.
sub Subscriber.
system For internal use only.
use remote collation Determines whether the collation of a remote column or of a local server will be used.

If true, the collation of remote columns is used for SQL Server data sources, and the collation specified in collation name is used for non-SQL Server data sources.

If false, distributed queries will always use the default collation of the local server, while collation name and the collation of remote columns are ignored. The default is false. (The false value is compatible with the collation semantics used in SQL Server 7.0.)


[@optvalue =] 'option_value'

Specifies whether or not the option_name should be enabled (TRUE or on) or disabled (FALSE or off). option_value is varchar(10), with no default.

option_value may be a nonnegative integer for the connect timeout and query timeout options. For the collation name option, option_value may be a collation name or NULL.

Return Code Values

0 (success) or 1 (failure)

Remarks

If the collation compatible option is set to TRUE, collation name automatically will be set to NULL. If collation name is set to a non NULL value, collation compatible automatically will be set to FALSE.

Permissions

Only members of the sysadmin and setupadmin fixed server role can execute sp_serveroption.

Examples
A. Enable a Publisher/Subscriber server

This example sets the server as a combination Publisher/Subscriber server.

USE master
EXEC sp_serveroption 'ACCOUNTS', 'dpub', 'TRUE'
B. Disable a distribution server

This example turns off the dist option for the SEATTLE2 server.

USE master
EXEC sp_serveroption 'SEATTLE2', 'dist', 'off'
C. Enable a linked server to be collation compatible with a local SQL Server

This example configures a linked server corresponding to another SQL Server, SEATTLE3, to be collation compatible with the local SQL Server.

USE master
EXEC sp_serveroption 'SEATTLE3', 'collation compatible', 'true'

See Also

sp_adddistpublisher

sp_addlinkedserver

sp_dropdistpublisher

sp_helpserver

System Stored Procedures