sac Utility

[This topic is pre-release documentation and is subject to change in future releases. Blank topics are included as placeholders.]

The sac utility imports and exports SQL Server surface area settings. Using this utility, you can configure the surface area on one computer, and then apply the same settings to other computers.

The easiest way to use the sac utility is to use the SQL Server Surface Area Configuration graphical user interface to configure one computer, then use sac to export the settings of that computer to a file. You can then use sac to apply the settings for all SQL Server components to other SQL Server instances on the local computer or on remote computers.

This utility is located at <drive>:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\\Shared.

sac {in | out} filename [-S computer_name]
    [-U SQL_login [–P SQL_ password]]
    [-I instance_name ]
    [-DE] [-AS] [-RS] [-IS] [-NS] [-AG] [-BS] [-FT]
    [-F] [-N] [-T] [-O]
    [-H | -?]

• in
  Import the surface area settings from a file and configure the instance, specified by instance_name, using those settings.

• out
  Export the surface area configuration settings from an instance to the file specified by filename.

• filename
  The full path of the file used when importing or exporting the surface area settings.

• -S computer_name
  Specifies the name of a remote computer. If this argument is not specified, sac connects to the local computer.

• -U SQL_login
  Specifies the SQL Server Authentication login to use for the connection to the Database Engine. If not specified, sac uses Windows Authentication to connect to the Database Engine.

• -P SQL_password
  Specifies the password for SQL_login. If this argument is not specified, sac prompts for a password. If -P is specified at the end of the command without a value, sac uses a null password.

• -I instance_name
  Specifies the SQL Server instance to run sac against. If this option is not specified, sac connects to all SQL Server instances. For the default instance, the instance name is MSSQLServer.

• -DE
  Import or export Database Engine settings.

• -AS
  Import or export Analysis Services settings.

• -RS
  Import or export Reporting Services settings.

• -IS
  Import or export Integration Services settings.

• -AG
  Import or export SQL Server Agent settings.

• -BS
  Import or export the SQL Server Browser service settings.

• -FT
  Import or export the Full-Text Search service settings.

• -F
  Import or export the state of the following features for the specified components:

  Expand table

  Component	Features
  Database Engine	Ad hoc remote queries CLR integration DAC Database Mail Native XML Web service OLE automation Service Broker SQL Mail Web assistant xp_cmdshell
  Analysis Services	Ad hoc data mining queries Anonymous connections Linked objects User-defined functions
  Reporting Services	Scheduled events and report delivery Web service and HTTP access Windows integrated security

• -N
  Import or export the state of network protocols for remote connectivity for the specified components. Only the Database Engine and Analysis Services provide options for configuring remote connectivity.

• -T
  Import or export the state of the Windows services for the specified components.

• -O
  Specifies the name of the file that receives command-line output from sac.

• -H | -?
  Display command syntax. Other arguments are ignored.

The following rules apply to sac:

• Arguments are not case-sensitive.
• Precede command arguments with either a hyphen (-) or a forward slash (/). These symbols are equivalent.
• Include a space between the argument and its value.
• Enclose any value that contains special characters in quotation marks.

The following examples show common usage scenarios for the sac utility:

The following example shows how to export all of the feature, connections, and service settings for the default SQL Server instance to the file server1.out. Because the example specifies a user name but no password, sac will prompt for a password.

sac out server1.out –S server1 –U admin –I MSSQLSERVER

The following example imports only the feature settings from the file server1.out and applies them to the default SQL Server instance on server 2. Because this example does not provide a user name, sac uses Windows Authentication.

sac in server1.out –S server2 –F

The following example will export all feature and connection settings, but not service settings, for all SQL Server instances and components on the local server to the file server1.out.

sac out server1.out –F –N

The following example imports all settings available in the file server1.out to server2.

sac in server1.out –S server2

The following example exports all settings for all Database Engine instances on the local server to the file server1.out.

sac out server1.out –DE

The following example imports only the service state settings from server1.out and applies the service settings to server2.

sac in server1.out –S server2 -T

Command Prompt Utilities

SQL Server Surface Area Configuration Tools

Getting SQL Server 2008 Assistance