Re: Many Installations of MSSQLSERVER.

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Date: Sat, 4 Dec 2004 08:07:56 -0500

You can use Group Policy [for example, via Active Directory] to set
MSSQLSERVER service on Windows 2000, XP and 2003 systems to be disabled by
default. This is probably easier than using Group Policy Software
Restrictions Policy [though if they are local Administrators on their
computers, it might be less secure, I don't really know]. On a computer
running the MSSQLSERVER service, run MMC, add the Security Templates MMC,
create a new GP template where the only change is to the startup value of
the service and possibly the permissions of who can manage the service.
Save the template, apply the security template to the workstations in
question [e.g. use a batch file with the SECEDIT command to create a new
database and import and apply the template on each target workstation, OR
import the template into your active directory and apply that template to
target workstations by putting the workstations into an OU and/or
configuring ACL permissions on which workstations can read that GP. If you
use AD GP, be sure not to accidentally apply the policy to your legitimate
SQL servers.]

If these people's accounts are in the local Administrators or Power Users
group on the workstations, they can undo just about anything you do. Group
Policy will change their changes back, but I'm not sure this will stop the
SQL service once they start it. It's hard to prevent Administrators or
Power Users from doing what they want to do. There are some ways Power
Users can escalate their privileges to Administrator if they know how.

Unless something has changed in the latest version of MS SQL Server, SQL
Server cannot be installed on Windows workstations, only servers. AFAIK,
you can install MSDE on workstation, or if you install the SQL server CD, it
installs the SQL administrator tools and not the server itself.

"The Poster" <nospam@nospam_dontyoudare.net> wrote in message
news:eEP$onR2EHA.3236@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
> Thanks for your detailed post Roger.
>
> Would you believe that I've got the DBA and Project Managers support on
this
> one? This motion is driven by the DBA group and the Project group so as
far
> as support is concerned I'm on a winner. Question: Do you think that
Client
> side 'full installations' of SQL Server are costly, dangerous (remember
> slammer?), and system intensive? The bottom line is that I have to figure
> out some way of disabling the MSSQLSERVER service and all named instances
> (and in time remove it) - to facilitate compliance I will be conducting
> regular SQLScan's, where non-compliance will be dealth with. I have made
> provisions for Client Tools (Query Analyzer, Enterprise Manager, etc) on
the
> DEvelopers systems - I appreciate these are essential tools that are
needed
> to perform there day to day duties.
>
> In the longer term, I'm planning on revoking Developers Admin level
> priviledge on all systems. I've been reading alot of what Keith Brown has
> been saying with regards to Security, and I (like our Software Architect)
> have been converted to the Longhorn concept of Least Priviledged User
> account - that is the most secure way to go. I can even use our own Chief
> Software Architect as an example, he had his system rebuilt 6 months ago,
> and since that day he has manged to do 99% of his development work as a
> Standard user.
>
> Regards,
> Steve.
>
>
> "Roger Abell" <mvpNOSpam@asu.edu> wrote in message
> news:erAlTPR2EHA.1124@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
> > If you try using services control from GPO, to disable the
> > SQL services, what you will likely find is that developers
> > are resouceful and will just install a named instance of
> > SQL as the main service is named for the instance name.
> > You could cripple the other services which are not named
> > in an instance sensitive way, but SQL itself would escape
> > your net.
> >
> > Also, whether setting the service to disabled through the
> > services portion of GPO or through direct tweaking of the
> > start key in the reg, this does not prevent them from installing
> > and running it. As they can install, they are apparently admins,
> > and as admins they can change the service to manual or auto
> > long enough to start it. When policy reapplies and sets it back
> > to disabled it does not necessarily also stop it. Now, you
> > may be able to combine setting the service to disabled with
> > software restriction policy so that they cannot start it, but if
> > you cannot be sure of the service instance name to disable it
> > then they could get it started by the system at boot.
> >
> > To answer your actual question, I am not aware of a template
> > for use in GPO to manage SQL or its internal state.
> >
> > So, what to do?
> > First - make sure you understand why the devs have SQL
> > installed. If your environment has legal VStudio on their
> > machines, it is very possible that they legally have the
> > dev version of SQL installed. Also, what are they working
> > on? Perhaps these are MSDE version of SQL and will ship
> > out packaged with what they are building.
> > It might be more simple to just force those machines to
> > have their patch level up-to-date. It might be better to
> > provide them with the client tools for SQL but require
> > them to use MSDE (which can be made to speak only
> > machine-locally and be unresponsive over the wire).
> > It would seem to me that the last thing one would want
> > to do is make their job harder. I can imagine a number
> > of dev scenarios in which forcing them to share a remote
> > SQL could complicate their lives, but then I am the one
> > with SQL server alway installed on the laptop ! On the
> > other hand, making use of a SQL server remote from the
> > apps they dev/test might be of value for the quality of
> > what they will ship. It may be worth exploring whether
> > this is so and you could find support in your objective
> > from their project mgmt, as with their being admins it
> > will be hard to make it so without also having cooperation.
> >
> > --
> > Roger Abell
> > Microsoft MVP (Windows Security)
> > MCSE (W2k3,W2k,Nt4) MCDBA
> > "The Poster" <nospam@nospam_dontyoudare.net> wrote in message
> > news:OYDIBvH2EHA.2196@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> > > G/day forum,
> > >
> > > I've got a problem where all my Development users have full
> installations
> > of
> > > MSSQLServer. I want to disable this (for obvious security and
financial
> > > reasons) and allow SQL Server on a few dedicated (managed) Development
> SQL
> > > servers.
> > >
> > > This is what I'm thinking:
> > > 1) Active Directory - Group Policy Object. The problem is I cant find
a
> > > relevant template that incorporates the SQL Services.
> > > 2) Through Registry file modification of the Start value -
> > > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSSQLSERVER.
> > >
> > > Either way I'll be deploying the change through Group Policy, and
> ideally
> > I
> > > would have a template that incorporated the SQL service, that way I
> > wouldn't
> > > have to directly go tampering with any registry files..
> > >
> > > Your ideas and/or comments would be greatly appreciated.
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Steve.
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

• Previous message: dennist685: "installation problems"
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• Reply: Roger Abell: "Re: Many Installations of MSSQLSERVER."
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