SQL Server Hardware - Red Gate Software

Chapter 7: SQL Server Installation and Configuration
Network
I always make sure that my database server has a static IP address, in order to
minimize the risk of DNS resolution problems, and that it has been added to the
"proper" Windows Domain; when you first install Windows Server, your server will be
in a Workgroup. Someone (possibly you in a small organization) will need to add the
database server machine to the appropriate Windows Domain. This should be done
before you attempt to install SQL Server. You should also be aware that this will require
a reboot of the server.
If your motherboard (see Chapter 1) hosts multiple NICs, then you may want to consider
using NIC Teaming to increase your bandwidth and redundancy. Another possibility is
to have a second IP address, on a separate, dedicated NIC, so you can segregate network
traffic for operations such as network backups and restores.
Accounts and privileges
Having decided which SQL Server components to install, you will have a better idea how
many dedicated Windows Domain accounts are required (you need one for each SQL
Server-related Service). In most cases, you will need at least two accounts, one for the
main SQL Server Service and one for the SQL Server Agent Service, but you will need
more if you need to install Full Text Search, SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), SQL
Server Reporting Services (SSRS), or SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS).
Having a dedicated, separate Windows Domain account for each SQL Server service
gives you more security and more reliability, since the other accounts will not be affected
if one account is compromised by an attacker, or is simply locked out or disabled. Some
DBAs will have a dedicated account for each SQL Service on each SQL Server instance to
give themselves even more protection and reliability (at the cost of more administrative
burden to manage what could be hundreds or thousands of Windows Domain accounts).
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