SQL Service Accounts with <username>@<domain> format

• Jon Russell

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  June 15, 2011 at 12:58 pm

  #389742

  Does anyone know why I CANNOT start a SQL Server service with Configuration Manager using <username>@<domain>, but I CAN start it with <domain>\<username>?

  Another interesting thing to note is that I can start the service with either format using the Windows Services MCC.

  Thanks in advance,

  Jon

• K. Brian Kelley

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  June 15, 2011 at 1:14 pm

  #1339266

  SQL Server doesn't support the User Principal Name format (user@domain) only the down-level domain format (domain\user) internally. When you use Configuration Manager I believe it tries to verify the Windows user is added as a login to SQL Server and made a member of the sysadmin fixed server role. Since it can't support UPN for CREATE LOGIN, when it gets that as the account, it fails.

  K. Brian Kelley
  @kbriankelley

• Jon Russell

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  June 15, 2011 at 1:55 pm

  #1339296

  Thank you, Brian. That would explain it.

  If Configuration Manager checks to see if the user name is a SQL login, that explains this behavior. I know Configuration Manager performs configurations in addition to changing the account name, but I could not find specific documentation that explains exactly why, but BOL does state “you must use the pre-Windows 2000 user logon name in the format [<domainName>\<loginName>]. You cannot use a UPN in the format loginName@DomainName.”

  BOL – CREATE LOGIN (Transact-SQL)

  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms189751.aspx