Configuring Remote Servers
Remote servers are supported in SQL Server 2005 for backward compatibility only. New applications should use linked servers instead. For more information, see Linking Servers.
A remote server configuration allows for a client connected to one instance of SQL Server to execute a stored procedure on another instance of SQL Server without establishing a separate connection. Instead, the server to which the client is connected accepts the client request and sends the request to the remote server on behalf of the client. The remote server processes the request and returns any results to the original server. This server in turn passes those results to the client. When you set up a remote server configuration, you should also consider how to establish security. For more information about security for remote servers, see Security for Remote Servers.
If you want to set up a server configuration to execute stored procedures on another server and do not have existing remote server configurations, use linked servers instead of remote servers. Both stored procedures and distributed queries are allowed against linked servers; however, only stored procedures are allowed against remote servers.
Remote Server Details
Remote servers are set up in pairs. To set up a pair of remote servers, configure both servers to recognize each other as remote servers.
Most of the time, you should not have to set configuration options for remote servers. SQL Server Set sets the defaults on both the local and remote computers to allow for remote server connections.
For remote server access to work, the remote access configuration option must be set to 1 on both the local and remote computers. (This is the default setting.) remote access controls logins from remote servers. You can reset this configuration option by using either the Transact-SQL sp_configure stored procedure or SQL Server Management Studio. To set the option in SQL Server Management Studio, on the Server Properties Connections page, use Allow remote connections to this server. To reach the Server Properties Connections page, in Object Explorer, right-click the server name, and then click Properties. On the Server Properties page, click the Connections page.
From the local server, you can disable a remote server configuration to prevent access to that local server by users on the remote server with which it is paired.
See Also
Concepts
Linking Servers
remote access Option
Other Resources
RECONFIGURE (Transact-SQL)
sp_configure (Transact-SQL)