C2 Audit Mode Option
C2 Audit Mode can be configured through SQL Server Management Studio or with sp_configure. Selecting this option will configure the server to record both failed and successful attempts to access statements and objects. This information can help you profile system activity and track possible security policy violations.
Note
The C2 security standard has been superseded by Common Criteria.
Audit Log File
C2 Audit Mode data is saved in a file in the \MSSQL\Data directory of default instances, and the \MSSQL$instancename\Data directory of named instances. If the audit log file reaches its size limit of 200 megabytes (MB), SQL Server will create a new file, close the old file, and write all new audit records to the new file. This process will continue until the audit data directory fills up or auditing is turned off.
Important
C2 Audit Mode saves a large amount of event information to the log file, which can grow quickly. If the data directory in which logs are being saved runs out of space, SQL Server will shut itself down. If auditing is set to start automatically, you must either restart the instance with the -f flag (which bypasses auditing), or free up additional disk space for the audit log.
Permissions
Requires membership in the sysadmin fixed server role.
See Also
Concepts
Setting Server Configuration Options
Other Resources
RECONFIGURE (Transact-SQL)
sp_configure (Transact-SQL)