Best Practice on Local or Domain account to use for Always On Cluster MS SQL DB service account

Question

What is the best practice set up for DB service account on Always On Cluster MS SQL 2019? Local or Domain service account?

Answer 1

Hi @TS,

It is generally recommended to use a domain account as the service account for the SQL Server Database Engine in an Always On Cluster. Using a domain account provides the following benefits:

Centralized management: Domain accounts can be centrally managed by your organization's IT team, allowing for better control over password policies, authentication, and authorization. What is more, domain accounts can be used across multiple servers and can be easily reassigned to different servers if needed, providing flexibility in managing your SQL Server environment.

Let's talk more about local accounts.

Local accounts are limited to the local server and cannot be centrally managed by the IT team, resulting in increased complexity and difficulty in managing the account. Local accounts may have higher privileges on the local server, which can increase the risk of potential security breaches if the account is compromised. In addition, local accounts are bound to the specific server where they are created and cannot be easily reassigned to other servers.

Best regards,

Seeya

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