Monday, April 6, 2020

How to get Service account information in SQL Server using scripts

 

Managing SQL Server Services and Registry Access Using T-SQL

As a SQL Server professional, it's often necessary to gather information about server services or even interact with the Windows registry directly from SQL Server. In this post, we'll explore how to query SQL Server service status and perform registry operations using built-in system views and extended stored procedures.

Querying SQL Server Services

To view details about SQL Server services running on your server, you can use the dynamic management view sys.dm_server_services. This view returns information such as service names, statuses, startup types, and service account names.

Here is a simple query to retrieve all the data from this DMV:

SELECT * FROM sys.dm_server_services;

This query helps you monitor the status and configuration of SQL Server-related services from within your database environment.

For more detailed documentation on this DMV, visit:

sys.dm_server_services (Transact-SQL)

Accessing Windows Registry from SQL Server

SQL Server provides extended stored procedures that enable interaction with the Windows registry. This can be useful for advanced configuration or troubleshooting tasks, but caution is advised since modifying the registry can affect system stability.

Reading Registry Values

You can use xp_regread to read a registry value. For example, to read the ObjectName from a specific services key:

EXEC master.dbo.xp_regread
    'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE',
    'SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\',
    'ObjectName';

This retrieves the value of ObjectName from the specified registry path.

Other Registry-Related Commands

Removing a Multi-String Registry Value

To remove a multi-string value from the registry, use xp_regremovemultistring like this:

EXECUTE master..xp_regremovemultistring
  @rootkey = 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE',
  @key = 'SOFTWARETest',
  @value_name = 'TestValue',
  @value = 'Test';

Writing to the Registry

You can write or update registry values using xp_regwrite. The syntax is:

EXEC master.dbo.xp_regwrite
    @rootkey = 'rootkey',
    @key = 'key',
    @value_name = 'value_name',
    @type = 'type', -- Use REG_SZ for strings or REG_DWORD for integers
    @value = 'value';

Replace the parameters with your target registry hive, key path, value name, type, and the new value.

Deleting a Registry Key

Warning: This command deletes an entire registry key and should be used with extreme caution.

EXEC master.dbo.xp_regdeletekey
    @rootkey = 'rootkey',
    @key = 'key';

Deleting a key cannot be undone and may impact system or application stability.

Summary

These built-in SQL Server dynamic management views and extended stored procedures provide powerful ways to monitor and manage server services and interact with the Windows registry directly from T-SQL. Always ensure you have proper backups and understand the implications before modifying the registry.

If you want to dive deeper, the official Microsoft documentation is an excellent resource to explore further.

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