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lesson-1-connecting-to-the-database-engine.md

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title Lesson 1: Connecting to the Database Engine
description Learn about the main tools of the Database Engine and how to connect to the engine and authorize more users.
author MashaMSFT
ms.author mathoma
ms.reviewer maghan, vanto, randolphwest
ms.date 01/28/2026
ms.service sql
ms.subservice connectivity
ms.topic quickstart
ms.update-cycle 365-days
ms.custom
intro-quickstart
sfi-image-nochange

Lesson 1: Connecting to the Database Engine

[!INCLUDE sqlserver]

When you install the [!INCLUDE ssDEnoversion], the tools that are installed depend upon the edition and your setup choices. This lesson describes the principal tools, and demonstrates how to connect to the Database Engine and perform an essential function (authorizing more users).

In this lesson, learn the following:

Tools for getting started

The [!INCLUDE ssDEnoversion] ships with various tools. This article describes the first tools you need and helps you select the right tool for a job. All tools can be accessed from the Start menu. Some tools, such as SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), aren't installed by default. Select the tools that you want as components during setup. [!INCLUDE ssExpress] contains only a subset of the tools.

Common tools

The following table describes some of the more common tools.

Tool Type Operating system
SSMS GUI Windows
bcp CLI Windows, macOS, Linux
sqlcmd CLI Windows, macOS, Linux

Sample database

[!INCLUDE article-uses-adventureworks]

SSMS (Windows only)

  • On current versions of Windows, on the Start page, enter SSMS, and then select SQL Server Management Studio.
  • On the Start menu of older versions of Windows, point to All Programs, point to [!INCLUDE ssCurrentUI], and then select SQL Server Management Studio.

Connect with SSMS

It's easy to connect to the [!INCLUDE ssDE] from tools that are running on the same computer that hosts SQL Server if you know the name of the instance and if you're connecting as a member of the local Administrators group on the computer. The following procedures must be performed on the same computer that hosts SQL Server.

Note

This article discusses connecting to an on-premises SQL Server. For Azure SQL Database, see Connect to Azure SQL Database.

Determine the name of the instance of the Database Engine

  1. Sign in to Windows as a member of the Administrators group, and open [!INCLUDE ssManStudio].

  2. In the Connect to Server dialog, select Cancel.

  3. If Registered Servers isn't displayed, on the View menu, select Registered Servers.

  4. From the Registered Servers toolbar, go to Database Engine, and right-click Local Server Groups. Go to Tasks > Register Local Servers, and expand Local Server Groups to see all the instances of the [!INCLUDE ssDE] installed on the computer. The default instance is unnamed and is shown as the computer name. A named instance displays as the computer name followed by a backward slash (\) and then the instance's name. For [!INCLUDE ssExpress], the instance is named <computer_name>\sqlexpress unless the name was changed during setup.

Verify that the Database Engine is running

  • In Registered Servers, if the name of your instance of SQL Server has a green dot with a white arrow next to the name, the [!INCLUDE ssDE] is running and no further action is necessary.

  • If the name of your instance of SQL Server has a red dot with a white square next to the name, the [!INCLUDE ssDE] is stopped. Right-click the name of the [!INCLUDE ssDE], select Service Control, and then select Start. After a confirmation dialog box, the [!INCLUDE ssDE] starts, and the circle turns green with a white arrow.

Connect to the Database Engine

Select at least one administrator account when you install [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion_md]. Perform the following steps while signed in to Windows as an administrator.

  1. In [!INCLUDE ssManStudio], on the File menu, select Connect Object Explorer.

    The Connect to Server dialog opens. The Server type box displays the type of component that you last used.

  2. Select Database Engine.

    :::image type="content" source="media/lesson-1-connecting-to-the-database-engine/object-explorer.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Object Explorer. The Database Engine option in the Connect list is highlighted." lightbox="media/lesson-1-connecting-to-the-database-engine/object-explorer.png":::

  3. In the Server name box, enter the name of the instance of the Database Engine. For the default instance of SQL Server, the server name is the computer name. The server name for a named instance of SQL Server is <computer_name>\<instance_name>. For example, ACCTG_SRVR\SQLEXPRESS. The following screenshot shows the options for connecting to the default (unnamed) instance of [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion_md] on a computer named PracticeComputer. The user signed in to Windows is Mary from the Contoso domain. When using Windows Authentication, you can't change the user name.

    :::image type="content" source="media/lesson-1-connecting-to-the-database-engine/connect-to-server.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Connect to Server dialog box. The Server name box is highlighted." lightbox="media/lesson-1-connecting-to-the-database-engine/connect-to-server.png":::

  4. Select Connect.

Note

This article assumes that you're new to [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] and have no problems connecting. For detailed troubleshooting steps, see Troubleshoot connecting to the SQL Server Database Engine.

Authorize extra connections

Now that you're connected to SQL Server as an administrator, you can authorize other users to connect. Create a login, and authorize that login to access a database as a user. You create logins using Windows Authentication, SQL Server authentication, or Microsoft Entra authentication. Windows Authentication logins use credentials from Windows. SQL Server authentication logins store the authentication information in SQL Server and are independent of your Windows credentials. Logins from Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) use credentials from cloud-based identities. For more information about this method, see Microsoft Entra authentication for SQL Server.

Use Windows Authentication or Microsoft Entra authentication whenever possible.

Tip

Most organizations have domain users and use Windows Authentication. You can experiment by creating additional local users on your computer. Your computer authenticates local users, so the domain is the computer name. For example, if your computer is named MyComputer and you create a user named Test, the Windows description of the user is Mycomputer\Test.

Create a Windows Authentication login

  1. In the previous task, you connected to the [!INCLUDE ssDE] by using [!INCLUDE ssManStudio]. In Object Explorer, expand your server instance, expand Security, right-click Logins, and then select New Login. The Login - New dialog appears.

  2. On the General page, in the Login name box, enter a Windows login in the format <domain>\<login>.

    :::image type="content" source="media/lesson-1-connecting-to-the-database-engine/new-login.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Login - New dialog. The Login name box is highlighted.":::

  3. In the Default database box, select the AdventureWorks database if it's available. Otherwise, select the master database.

  4. On the Server Roles page, if the new login is to be an administrator, select sysadmin. Otherwise, leave this blank.

  5. On the User Mapping page, select Map for the [!INCLUDE ssSampleDBobject] database if it's available. Otherwise, select master. The User box is populated with the login. When you close the dialog, the user is created in the database.

  6. In the Default Schema box, enter dbo to map the login to the database owner schema.

  7. Accept the default settings for the Securables and Status boxes, and then select OK to create the login.

Important

This section provides basic information to get you started. SQL Server provides a rich security environment.

Related tasks

Next step

[!div class="nextstepaction"] Lesson 2: Connect to the Database Engine from another computer