I wonder if it is possible to use the SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) client on my machine with a specific domain user when my machine wasn’t in that domain. In fact, many developers use some SSMS add-ons installed on their machine (with appropriate licenses), which greatly simplify their daily work.

For example, I’m a Red Gate SQL Prompt addicted , so it’d be convenient for me to work on customers’ SQL Server instances with this tool. After reading Davide Mauri’s post, a friend and collegue of mine, I created a batch file in order to specify a domain and a user for SSMS:

@echo off
echo ***************************************
echo *** Run SSMS 2008 R2 as domain user ***
echo ***************************************
echo.

set /P user="Type the domain\username: "

C:\Windows\System32\runas.exe /netonly /user:%user% "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Tools\Binn\VSShell\Common7\IDE\Ssms.exe"

Then, you can create on your desktop a shortcut to the file batch previously developed and you can also change the shortcut icon, using the same SSMS icon (get it from the Ssms.exe file). Now if you double-click on the shortcut, you can set domain and user for the SSMS client on-the-fly:

So enjoy using your “personal” SSMS client on your preferred domain