SQL Server has a “data access” configuration option that enables and disables a linked server for distributed query access.
If you ever get a “Server is not configured for DATA ACCESS” error, you’ll probably need to enable data access for the linked server you’re trying to run the distributed query against. Conversely, there may also be times where you need to disable data access.
To enable or disable data access, use the sp_serveroption
system stored procedure. Execute it against the server that you intend to run distributed queries from. The following example demonstrates how to do this.