Renaming a SQL Server Instance (Don't)

I have not come across a situation where renaming a SQL Server instance was necessary. For most development time SQL Server instance issues, creating a SQL Alias is probably the better choice.

The reason I have come across to use SQL Server Aliases is that some developers on a team have different SQL instance names. This makes maintaining configuration files tedious, and wastes time that could be used toward completing the project. This (and many other configuration issues) can be avoided if the team starts development from a common Virtual Machine.

There is an excellent writeup available here: http://geekswithblogs.net/twickers/archive/2009/12/08/136830.aspx. If you just want to know how to create your SQL Server alias, you can skim all the way down to the "

Client configuration - how to create a SQL Server Alias (easy, official way)" heading.

If you really need to rename a SQL Server instance, the following page may be helpful: http://www.modhul.com/2008/01/15/renaming-a-sql-server-instance/#ixzz1geMRljlO