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The Surface Area Configuration (SAC) tool has been discontinued in SQL Server 2008 and the Surface Area Configurations for features has been replaced by Policy-BasedManagement. SQL Server 2008 reduces management time for the database administrator by delivering a Policy-Based Management solution that provides the capability to define policies that can be applied to SQL Servers, databases, and other objects. The Policy-Based Management is accessible from SQL Server 2008 Management Studio, and all of the policy components can be found under its Management folder.

1. Policy: A condition and the expected behavior that is enforced for one or more targets. It can be enabled or disabled.

2. Facet: A set of logical properties that model the behavior and characteristics of the targets; for example, the Surface Area Configuration facet contains the behavior and characteristics to lock down the SQL Server.

3. Target: An entity to manage; for example, a SQL Server instance, a database, a table, or other database objects.

4. Category: A user-defined category to better help manage policies, such as a Best Practices category.

5. Condition: This expresses the state of the allowed values for a facet.