Level 1, Scorable If the SQL Server Agent is required, set the 'SQL Server Agent' start mode to 'Automatic'. This is found in the SQL Server Configuration Manager. Note: This recommendation is not applicable to clustered SQL instances. ref. https://benchmarks.cisecurity.org/tools2/sqlserver/CIS_Microsoft_SQL_Server_2005_Benchmark_v2.0.0.pdf, pg 42.