Miles Neale (8/20/2013)
Good read and to the point. I would add one thing. Since SQL Server is complex and the configuration etc of the product depends ... There is very little chance that the SQL configuration out of the box will be optimal for most if any applications/systems. Due to both the complexity of the product and the business practices there is a high probability that the simple, default, generic configuration will need to be significantly altered to optimize the services needed.
There is one configuration change that I always make immediately after I install SQL Server, and advise everyone else to do too. That is turn off Named Pipes. I don't know if they'll ever get rid of it, but I think it is the most useless thing M$ ever did.
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Jim P.
A little bit of this and a little byte of that can cause bloatware.