When troubleshooting a connection to MS SQL Server, consider the following points:
- Ensure that the correct protocols are enabled on the server. Use SQL Server Configuration Manager to enable the appropriate
protocols, typically TCP/IP. See
SQL Server Configuration Manager in the Microsoft documentation for more information.
- By default, MS SQL listens on TCP port 1433, check your firewall setting is enabled for incoming connections. If you are using
named instances you must also allow UDP port 1434 on the server. See
Configure the Windows Firewall to allow SQL Server access in the Microsoft documentation for more information on port configuration.
- Verify that the SQL browser service is running.
- When using Build New Connection, ensure that the Server and Database Name are correct. You might need to use the IP address
of the server instead of the machine name.
- Make sure you can connect to the SQL Server database from the client. You can test the connection by connecting to the remote
database from the client using the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio if you have SQL Server installed on the client,
or you can create a new data source using the ODBC Data Source Administrator from the Administrative Tools in Windows and
test the connection.
- If the MS SQL Server is on a machine connected to a VPN, it might be necessary to disconnect from the VPN, restart the SQL
Server service, and then reconnect the VPN before the connection will work.
- With SQL Express configurations, the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio is not supplied. It is supplied with MS SQL Server
installations, refer to Microsoft for more information on downloading Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.