Microsoft® SQL Server 2012 Unleashed

General Networking Considerations and Troubleshooting

This section provides guidelines for solving some common connectivity issues. You can perform the following steps as a first line of defense when your connections fail:

1. Check whether the server is configured (via SSCM, as detailed earlier in this chapter, in the section, “Server Network Protocols”) to accept remote connections.

2. Ensure that the SQL Browser service is started.

3. Determine whether clients are specifying the correct port (for using fixed ports with named instances) in the server alias or connection string.

4. Check whether the client’s network protocols are enabled and configured to correctly handshake with those of the server. They should use SSCM on both sides, as explained ...