After installing the "SQL Server" on the server machine and creating the corresponding logins for the users, sometimes the desired server name will not be listed in the available server list even though the server and the client machines are on the same network.
The first thing you need to check is if Remote Connections are enabled on your SQL Server database. In SQL Server 2008 you do this by opening SQL Server 2008 Management Studio, connect to the server in question, right click the server…
… and open the Server Properties.
Navigate to Connections and ensure that Allow remote connections to this server is checked. Check if this solves the problem.
If you’re still running into issues let’s dig a bit deeper. The next good thing to check is the SQL Server Network Configuration. Open the SQL Server Configuration Manager, unfold the node SQL Server Network Configuration and select Protocols for BENTLEYECAD (or whatever the name of your SQL Server instance is).
Make sure that TCP/IP is enabled and try again. There might still be an issue with the firewall, see the next section.
If there is still no communication happening between your computer and the remote SQL Server you most likely need to configure your firewall settings. A good first step is to figure out which port is being used by TCP/IP (and which you need to open in your firewall). You can do this by right-clicking TCP/IP and selecting Properties.
Click on the tab IP Addresses and use – Port 1433. All there is left to do is to allow inbound TCP/IP traffic on Port 1433 in your firewall. In Windows 7 open the Control Panel and navigate to Windows Firewall.
Click on Advanced Settings on the left-hand side and you should see the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security. Select the Inbound Rules on the left-hand side and click on New Rule… on the right-hand side.
This opens the New Inbound Rule Wizard which you can use to allow inbound traffic on Port 1433 for TCP/IP (and which is exactly how you configured your SQL Server in the steps above).
The following procedures configure the Windows Firewall by using the Windows Firewall item in the Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Control Panel which only configures the firewall for the current network location profile. The Windows Firewall can also be configured by using the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in and the netsh command line tool.
1. On the Start menu, click Run, type firewall.cpl and then click OK.
2. In the Windows Firewall dialog box, click the Exceptions tab, and then click Add Port.
3. In the Add a Port dialog box, in the Name text box, type SQL Server <instance name>.
4. In the Port number text box, type the port number of the instance of the Database Engine, such as 1433 for the default instance.
5. Verify that TCP is selected, and then click OK.
6. To open the port to expose the SQL Server Browser service, click Add Port, type SQL Server Browser in the Name text box, type 1434 in thePort Number text box, select UDP, and then click OK.
7. Close the Windows Firewall and the Properties dialog boxes.
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