SQL Server “.” Alias Not Working

Question

I\'ve added an alias of \".\" which should point to my local (named) instance, \".\\SQL2008\". But when I try to connect to \".\", it times out.

Am I missing something o

Answer 1

In your Alias definition remove the .\ from the Server box leaving just your instance name, that works on my machine. So in your case the dialog should look like this:

Answer 2

I followed everything on this page and it still didn't work only to try change the server my alias was set up against. I changed it to '.' as the server name, so it gets the machines local instance and then everything worked, don't know why it didn't like putting the name of the sql server instance but anyway!

Answer 3

If you are creating TCP/IP aliases you need to ensure the "SQL Server Browser" service is running. As well as checking the TCP/IP protocol is enabled for both server and client.

In Sql Server configuration Manager under the SQL Server Services node right click the SQL Server Browser and set the Start Mode to Automatic. If you are not going to do a reboot you will also need to Start the service manually.

The SQL Server Browser service is responsible for telling the client which port to use. See http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms181087(v=sql.105).aspx for more details.

Answer 4

There is no limitation preventing that alias name. At leas it works on my machine ;)

However, when setting up the alias make sure you create it in the 32 as well as the 64 bit area:

I did also spell out localhost instead of just using the .:

Also, a SQL Server Alias always uses TCP/IP as connection protocol, which is not enabled by default. Under SQL Server Network Configuration (see above screen shot) check that TCP/IP is enabled for your instance.

Answer 5

you need to run "cliconfg" and setup the alias on your local machine as well. If you have SSMS installed, create the alias in SQL Config Mgr, as this take precedance over the ones set in cliconfg. Remember, SSMS uses 32bit connection to SQL Server, even if is 64bit. If you don't set them locally, how does your PC know where to go for the alias. You could create DNS entries as an alternative.

Answer 6

Also make sure the selected protocol for alias (e.g. TCP/IP) is enabled under SQL Server Network Configuration / Protocols for YOUR SERVER NAME

This was the issue in my case.