Connect to SQL Server through IP address

Question

I\'m developing tools using vb.net framework 4, and I need to connect to company server through IP address, so staff will be able to use the apps from home.

I have t

Answer 1

Here are couple more things you can try.

Check if sql server is configured to listen on that IP address. If your server has multiple IP addresses that doesn’t necessarily mean that it can automatically accept connections from all IPs.

To set this go to SQL Server Configuration Manager -> SQL Server Network Configuration -> Protocols for {instancename} -> TCP/IP -> IP addresses tab

Here is also some info that will guide you when setting up firewall. What you want to do with the firewall is to enable TCP and UDP traffic on port 1433 for both incoming and outgoing traffic.

http://www.howtogeek.com/112564/how-to-create-advanced-firewall-rules-in-the-windows-firewall/

Now, if you have physical firewall or some other software firewall other than windows default you’ll have to contact your network admin

Answer 2

Right idea, you just overelaborated.

If the SQL Server is the default instance on that computer, you can just specify it as:

Data Source=xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

If it's a named instance, specify it as

Data Source=xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx\INSTANCENAME

For SQL Express instances, it is generally:

Data Source=xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx\SQLEXPRESS

If there're multiple instances running on the same server, you may need to leave the SQL Browser Service running (it is generally disabled by default).

There is a fantastic web resource out there at http://www.connectionstrings.com. They provide the syntax and options for connecting to just about any kind of server database that's out there.

Also, when working through SQL connectivity problems, it's always helpful to turn off your firewall on the server machine until you have everything worked out, and then re-enable it and work through the firewall issues afterwards. It just makes life more difficult when you're trying to address multiple potential issues all at once.