Cannot connect to SQL Server localDB through ODBC - sql-server

Everything was working fine until I made a few changes (including installing VS 2022), and I can't figure out which change caused the problems.
I connect an access front end to a local SQL server through ODBC. I do this on a number of computers (then sync the databases through azure). Some are regular SQL Express instances, and some are LocalDB.
The computer that stopped working is one that uses LocalDB. The entire instance got corrupted. After I was able to delete the instance and recreate it. I can now connect through Azure Data Studio, and Visual Studio, etc. I just can't connect through ODBC. I've tried all of the different drivers including SQL Server Native Client 11.0, ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server, and more. None of them work.
What does work, is if I use the named pipe url directly in the server section of the ODBC setup. So instead of putting (localdb)\MSSQLLocalDB I put np:\.\pipe\LOCALDB#D26172B4\tsql\query. That does work, but the instance id in that URL changes every time the instance starts. So every time the computer restarts we need to create a new ODBC connection. That is not a maintainable solution.

Related

LocalDB Separate Install Connection String

Our tool uses SQL Server 2012 LocalDB to store data. This as installed by the MSI, not full express. Users recently moved to new machines using other applications that connect via SQL Server 2019.
My understanding is that installing SQL Server LocalDB on top of an installation of SQL Server 2019 shouldn't cause an issue, being as how SQL Server Express installs as a named instance by default.
My concern when I look at connection strings, however, is that mine doesn't identify the server instance quite in the way I've seen recommended, only the Data Source:
Data Source=(localdb)\v11.0;Integrated Security=True;AttachDbFileName=C:\Database\Database.mdf;Connection Timeout=10000
This does connect, in case there's doubt. But referencing connectionStrings.com, I see recommended this:
Server=(localdb)\v11.0;Integrated Security=true;AttachDbFileName=C:\MyFolder\MyData.mdf;
In my mind, Data Source=(localdb)\v11.0 is already a clear designation of the instance, but I'm unsure what happens when SQL Server Express installs after SQL Server.
What should I look out for? Do I need to replace Data Source with Server? Will I need to change any part of (localdb)\v11.0 to account for the order SQL Server Express has been installed in compared with SQL Server?
EDIT 1
Updating the connection string by replacing 'Data Source' with 'Server' works. The question still remains, how will LocalDBs installing second affect what follows Server=?

Deploying Windows application with SQL Server database

I have a WPF project and I will use SQL Server database. The instance of SQL Server IT created for me is SQL Server 13 (2016 standard version) on a remove server. When I’m deploying the application on a client’s computers, what version I need to install there as a prerequisite? Can I deploy SQL Server Express 2016 on a client’s computer and access the remove SQL Server Standard edition? I am looking for a simple solution and for a lighter version I need to install on the user’s computers. I cannot install a full SQL Server on each user.
I have searched the net and a similar question has been asked many times, but I didn’t find a clear answer before. Many people started their SQL Server experience using local type databases, like SQL Server CE or LocalDB. In this case specific DLLs and redistributables must be added with the installation program. It is hard to understand at the beginning, but when an instance of SQL Server is on a remote server, this is a different story. Everything is happening on this remote server. There is no need of any SQL Server instances on a client’s machine. Just a connection string must be added. The adapter or Entity Framework will take care of everything else.

Configure remote connections without sql server installation?

We have an application called IpSwitch Whatsup and it's installed in a machine that I can connect to remotely as administrator. This is all in our intranet.
We need to connect to the sql server database being used by IpSwitch Whatsup, but this particular machine doesn't have sql server installed. On the other hand, in sql server configuration manager there is indeed a sql server installation for whatsup (the entry says SQL Server (WHATSUP)).
So, two questions:
How does one go about in connecting to this database? I'm pretty sure I know the name of the database and I already know the server name and instance, so I would like to connect to this DB from a sql server installation in another machine.
How does one configure a sql server installation to receive remote connections if it doesn't have sql server installed?
Thanks.
For the first question, you just type in (or browse) the appropriate instance name and authentication options using SSMS - which is the GUI tool used to manage sql server instances. Note - the term "sql server installation" can mean different things so it is not a useful reference.
As for the second question, review the information here. Note that any task you do in SSMS can be done via tsql - you can see the appropriate commands using the script button in the SSMS dialog windows.
And you can also (and probably should based on these questions) install SSMS on the same machine as your server instance so you can do "anything" "anywhere". Now would probably be a good time to review your disaster recovery options (and start backing up your databases regularly).

Acessing Remote SQL Server from Visual FoxPro Application

Dear StackOverflow readers i would like your kind attention towards my one of the problem:
I have a Visual Foxpro application, in which i am accessing a remote SQL Server's Stored Procedure. Everything is working fine when I am installing the SQL Express 2008 in my Client Machine along with the FoxPro Application.
But when I am not installing the SQL Server On client Machine along with the visual FroxPro Application then I am getting a error " SQL Connect Error", Cannot Make Connection.
Is their any way that i don't have to install the whole SQL Express on client machine and i can only install the required libraries.
Regards
ProgChd
You should not have to install SQL Express itself, but at least ensure that you have the ODBC / OleDB providers for SQL Express. These can use SQL-Server connection which are somewhat common to already be on the machine.
As for your connection string, are you connecting via the fully qualified \server\database hosting information?
Just for grins, you could go through the machine's
Control Panel
Administrative Tools
Data Sources ODBC
and try to manually create an ODBC connection to the SQLExpress server you are trying to do via your VFP application. If you can't connect through that, then neither will VFP. Take the VFP app out of the equation and just test for the connection.

SQL Server 2005 setup issue

I have two issues both related to (I believe) my SQL Server setup. I have installed SQL Server (the full thing) from MSDN downloads of the x64 version on my Vista 64 Home Premium box. After running into multiple issues I finally got it working. This is a new box so I ported over a database that I need to work on from another server. That also worked fine. My first issue however came when I tried to open a database in SQL Server Management Studio:
"Unable to find the requested .Net Framework Data Provider. It may not be installed. (System.Data)"
The box itself isn't new and definitely has .NET installed (version 3 I believe). I found that someone posted this as a bug but as the team (SQL Server team) could not reproduce it, they removed it. I've tried installing the recommended SP3 patch to no avail. It's only when I try to open a table for viewing the data (right-click and "Open Table"). I can even execute queries and retrieve results (from inside management studio). I'll follow pretty much any suggestion to try and get this working.
My second issue is that I cannot connect to the server. I thought I could just work around it (with queries), but I did not find that it added any ODBC connections on the box, just the drivers. Management Studio can access the DB just fine, but the machine itself doesn't appear to recognize that anything is running on it, at least on the default port (1433) and no, I do not have a named instance. When trying to manually add the server to the DSN or any datasources it cannot find the SQL server (under Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Data Sources (ODBC). Under SQL Server Management Studio it appears as a registered database server (I think this is because it connects on port 1434 from what I hear? not sure). This is my primary problem, and even if I can't open the tables (the first issue) I absolutely NEED to be able to set it up so that I can connect to it. The language source I am connecting from is ColdFusion which is set up as a stand-alone server (IIS not installed, not using it right now).
As for connecting to it, make sure all the services are running. SQL Server Agent in particular.
Also, check in the SQL Server 2005 Surface Area configuration for Services and Connections. Check under "Remote Connections" to see if "local and remote" connections are on. It might be set to "local only".
CF versions 6+ do not use the OS's ODBC connections. They use JDBC over IP to connect. You need to make sure you have allowed TCP/IP connections to the DB using the SQL Server Configuration Studio. Then, use the Data Sources page in the CF Administrator page (usually localhost:port/cfide/administrator, replacing "port" with the port you're using for the CF built-in server).
Why though, would it default to this
and why would this be an issue with my
own machine (local testing)?
SQL Server 2005 is meant to be more secure by default, so not all the protocols are opened up by default.
Sql Server Agent doesn't have anything
to do with remote connections, but I
seemed to recall there being an issue
with doing discovery on the network if
the Agent wasn't started
Maybe you're thinking of the SQL Browser with named instances.
Did you try this process?
http://oakleafblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/orcas-march-ctp-on-vista-database.html

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