SQL Server Network Utility

In most cases, you do not need to reconfigure Microsoft® SQL Server™ to listen on additional server Net-Libraries. However, if your server uses a network protocol on which SQL Server, by default, is not listening (for example, if your server is using NWLink IPX/SPX), and the SQL Server server Net-Library for that protocol is not activated to listen for SQL Server clients, you must use SQL Server Network Utility.

Although no server Net-Library configuration actions are necessary to enable SQL Server applications to connect to any instance of SQL Server, you can do the following:

• Manage the server Net-Library properties for each instance of SQL Server on a database computer.
  
  
• Enable the server protocols on which the instance of SQL Server will listen. For example, enable the protocol for VIA (Virtual Interface Architecture). This protocol provides highly reliable and efficient data transfer, when used with specific hardware. For VIA to work, you must use the supported hardware (Giganet). VIA is not available for systems running Microsoft Windows® 98. For more information about VIA, see VIA Clients.
  
  
• Disable a server protocol that is no longer needed.
  
  
• Specify or change the network address on which each enabled protocol will listen.

  When you are entering network addresses manually on a computer running multiple instances of SQL Server, you must not duplicate network addresses between instances. You can specify a comma-separated list of port addresses for the TCP/IP protocol. If you specify a list of port addresses, the instance of SQL Server will listen on those ports on each IP address available on the computer running the instance.

  If the instance is running on a SQL Server 2000 failover cluster, it will listen on those ports on each IP address selected for SQL Server during SQL Server setup.

• Enable the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption for all of the enabled server protocols. The encryption is turned on or off for the entire enabled server protocols and you cannot specify encryption for a specific protocol. For more information about SSL encryption, see Net-Library Encryption.

  To use SSL encryption, you must install a certificate using the fully qualified domain name of the computer running the instance of SQL Server 2000. For more information about certificates, see the Windows 2000 documentation.

• Enable a WinSock proxy. For more information about setting up a proxy server, see Connections to SQL Server Through Proxy Server.

SQL Server Network Utility automatically detects if the instance of SQL Server you specify is on a failover cluster. If the instance is on a failover cluster, all of the information you specify for the instance is replicated to all nodes automatically. However, if you want to use encryption with a failover cluster, you must install the server certificate with the fully qualified DNS name of the virtual server on all nodes in the failover cluster. For example, if you have a two-node cluster, with nodes named test1.redmond.corp.microsoft.com and test2.redmond.corp.microsoft.com and a virtual SQL Server "Virtsql", you need to get a certificate for "virtsql.redmond.corp.microsoft.com" and install the certificate on both nodes. You can then check the Force protocol encryption check box on the Server Network Utility to configure your failover cluster for encryption.

Use Client Network Utility to configure the corresponding client Net-Libraries to any server Net-Libraries you activate.

To start the SQL Server Network Utility

Network Utility

To load an installed server network library

Network Utility

To edit a server network library configuration

Network Utility

To view the installed SQL Server network libraries

Network Utility

To deactivate a server network library configuration

Network Utility

See Also

Configuring Client Network Connections

Client Net-Libraries and Network Protocols

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