The information in this article applies to:
- DOVICO Timesheet version 8 and higher
Overview
DOVICO Timesheet/Track-IT Suite use a client-server type architecture within its applications for database communication. When the installation is behind a firewall product such as Microsoft's ISA Server, Internet Connection Firewall or Windows Firewall it may prevent a client machine from connecting to the MSDE/SQL Server running on the server computer. The typical message when this happens is the following: "Specified SQL Server not found." (Please note that you may receive a different message depending upon MSDE/SQL Server version as well as your networking environment).
Cause:
This may be a symptom of the necessary SQL Server ports not being opened on the firewall.
Technical Detail
Starting with Windows XP, Microsoft has included a small firewall application within its operating system. (This is also included on Windows 2003). With the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2, Microsoft has turned on this firewall by default, and only allowed file and print sharing by default. If you are using a Microsoft firewall or another firewall product, and need access to the MSDE/SQL Server from client applications running on other computers (such as Track-IT pro/Track-IT light) you will need to open ports on the firewall so client applications can communicate with a shared instance of MSDE.
MSDE 2000 uses the following ports: (Note that since some of these are dynamic they will be referred to in the remainder of this article by their function, and not the port number)
Named Pipes Communications – Port 445 (TCP) - used for communicating to MSDE/SQL Server through named pipes. Note this is enabled already if File and Print sharing is enabled.
Shared Instance Support – Port 1434 (UDP) - used for communicating shared instance information via UDP
TCP/IP Communications – Port 1024+ (TCP) - A TCP port that MSDE 2000 chooses at random when installing MSDE 2000 as a shared instance (default instances use 1433). Note that this port may change if the default port it installed on is suddenly in use by another application MSDE 2000 will change its port to accommodate the other application. To find out what port MSDE 2000 is currently using, choose Start, Run, type in svrnetcn.exe and click OK. This will start the MSDE/SQL Server Network Utility. From the server instances dropdown make sure you choose the <COMPUTERNAME>\DOVICO choice. Once selected, you should be able to look in your list of Enabled Protocols below, choose TCP/IP and choose properties. This will show the port for MSDE/SQL Server when MSDE/SQL Server starts. (You can also change this port to one of your choice if you so choose.)
Enabling various communications configurations
Named Pipes - In order to communicate to MSDE/SQL Server using Named Pipes you need to enable Named Pipes Communications and Shared Instance Support.
TCP/IP - In order to communicate to MSDE/SQL Server using TCP/IP you need to enable TCP/IP Communications and Shared Instance Support.
Named Pipes and TCP/IP - In order to communicate to MSDE/SQL Server using both Named Pipes and TCP/IP you need to enable Named Pipes Communications, Shared Instance Support and TCP/IP Communications.
Conclusion
Beginning with Track-IT Suite 2004 Version 11, we attempt to auto-configure the new Windows Firewall automatically (Windows XP Service Pack 2 and above) depending upon your response to a configuration question. For existing installations of Track-IT Suite it is advised to open the ports manually through the user interface of the firewall.
For more information on Microsoft firewalls or port usage in MSDE/SQL Server see the Microsoft web site.
