Hello,



This one is mostly for Ben I guess since we discussed this in some length at the seminar.



I am looking for some help in exposing my SQL Server 2005 to the internet for development of the "smart client" app we talked about. I looked around for some articles but didnt find exactly what I was looking for. Can you point me in the right direction? I did talk to my dedicated server provider and they said "No problem, we will take care of it" once I go into production they will handle the security aspects. What I need right now is to get my in-house SQL 2005 server exposed for development and testing purposes in a relatively secure manner.



Thanks,



Keith

Keith Chisarik

What version of SQL Server is it?  The TCP/IP connectivity is going to vary depending upon the version.

However, no matter what the version, you'll want to configure a user on the SQL Server that you will use to connect from the remote clients.  Disable the 'sa' account and add some other account that is the sysadmin for the server.

You'll also want to append "Encrypt=True;" to the end of your connection string to make sure the data is encrypted to and from SQL Server.

Fresh install of SQL 2005.

Keith Chisarik

Bah cant edit......



Sorry it is developer edition for now in development. Eventually either Workgroup or Standard, but I'll cross that bridge later

Keith Chisarik

PS - Im officially on board as of an hour ago, your stuck with me.





Keith Chisarik

Hehe, no problem...

TCP communication will already be turned on for anything above the Express edition.  So, the only thing you'll need to expose the server to the Internet is some way to expose the port.  If the server has a public IP address, then you just need to open tcp ports 1433 and 1434.  If the server has a private IP address, then you'll need to forward tcp ports 1433 and 1434 back to the private ip address of the server.

I wouldn't call it stuck

I have forwarded TCP ports 1433 and 1434 to my SQL server thru my PIX. No dice connecting from a remote location using 'PUBLICIPADDRESS\SERVERNAME' in the connection wizard. Any thoughts?



I do have SQL 2005 Enterprise Edition and an instance of SQL Express on the same box, I dont know if that could cause issues.

Keith Chisarik

You do not have to provide the server name, just the IP address unless you are using the SQLEXPRESS named instance.

Enterprise Connection
PUBLICIPADDRESS

Express Edition
PUBLICIPADDRESS\SQLEXPRESS

Still no dice



I already made sure my server is listening on a static port (1433) instead of the default dynamic according to this article.



http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms177440.aspx

Keith Chisarik