Surface Area Configuration For MS SQL server 2005

I end up seeing this question a lot and even though it is posted in other places on the web I wanted to put it someplace where I could easily link to it.

Here is how you can check the remote connection settings on SQL Server 2005 (note you need to have Admin rights):

There should be a program called: "SQL Server Surface Area Configuration" in the MS SQL Server 2005 / Configuration Tools directory:

Click "Surface Area Configuration for Services and Connections":

A configuration window will appear with a tree navigation panel on the left hand side. Select 'Remote Connections' under the [SERVER NAME] \ Database Engine:


A short form will be displayed with a couple of radio buttons, make sure that "Local and Remote connections" is selected and that either "Using TCP/IP only" or "Using both TCP\IP and named pipes" is selected.


With that done, applications which use TCP/IP to access your DB should be able to connect to the DB Server.