Thanks for the response,

I changed from CNAME to A record and I have the same issue in that I have to specify the port number.

If I remove aliasing from the equation I am still having a problem just connecting to the cluster network name without having to specify the port number.

My understanding is that if I set a clustered instance to run on port 1433 I should be able to connect without using a port number as it's the default port.

I have a clustered instance: NetworkName\Instance1

I change the port in SQL configuration manager to 1433.

Should I be able to connect to just NetworkName from anywhere on the network?

The only place I can connect to just NetworkName is locally on the Cluster Node.

My problem is that from anywhere else I have to connect using NetworkName,1433

Thanks