SQL Client

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SQL Client

RonM9

Mr or Mrs. 500

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September 5, 2002 at 8:57 am

#63191

This seems like remedial question, but it is unclear to me.
Is there software that needs to be installed to allow a client (workstation) to connect to a SQL database?
If so, is this software the "Desktop Edition" install from the SQL disk? Is this "Desktop Edition" the same as MDAC?
Does it matter what version of the OS it is? I mean, does Windows 2000 already have the SQL client software built in?
How does the ODBC administrator fit into client connectivity?

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K. Brian Kelley SSC Guru Points: 114572 More actions · Answer 1

MDAC 2.5, the version which ships with Windows 2000, has the OLEDB connection libraries. So a client running Windows 2000 can connect to a SQL Server without any additional software being installed.

If you run cliconfg from Start | Run, you'll bring up the SQL Server client network utility. This is good for setting the default network library to TCP/IP and for creating aliases, should this be necessary.

SQL Server 2000 Desktop Edition is actually an install of SQL Server, but with some governors on it that make less capable that the regular editions.

K. Brian Kelley

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Author: Start to Finish Guide to SQL Server Performance Monitoring

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K. Brian Kelley
@kbriankelley

debjyoti_paul SSC Rookie Points: 47 More actions · Answer 2

This may seem like a retro question... We have a VB app for small businesses running on MSDE. The app is often installed on Win98 and we are encountering problems connecting from the VB clients to the database which typically resides on another PC on the LAN.

When the VB client is installed on the same machine as the database, there is no issue. But client installations on other networked machines typically fails to connect to the database. We have however discovered that the problem may be overcome by installing MSDE on the client machine as well.

The errors encountered are one of the two:

1. Data Source Name not found and no default driver specified.

2. [DBMSSOCN] General network error. Check network documentation.

However, one should note that the application does not use DSNs. We have tried creating DSN entries and testing the connection... it works. But from the application, it fails.. with or without DSN use.

Any idea what can be done to enable database connection?

D. Paul

Satyam Infoway Ltd

Chennai

D. Paul
Satyam Infoway Ltd
Chennai

RonM9 Mr or Mrs. 500 Points: 500 More actions · Answer 3

Is there an interface to administer MDAC or does it even need one?

Is there an easy way to determine what protcol (OLEDB or ODBC) is being used by the

client?

The SQL Network Ultity is used to configure network protocols that encapsulate the SQL protocols (ODBC, OLEDB), it is not used to configure database access protocols , right?

K. Brian Kelley SSC Guru Points: 114572 More actions · Answer 4

There is not an interface to administer MDAC. MDAC is a collection of components which are packaged together.

The SQL Network Client Utility is used to set the precedence of Network Libraries as well as set aliases. It can set how a client tries to connect to a SQL Server. For instance, if your particular SQL Server is running IPX/SPX, you could add that net-lib to the list, since its not there by default.

The ODBC administrator is there to create DSNs. You can, by creating a DSN to a server, determine how the system will talk to the server. For instance, if you needed to use multiprotocol for one particular server, you could set up a DSN connection to it. Of course, you could accomplish the same thing with an alias through the network client utility. These two overlap a lot in what they do. So often times what you do in one will affect the other.

I know this is getting convoluted, so let's see if I can simplify a bit. If your client is Win2K, it has what it needs to connect to SQL Server. If you don't need an explicit DSN, you can use the client network utility to establish how you talk to the server. If you do need a DSN, you'll need to go through ODBC Administrator.

D. Paul, what version of OS are your clients? The situation you indicate seems unusual to me.