Would you "patch" or rebuild?

  • Setting: Win NT 4, SP 6; SQl 7, SP3.

    We are starting to get, at random times,

    [Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver][TCP/IP Sockets]SQL Server does not exist or access denied

    It's as if the server is stopping every now and then. Do you think it's worth trying to track down the source of the problem or should we just rebuild the entire server (using Win 2K and Sql 2K, Sp4)?

    TIA,

    Bill

  • I think its worth rebuilding just to do the upgrades. Worst case you do the upgrade and figure out it's somewhere else - bad nic, switch, router, etc. Doing the software rules out some of the variables. Still, if I had to bet - I 'd say it reinstalling won't fix it.

    Andy

    http://www.sqlservercentral.com/columnists/awarren/

  • Here's a question. When you get that error and then check on the SQL Server, is it up and running? Is there any indication in the logs that it is restarting itself?

    Andy's right, rebuilding the server just to get everything up to the newst stuff (do you mean SP 3 for SQL 2K, BTW) is certainly worth it if you can spare the time. But it's probably not a SQL Server issue here.

    If you can get the network guys involved, they can monitor the switch, possibly sniff the traffic, etc., to see if they spot any issues. They may help you narrow down what the problem is.

    K. Brian Kelley

    http://www.truthsolutions.com/

    Author: Start to Finish Guide to SQL Server Performance Monitoring

    http://www.netimpress.com/shop/product.asp?ProductID=NI-SQL1

    K. Brian Kelley
    @kbriankelley

  • Andy, Brian,

    Thanks for your help. While I don't think it's a sql server error per se I think it is more likely a software problem than a hardware one. (I searched newsgroups for that specific error -- apparently many others have the same problem. I'd bet it's MDAC related.)

    TIA,

    Bill

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