SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition ABLE TO CONNECT

Question

I have a problem connecting to SQL Server 2012 Enterprise. I have used SQL Server 2005 and 2008 both express and enterprise editions and I am familiar with the steps of allowing remote connections. However, no matter what I do with 2012 enterprise edition, I couldn't connect to the server from a client computer. The error goes like this... I'm positive it isn't a USER access issue because it wouldn't have been this error if it was a user error.

A network-related or instance-specific error occurred while establishing a connection to SQL Server. The server was not found or was not accessible. Verify that the instance name is correct and that SQL Server is configured to allow remote connections.

I've already done the following as my checklist...

1. Allowed remote connections via SQL Server Management Studio
2. Enabled TCP/IP
3. Enabled Named pipes
4. Added an exception to firewall blocked connections
5. Even disabled firewall just to test
6. Able to ping computers
7. Enabled Server Browser
8. Even checked the steps again from this thread. https://serverfault.com/questions/407629/sql-server-2012-i-can-connect-locally-but-not-remotelly

I don't know what I'm doing wrong since I had 2008 and 2005 servers running smoothly using the same steps... I'm out of ideas and worse, my hair is almost out...I'd be very grateful if anybody could help me on this. Thank you.

Answer 1

The SQL Protocols team, that owns connectivity to SQL Server, has posted troubleshooting steps on its blog:

• Steps to troubleshoot SQL connectivity issues
• SQL Server 2005 Connectivity Issue Troubleshoot - Part I (SNAC)
• Troubleshoot Connectivity Issue in SQL Server 2005 - Part II (MDAC)
• Troubleshoot Connectivity Issue in SQL Server 2005 - Part III (SqlClient)

Answer 2

Try the accepted answer to this related SO question - maybe some extra steps required for SQL Server 2012 it seems.