BCM 2007 not working with remote database

[Michael Carr]

I am trying to set up BCM 2007 to work with a remote database hosted on
Server 2003 + Sql 2005, but the error I keep getting from Outlook is "Cannot
find computer ... Confirm that the remote computer exists and that it is
available on the network."

Background:

1. There is no firewall running.
2. The remote instance is named "Sql2005"
3. I am able to connect to the server instance from the client using the Sql
Server Management tool (TCP mode).
4. I am able to connect to the server instance from the client via telnet
when specifying port 5356.
5. I am able to connect to the server instance from the client when using
osql command line tool.

So, all diagnostics show that I am able to connect to the server, but
Outlook still says it can't find it. The syntax I'm giving Outlook is:
<computer name>\<instance name>

Any ideas? What should I try next?

Michael Carr

 

[Guzun, Alex]

How did you deploy your remote SQL DB?
Did you use:
Outlook 2007 Document: Deploying Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager
in a Remote Database Configuration

I'm going to make the same, but didn't tried it yet
I think it would be better to install outlook with bcm on sql server (I did
the same with 2003 version, and it worked with no problems)

 

[Michael Carr]

I am trying to set up BCM 2007 to work with a remote database hosted on
Server 2003 + Sql 2005, but the error I keep getting from Outlook is
"Cannot find computer ... Confirm that the remote computer exists and that
it is available on the network."

My server and client are on different domains, if that makes any
difference...

 

[Guzun, Alex]

Are there any domain trusts?
If so: is it two-way?

 

[Luther]

I don't think domain trust should be an issue if osql can connect.

I know there's a bcm sql instance name entry in the Registry,
HKLM software\microsoft\Business Solutions eCRM.

I don't know if BCM uses that in remote connections, or just for local
databases, but it might be worth fiddling with that. Be sure to backup
the original value though...

 

[Michael Carr]

How did you deploy your remote SQL DB?
Did you use: Outlook 2007 Document: Deploying Outlook 2007 with Business
Contact Manager in a Remote Database Configuration

Yes, I used that document as a basic guide. Here are the exact steps I took:

1. I first allowed the BCM installer to create the db locally on Sql
Express.
2. I stopped the local MSSMLBIZ service and copied the MDF and LDF files to
my remote server.
3. Using Sql Management Studio (on the remote server), I attached the MDF
file to Sql 2005.

I then tried to connect to the database in a variety of ways, but I always
get the same message that the server doesn't exist... it's tough to debug
since there isn't any more detailed error information and I can't trace the
connection progress to see what's going wrong. I did run a Sql Trace on the
server and I didn't see any Sql activity occurring that was related to BCM.

 

[Luther]

2. The remote instance is named "Sql2005"

What port number is this instance using?

 

[Michael Carr]

What port number is this instance using?

Port 5356, as per the Remote Database document. Using a port scanner I was
able to verify that the port is accepting connections, and I also verified
it by telnetting to the port directly.

 

[Michael Carr]

Can you confirm if the error message is "cannot find computer"
or
"cannot find data server on computer"?

The message is definitely "Cannot find computer ... Confirm that the remote
computer exists and that it is
available on the network." I just checked it again to make sure.

For the previous one, you might want to double check if you can
ping the
server machine from your client.

Yes, I can ping it and connect via both telnet and osql.

You may also want to check if the "Simple
File sharing" is disabled on your server machine. There are all mentioned
in
the whitepaper.

I couldn't find any reference in the whitepaper to Simple File Sharing. I
did find some references to File and Printer Sharing regarding the Firewall
configuration, but I don't have any firewall running so that doesn't apply
in this case.

From what I understand, BCM is connecting directly to Sql Server via TCP
port 5356. As long as I can connect to Sql Server from the client machine,
do I need File and Printer Sharing anyway? Is BCM connecting to the server
via some other method?

For the latter, You might want to double-check the location of
your .mdf and .ldf files. From the whitepaper on deploying bcm DB to
remote
server, you can see that the database files are located under $Documents
and
Settings\DBOUserAccount\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Business
Contact Manager\ folder and see if you grant "Network Service" account
permission to this folder.

I set the permissions such that Sql Server 2005 could access the data files
and attached the data files to Sql as a database. This seemed to work
properly (I verified this by running several SELECT statements against the
tables).

I guess the big question is... is BCM connecting to the server via some
method other than TCP to Sql Server on port 5356?

Thanks,
Michael Carr

 

[Guest]

I had the same problem "cannot find data server on computer", and I did not
have a password set for the user account I was trying to connect from.

It was automatically logging (I think using the Authentication Windows not
SQL Server Authentication mechanism).

Now i get "Cannot find any Business COntact Manager databases on computer
WITS-W2003\MSSMLBIZ". I am going to figure it out, maybe it is a permissions
error.