Does BCM work over VPN?

[Stormin Norm via OfficeKB.com]

I can't get this running over our VPN.
I opened the 56183 port on both ends, but still my laptop is showing SQL
Server Service Manager not able to see the server.

I can get to a shared drive on the server through windows explorer. Not sure
what is going wrong.

HELP!
If this doesn't work by today...I'm uninstalling it and running to oShare or
Prophet.

 

[Luther]

Does sharing work without the VPN? e.g. can you reach the shared db
from other machines? Does SQL Server Service Manager work without the
VPN?

 

[Guest]

If I am in the office I can reach the shared db from two pc's running BCN.
Today I'm at home trying the VPN connection and can't even see the Server in
the SQL Server Service Manager.

I did add my userid on the server side. What else can I try??

All I want to do is have a server hosting a few thousand contacts and get a
handful of users to view/edit/update/track coorespondence with this prospect.
Should I pull the plug on BCM and go with a 3rd party app??

 

[Luther]

When you try to connect with SQL Server Service Manager, are you using
the port number in the connection string?

Can you connect to the server from your client running this from a
command line?
OSQL -E -S yourservername,56183 -d master

 

[Guest]

Funny. I tried it three times. First two I received a "Timeout expired"
message and third time I get a prompt 1>
I entered some bogus SQL statement and then "Go" and received a syntax error.
So I left the OSQL sitting there...then jumped to outlook, BCM startup
wizard tries to connect to server, but then I receive a message
"No Business Contact Manager for Outlook database could be found on computer
Server.......

Sounds like a timing problem, huh?

 

[Luther]

I believe BCM database connections time out after a minute.

A minute seems like a long time for something to get across the
internet, even with vpn. Is someone in the office using that PC? They
may be using up all the cpu for a foreground task so that sql server
can't respond.

If you ping your host to see if the connection is slow:
ping yourservername

To test if the database is available, connect again to database master
and type this:
1>SELECT name FROM sysdatabases
2>GO

You should see the name of your bcm database if its available on that
server.

 

[Guest]

That command worked great. The osql runs great, very fast and never a hickup,
no slowdown.
I kept a cmd window open and kept down-arrowing the osql statemts as the BCM
wizard ran to connect to the database. The osql returned results immediately
and never slowed down. The wizard takes forever and still gives the error
can't find server.

Do you know if the wizard is using the -E switch or not? Maybe it just can't
establish a good trust relationship with the server??

 

[Luther]

BCM is using Windows integrated security, same as OSQL, so the
permissions are the current logged in user's in both cases.

BCM should attempt the same connection to <yourservername>, using the
same odbc software installed on the client machine, as OSQL uses.

When I examine the traffic with sql profiler, BCM is sending the same
"SELECT name FROM sysdatabases" command.

It's curious that SQL Server Service Manager also can't see the server.
Where did that application come from? I don't see it on a machine with
MSDE and sql tools installed.

 

[Guest]

The SQL Service Manager is running in the system tray.
I also tried without any luck in seeing the server:
Go to Start > Run and enter "svrnetcn.exe" without the quotes and click Run.

VERY strange. I'm waiting to hear back from another user if they are able to
run BCM. Their system was installed on the LAN vs. my install over a VPN.
MMmmm.

Thanks for ALL your assistance Luther! I'm not sure what else to try. I'm
searching the web high and low for MSDE & BCM tips-n-tricks

 

[Luther]

The SQL Service Manager is running in the system tray.

I had assumed that applet only worked with the local machine's
services. I'll have to try directing it to MSDE on another machine
tomorrow and see if that works.

Other people on this newsgroup have used BCM over a VPN. If OSQL can
see the database and BCM cannot, then there is some new wrinkle in
BCM's database connection that we weren't previously aware of.

 

[Guest]

Update: Looks like a DNS resolution issue & domain trust relationship. Also
did not need port 56183 open on the firewall. I didn't think we needed that
open because VPN should handle communications without ports being
explicitedly opened.

Yesterday I went to the office and tried three different scenarios on my
laptop. I ran an osql command and outlook with BCM.

osql command used:
osql -E -S server,56183 -d master
1> select name from sysdatabases
2> GO

This laptop started life as a 'stand alone' Dell laptop and now includes a
domain signon to the office domain. Therefore I have three signons:

A) User: Administrator (admin); OfficeDomain
B) User: Stormin (regular user); OfficeDomain
C) User: Stormin (laptop admin); LaptopNativeDomain

A- Naturally A (Admin) worked great in the office. osql commands connected
fast. Today at home w/ VPN the osql command connected and ran fast. However,
I noticed outlook taking FOREVER to lookup contacts in BCM and had one test
with outlook 'not responding' and creating an error report.

B- Setup B also worked very well in the office for osql and outlook BCM. At
home with VPN, osql worked but outlook failed. Turns out the VPN TCP/IP
settings were set for dynamic DNS Server and not the static DNS server
settings as other pc's in our office. I had to enter the two DNS server
addresses in VPN Properties>Networking>Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP)>Properties>"Use the following DNS server address:">xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
(entered DNS settings)
In our topology, the ISP provides DNS resolution and not our internal
server. This is because our ISP hosts our website. It is the only way we can
view our internal server & also our website without a 440 error.
Outlook now ran without a problem for both Domain users (Admin & Regular). I
even noticed a speed improvement for the Administrator test above.

C- Scenario C also worked well with OSQL command. But never could get
outlook to work. It did not matter what the DNS settings were. The outlook
BCM wizard must require a trusted domain relationship.
Anyone know a good plain english url as to how to setup my domain controller
(Win2000) to trust my laptop?
Note: I am able to connect to the server in this scenario for file sharing &
printing, but I believe this is using WINS vs. Domain trust.

Conclusion1: OSQL does not care about DNS settings. It will resolve to the
server if it is in the LAN or VPN.

Conclusion2: Outlook is not able to resolve to the server correctly when the
VPN DNS settings are dynamic.

Conclusion3: You must have a 'trusted' relationship between computers.