Another "Failure to access the DBMS server."

[PaulHuffman]

I have new hardware running  SQL Server 2012 R2 and I'm trying to create my first Enterprise geodatabase on it but all I can get back using the two client machines I have running Desktop 10.3.1 and SQL Native Client is "Failure to access the DBMS server"  Don't understand this because I didn't have this problem with my install at a different location a couple months ago, and I just completed the instructor led course Deploying and Maintaining a Multiuser Geodatabase earlier this week.

My DBA set up the new servers as virtual servers on the same unit.  From my DBA I got:

  NSQL 192.168.3.222

  Administrator: *********

  SQL Server instance MSSQLSERVER

  sa: *********

  NSMAP 192.168.3.223

  Administrator: ************

But when I try to create my first geodatabase, I get Failure to access the DBMS server. If the SQL Native Communications driver were missing, or wrong, I think I would get a different error message,  something about communication to the SQL server. (How does one tell if the SQL Native client is installed on a client PC? Don't see it in Data Sources.)  I wondered if Windows firewall was blocking, but I turned off public and private firewall temporarily on the client NSMAP and the SQL Server NSSQL, no change. Also tried the trick to modify the host file on the client machine to resolve the SQL host name, no change.

I pulled the Create Enterprise Geodatadata tool results into a python window to make it easier to repeat iterations with minor changes. But it also makes it easy to copy and paste my attempt as text.

>>>

arcpy.CreateEnterpriseGeodatabase_management(database_platform="SQL_Server",

instance_name="MSSQLSERVER", database_name="Orthos", account_authentication="DATABASE_AUTH", database_admin="sa", database_admin_password="**********", sde_schema="SDE_SCHEMA", gdb_admin_name="sde", gdb_admin_password="sde", tablespace_name="", authorization_file="C:/Program Files

(x86)/ESRI/License10.3/sysgen/keycodes")

Runtime error Traceback (most recent call last): File "<string>",

line 1, in <module> File "c:\program files

(x86)\arcgis\desktop10.3\arcpy\arcpy\management.py", line 4857, in

CreateEnterpriseGeodatabase raise e ExecuteError: Failure to access

the DBMS server Failed to execute (CreateEnterpriseGeodatabase).

Maybe my DBA or I have made a typo. But this has me wondering now does the db account sde need to be created first? How does the RDMS know that the sde account has a password of sde?  Or is there something wrong with my network topology.  I can't ping the SQL server from my Desktop or from the neighboring server NSMAP, but I can Remote Desktop to both NSQL and NSMAP.  

[George_Thompson]

Hi Paul,

It looks like you are trying to connect to a machine called "MSSQLSERVER". Is this correct?

For the instance name put the IP address (192.168.3.222) or DNS name of the machine with SQL Server installed.

One way to make sure that it is good to go is use TELNET to the machine and the port that SQL Server is configured for. i.e. - SQLSERVERNAME 1433

Geodatabase​

-George

[PaulHuffman]

Hey George!  No, machine name is NSQL,  the SQL instance name is MSSQLSERVER.  Trying the IP address of NSQL and the host name NSQL gave me the same message.  But that's interesting that Create Enterprise Geodatabase seems to just ask for the instance.  How does it know what host to look for? And in this case the host name and instance name are different.  Maybe I have to specify the instance name in a string like NSQL\MSSQLSERVER,  like further down in the tool help.

Well, neither NSQL\MSSQLSERVER or 192.168.3.222\MSSQLSERVER worked.

The tool help warns that case sensitive instance names are not supported.  Is that what I have?

I've already had to punch holes in the Windows firewall for license service and map service.  Add ArcGIS Server and Windows Firewall   Maybe I'll look again at the firewall on NSQL.

Taking the Windows firewall down on NSQL didn't help with either Create Enterprise Geodatabase or Telnet 1433.  one of my available client machines is the virtual machine NSMAP, it's running Winodws Server 2012 R2, and apparently telnet is not available. 

[George_Thompson]

Are you running the GP tool/Python script from Server or Desktop?

Can you log into the SQL Server machine via MS SQL Server Management Studio using the provided credentials?

Is the MS SQL Server browser started on the SQL Server machine?

[PaulHuffman]

1.  Tried the tool and script both from ArcDesktop on my local PC and from my ArcServer machine NSMAP.

2.  I've logged into the SQL Server machine, NSQL, and used SSMS to connect to the instance to verify the settings.  I guess there's a way to install SSMS on one of my client machines to test the connection, but I haven't tried that.

3. Don't know what that MS SQL Server browser is. How to I check that?  How do I start it?

[AnthonyKobah]

[George_Thompson]

Install the SSMS client on another machine that the SQL Server machine itself. Then attempt to connect, you can get the SSMS client from the Microsoft website.

This will tell us if you can communicate from the client machine to the SQL Server instance.

[PaulHuffman]

I thought I could download SSMS from Download Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 Express from Official Microsoft Download Center ,  I got SQLManagementStudio_x64_ENU.exe, but much of the install GUI seems to be for installing or repairing SQL Server. Don't think I have been able to find the correct path to install SSMS because I don't see it in my Apps.   

[George_Thompson]

It is an option during the installation of SQL Server........ See the below image for the option to check.

[PaulHuffman]

I am getting a different set of setup screens.  I've tried running this a couple times, and the last time it ran, Windows reported that it was hung and looking for a solution.  I thought that was a sign it was already installed, but I can't find anything in the apps. Should it appear under Microsoft (Hey, I have Microsoft Solitaire Collection! Where did that come from, my upgrade to Win 10?) Or should it be under S?