Failure to access the DBMS server

[CynthiaWanschura]

I�??m getting a �??Failure to access the DBMS server�?� error when I try to create an ArcSDE geodatabase in ArcCatalog 10.1.  Someone else had a similar problem:
http://forums.arcgis.com/threads/66442-Cannot-Connect-to-SQL?highlight=Failure+access+DBMS+server

I�??ve tried everything mentioned in that forum but I�??m still having trouble.  Here�??s my setup:

Installed on my 64-bit Windows Server 2008 Server:
- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 (64-bit)
- ArcSDE 10.1 for Microsoft SQL Server
- ArcGIS 10.1 SP1 for Server - Enterprise (Advanced)

Installed on my 64-bit Windows 7 Desktop:
- ArcGIS 10.1 SP1 for Desktop - Advanced (ArcInfo)
- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Native Client

The installation of ArcGIS Server was a completely clean installation; no version of ArcGIS Server had been on the server prior.  When I recently upgraded a server that had ArcGIS Server 10.0 on it prior, I encountered no trouble.  It makes me think there was a SQL or Windows setting that I changed long ago in 10.0 that carries through but I can�??t think what.  I�??m an administrator both in Windows and in SQL.

I would greatly appreciate help so I can stop banging my head against the wall.  🙂

Thank you!

[ThomasDunn]

When you install the 32-bit SQL Native client, you get only the 32-bit client. It is the DLL loaded by 32-bit applications like ArcGIS Desktop. The 32-bit installer is meant for use with 32-bit Windows only.

When you install the 64-bit SQL Native Client, you get both the 64-bit and the 32-bit client. This allows either 64-bit or 32-bit applications to load the appropriate DLL. You should install the 64-bit client on 64-bit Windows because 64-bit Windows can host both 64-bit and 32-bit applications.

[ShannonShields]

You choose the SQL Server Native Client based on your OS. If it is a 64-bit OS, you must install the 64-bit client. As Tom says, the 64-bit client contains both 32-bit and 64-bit components. Even though ArcGIS Desktop is a 32-bit application, you'll still install the 64-bit Native Client.

-Shannon

[CynthiaWanschura]

The 64-bit installation of Native Client is already installed.  Is there another likely culprit?  I can access the server through Windows just fine.  I can also access the SDE features from ArcGIS Desktop installed on the server itself.  However, I still get the error "Failure to access the DBMS server" when I try to run SDE features from ArcCatalog on my Desktop.

Thank you for the help!

[ThomasDunn]

First, use SQL Server Configuration Manager to make sure that connections are supported over TCP/IP. Documentation for this is found at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms174212(v=sql.105).aspx

The next thing is to check basic connectivity. You mentioned that you can access the server through Windows, so let's assume that it is not an address resolution problem or a basic network problem.

If you have SQL Server Management Studio installed on the client, you can try using that to connect to SQL Server on the remote server. This will test whether the SQL Native Client is installed, whether the port is open on the client firewall, and whether your connection credentials are correct. You can download SSMS from Microsoft.

If you don't have SSMS installed and do not want to download and install it, you can check connectivity with a tool available from Codeplex named the Port Ping Utility, or portping.exe. You can find it at http://portping.codeplex.com/. Enter the server name and the port number (1433). If the server is alive and accepting connections, you will see:

Attempting to resolve myservername to an address
myservername resolved to nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn in 0 milliseconds
Success! Pinged port 1433 in 16 milliseconds

If the server exists but SQL Server is not running on the port, you will see:

Attempting to resolve myservername to an address
myservername resolved to nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn in 15 milliseconds
Error Detected: Connection refused (10061) returned.

If the server is unreachable, you will see:

Attempting to resolve myservername to an address
Error detected: Host not found (11001)
Failed to ping port!