Connecting to an MSSQL Instance that Is Not Using the Default Port (Magic xpa 3.x)

Objective

Some MSSQL database servers use a non-default port number (not the default 1433).

This Technical Note describes the required configuration to communicate with this type of database.

Solution

Entering a server name – comma – port (for example: MyServer,1444) is not possible because the INI is sensitive to commas; using a comma causes a corruption of the INI database entry.

The solution is to define an alias.

There are two ways to define an alias:

1. If SQL Native Client is installed on the machine:

1. Open the Native Client console using the command:
   
   C:\WINDOWS\system32\mmc.exe /32 "C:\WINDOWS\system32\SQLServerManager.msc"
   
   Or by using the menu:
   
   Start -> All Programs -> Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 -> Configuration Tools -> SQL Server Configuration Manager

2. Define a new alias as shown in the image below:
   
   

2. If SQL Native Client is not present on the machine:

1. Open the Client Network Utility console using the command:
   
   c:\WINDOWS\system32\cliconfg.exe

2. Define a new alias as shown in the image below:
   
   

Using the alias from Magic xpa:

Define a new database entry using the alias name as the "server name".