Cannot connect to SQL Server from local machine to virtual machine hosted on another PC

Question

I have installed SQL Server Express 2008 R2 on a Windows 7 virtual machine - this virtual machine is hosted on another PC on our network. I would like to connect to the server using SQL Server Management Studio from my local machine but I get the following error:

First thing I tried was to be able to ping my virtual machine and I was able to do so by changing some settings on my Virtual Box and also firewall settings for my virtual machine. I've also made sure that the sa account is enabled which I will be using to access the server. From here on I am stuck.

Solution

SQL Express by default doesn't listen to TCP. You need to turn on "TCP/IP" in SQL Server Configuration Manager → Network Configuration → Protocols.

Additionally, if the Express instance is not the default one you'll need to have the SQL Browser service running. Configure firewall accordingly.

Comments

[joeqwerty]

Ping isn't a SQL Server connectivity testing tool. Have you made sure that TCP/IP and or Named Pipes are enabled for SQL Server?

[jmc]

@joeqwerty Yes I did on the sql configuration manager

[tasmanian_devil]

Do you installed SQL as named instance or default ?

[jmc]

@tasmanian_devil it is a named instance