SQL Server not discovered by installer

Products

• Information Centric Analytics

Issue/Introduction

The following error is displayed under the SQL Server Configuration on the Data Sources page of the Symantec ICA Installation Wizard after entering the Server hostname and clicking the Connect button:

Connection Error SQL Server was not discovered. Check the server name.

In some cases, you find you can connect to the database engine using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) from the server itself but not from a remote workstation.

Environment

Release : 6.x

Component : Microsoft SQL Server

Cause

This error occurs when the Information Centric Analytics (ICA) installer is unable to query the specified SQL Server host. This can be caused by any of the following conditions:

1. The provided server hostname or IP address is incorrect
2. The SQL Server service is not running on the target host
3. The SQL Server service is listening on a non-standard port and that port number was not provided in the server connection string
4. The Windows user account under which the installer is running has not been assigned sufficient privileges in SQL Server to query the master database

Resolution

To resolve the conditions listed in the Cause section of this article, refer to the following:

1. Confirm the server hostname, IP address, port, and instance name are correct. Open SQL Server Configuration Manager and navigate to SQL Server Network Configuration > Protocols for MSSQLSERVER > TCP/IP. Under the IP Addresses tab, locate the IP address that is flagged as Enabled and locate its IP Address and TCP Port number. If a named instance is being used, include the instance name in the Server connection string using the following format:

   <hostname>[\<instance>]

   For example: mssql.example.com\ica
   
   If using a non-standard port for the SQL Server service, specify the port number in the Server connection string using the following syntax:

   <hostname>[\<instance>],<port>

   For example: mssql.example.com,1480 or mssql.example.com\ica,1480
   
   
2. To confirm the SQL Server service is running for the target instance, follow this procedure:
   
   1. From the Windows Start menu, open the SQL Server <version> Configuration Manager
   2. Under SQL Server Configuration Manager, select SQL Server Services
   3. Locate the SQL Server instance to which the RiskFabric relational database will be installed
      Default instance: (MSSQLSERVER)
      Named instance: (<instance-name>)
   4. If the instance is in a stopped state, right-click the instance name and select Start
3. Per the Symantec Information Centric Analytics Administrator Guide, the account under which the Symantec ICA server installation wizard runs requires both Microsoft Windows administrator privileges on the IIS (application) and SQL host servers, and the SQL system administrator (sysadmin) role in SQL Server. For more information, refer to the Required Installation Privileges and Credentials section of the guide.

Additional Information

The following utilities are recommended for troubleshooting this error:

• telnet
  • Use to confirm target servers are reachable from the host on which the ICA installer is being run
• Wireshark
  • Use to trace the communication packets between the source and target servers
• SQL Server Profiler
  • Use to inspect the calls and responses processed by the SQL Server database engine

The ICA installer verifies the target SQL Server is reachable and running a supported edition of SQL Server (Enterprise or Developer Edition) by executing the following queries:

SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('productversion'), SERVERPROPERTY('productlevel'), SERVERPROPERTY('edition')

exec sp_executesql N'IF OBJECT_ID(''master..sysdatabases'') IS NULL EXEC sp_executesql N''select name as database_name, dbid, crdate as create_date from sysdatabases where (name = @Name or (@Name is null))'',N''@Name NVARCHAR(128)'',@Name=@Name ELSE EXEC sp_executesql N''select name as database_name, dbid, crdate as create_date from master..sysdatabases where (name = @Name or (@Name is null))'',N''@Name NVARCHAR(128)'',@Name=@Name',N'@Name nvarchar(4000)',@Name=NULL

These queries should be seen in both a SQL Server Profiler trace and a network packet capture.