Datamaker SQL Server Connection fails: SQL Server Native Client 11.0 Encryption not supported on the client.

Products

• CA Test Data Manager (Data Finder / Grid Tools)

Issue/Introduction

We are in the process of reinstalling TDM 4.9 application and Database on new Windows Server 2022 R2 system. Our current TDM application and Database is hosted on a Windows Server 2008 R2 OS, and will need to be decommissioned. The current TDM system is working fine, and we are able to establish the ODBC connection for DataMaker. The SQL Server 2019 database is also running on a Windows Server 2019 OS. However, when attempting to create the ODBC on the new server, we are seeing the following error: 

Connection failed:
SQLState: '08001'
SQL Server Error: 21
[Microsoft][SQL Server Native Client 11.0]SSL Provider: The client and server cannot communicate, because they do not possess a common algorithm.

Connection failed:
SQLState: '08001'
SQL Server Error: 21
[Microsoft][SQL Server Native Client 11.0]Client unable to establish connection

 

Note: Both Application and Database server have TLS1.2 enabled and Database in SQL Hotel so enabling the TLS1.0 or 1.1 version is not an option.

Environment

Release : 4.9.1

Cause

The error is being thrown because the SQL Server and SQL Server Native Client 11.0 are not using the same protocol (SSL Provider) to establish the SSL Handshake. This is likely because the SQL Server is configured to only allow TLSv1.2 as mentioned, but the SQL Server Native Client 11.0 does not support TLSv1.2, and is using SSLv3.0, TLSv1.0, or TLSv1.1 instead. Therefore, the connection is failing. This has nothing to do with TDM, and will require working with your SQL Server DBA, or Windows Admin to resolve.

There are a couple of things you can check before engaging the DBA or Windows Admin:

1. Make sure the SQL Server Native Client 11.0 is enabled for TCP/IP. This is disabled by default.
   
   
   
   
2. If you have a newer SQL Server client installed on the TDM server, such as SQL Server version 10.00.17763.4252, try using it instead of the SQL Server Native Client 11.0.
   

Resolution

More research on SQL Server Native Client 11.0 and the error that you are seeing:

[Microsoft][SQL Server Native Client 11.0]SSL Provider: The client and server cannot communicate, because they do not possess a common algorithm.

There are a couple of articles that may help:

• https://sqlvandalism.com/2017/03/19/the-client-and-server-cannot-communicate-because-they-do-not-possess-a-common-algorithm/
  
  
• Microsoft: KB3135244 - TLS 1.2 support for Microsoft SQL Server.

You might want to have your SQL Server DBA, or Windows Admin review them to see if this could be the cause of the error. Based on the first article, you could be running a release of the SQL Server Native Client 11.0 that does not support TLS1.2.