sql server msde: Users of my application connect to MSDE from a PDA. With a PDA it's not
possible to specify ServerName\InstanceName so it has to be specified as
ServerName,PortNumber. When I applied SP4 to MSDE the port number changed
which means customers will need to change the port number of every PDA, does
anyone know of a way to stop this happening?

Thanks,
Michael

hi Michael,
[quoted text, click to view]

this can be depending on a new port assignement to the MSDE instance...
Named instances can have 2 possibile behaviours..
dynamically assigned ports (default) or static ports...
when the default behaviour is enableb, each time the server is started it
searc for a free TCP/IP port to be used and, in case of a successive
re-start, it tries to use that old port, passing to another one if it finds
it's no longer free...
for standard connections the UDP port 1434 must be open as well to allow the
SQL Server Resolution Service, a listener on this port, to get from the MSDE
instance information about the used port to be dispatched to the original
caller in order to allow a dynamic redirection...

if you specify a static port, that port will always be used, the listener on
UDP 1434 is no longer needed, but you have to map, on each remote client pc
the server to an Alias, using the Client Network Utility...

BTW, it's not a good idea to hardcode this information... and you can use,
on the server, the Server Network Utility to assign a static port as
neede/required...
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;823938
--
Andrea Montanari (Microsoft MVP - SQL Server)
http://www.asql.biz/DbaMgr.shtm http://italy.mvps.org
DbaMgr2k ver 0.14.0 - DbaMgr ver 0.59.0
(my vb6+sql-dmo little try to provide MS MSDE 1.0 and MSDE 2000 a visual
interface)
--------- remove DMO to reply

[quoted text, click to view]

Thanks Andrea, that was useful information. I think I might go with a fixed
port number, I don't see it as much of a problem as sqlserver does this
anyway. In the rare cases that the port is being used I can provide a method
to change it. The great thing about using a fixed port is that it's one less
step for the users to have to do when setting up my app on the PDA.

The only problem I found was SP4 set the port back to dynamic but my
installer can set it back again.

Michael