SQLines Data - Configure and Troubleshoot Connection to SQL Server

If you are connecting to a SQL Server database on localhost you do not need to setup any additional libraries to use SQLines Data tool as they are supplied with Microsoft SQL Server.

If you need to connect to a remote SQL Server database, you need to have SQL Server Native Client installed in your local system.

Check if you already have SQL Server Native Client libraries (most Windows systems already have them):

• Windows:
  • %SYSTEMROOT%\System32\ (usually c:\Windows\System32)
    • sqlncli11.dll - SQL Server 2016, 2014 and 2012
    • sqlncli10.dll - SQL Server 2008
    • sqlsrv32.dll - SQL Server 2000

If SQL Server Native Client is not available, go to SQL Server download page, for example:

• Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Native Client - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=50402 (for Windows) and https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=28160 (for Linux).

Note that SQL Server 2012 Native Client (sqlncli11.dll) is used with Microsoft SQL Server 2016, 2014 and 2012.

• Named Pipes Provider: Could not open a connection to SQL Server [53]
• Named Pipes Provider: Could not open a connection to SQL Server [2]

Error 53 may mean you specified a bad network path. Check if the specified host name exists.

Error 2 may mean you did not specified the instance name. Specify correct server_host\instance to connect to SQL Server.