Skip to main content

Error: Check Your SQL Server Settings in Audit Database Settings

  • "We are moving Netwrix Auditor to a new domain/server and getting a connection error on DB restore."
  • "We are migrating our Netwrix DB over to a new domain/server. Netwrix Auditor is installed on the new domain/server. SQL DB is coming from SQL 2019, new DB server is SQL 2022 and we are getting a connection error on the SQL listener."

Symptoms​

Netwrix Auditor prompts one of the following error messages when you set up the Audit Database:

Error validating settings. Check your SQL Server settings.
The network location cannot be reached. For information about network troubleshooting, see Windows Help
Error validating settings. Check your SQL Server settings.
SQL Server error occurred (17, [DBNETLIB][ConnectionOpen (Connect()).] SQL Server does not exist or access denied.)

Causes​

Refer to the list of possible causes for the error:

  1. An incorrect SQL Server name is specified in the Audit Database settings.
  2. The SQL Server is not configured to allow remote connections.
  3. The SQL Server network protocols are disabled.

Resolutions​

  1. Verify the SQL Server instance name specified in the Audit Database settings. Refer to the following article for additional information: Specifying the SQL Server Instance Name.
  2. Configure your SQL Server instance to allow remote connections. Learn more in Configure remote access (server configuration option) — Use SQL Server Management Studio ⸱ Microsoft 🧩.
  3. Enable the TCP/IP protocol in the SQL Server—refer to the following article for additional information: Enable TCP/IP Protocol in SQL Server.

NOTE: Alternatively, review the TCP port used for SQL Server communication—learn more in Configure SQL Server to listen on a specific TCP port — Assign a TCP/IP port number to the SQL Server Database Engine ⸱ Microsoft 🧩. For additional information on setting a custom TCP port in Netwrix Auditor, refer to the following article: Specify Custom SQL Server Port for Netwrix Auditor Audit Database.