SQL Connection error - Named Pipes

Hi steveelder ,

Do you use IP address or computer name to connect to the remote SQL Server default instance? According to the above error message, there are some proposals for you troubleshooting this issue.

1. Make sure the machine that is running SQL Server is reachable. In other words, you are able to ping the server.
2. Verify that the target SQL Server is listening on 1433 port, if you are connecting to a port other than TCP port 1433, you must also open the UDP port 1434 for the SQL Server Browser service.
3. Use “IP address, port” or “tcp:computername” as server name to connect to SQL Server and check if it is successful.

For more detailed troubleshooting steps, please review the following blog.

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/2102.how-to-troubleshoot-connecting-to-the-sql-server-database-engine.aspx

Thanks,
Lydia Zhang