Indiaaccess Web Hosting SQL Server Support

Indiaaccess Web Hosting is proud to offer Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 support for all of its hosting customers.  SQL Server 7.0 is the industry standard high-performance, reliable, scalable database solution for all of your Internet and e-business needs.  

PC Week Labs concluded that the Microsoft web platform, which includes Windows NT 4.0 and SQL Server 7.0, is "like a bolt of lightning" and "fast enough for any business on earth."  SQL Server 7.0 consistently outperforms Oracle, Ingress, Informix, Sybase, and others, which is why offering our customers SQL Server 7.0 for a fraction of the cost of other hosting companies is consistent with our goal of providing you the best products and services available at the most affordable price.  

You have complete remote control of your database using familiar Microsoft management tools, and your SQL Server database is maintained and monitored 24 hours a day by our staff of Microsoft-certified engineers for 100% reliability.  You have enough things to worry about.  The reliability and performance of your data shouldn't be one of them.

Indiaaccess Web Hosting SQL Server FAQs

This page answers three commonly asked questions:

  1. How do I set up my PC to connect to my SQL Server database at Indiaaccess Web Hosting?
  2. How do I add my Indiaaccess Web Hosting database to my SQL Server Enterprise Manager?
  3. What's the best way to transfer data that I already have to my Indiaaccess Web Hosting SQL Server database?

How do I set up my PC to connect to my SQL Server database at Indiaaccess Web Hosting?

Setting up your PC to connect to your SQL Server database at Indiaaccess Web Hosting is necessary before you can do anything else with your SQL Server database from your PC.  Please note that you must have already installed the Client Connectivity portion of SQL Server 7.0 on your local machine before continuing.

1) Make sure that you are connected to the Internet and have the TCP/IP protocol enabled.

2) Run the Client Network Utility program, found in the Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 program group.  If you do not have this program group, then you have not installed at least the Client Connectivity portion of SQL Server 7.0 on your local machine, which is necessary to connect to your SQL Server database at Indiaaccess Web Hosting.

3) Click the "Add..." button to add a new SQL Server entry.  Enter the settings in the screenshot below and click "OK".

4) Click "OK" again to exit the Client Network Utility.

5) To test your connection to your SQL Server database Remotely from your PC, you should run the Query Analyzer, also found in the Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 program group, and perform the following steps:

a) In the "Connect to SQL Server" dialog box that appears, select "www2" as the SQL Server to connect to.  If www2 isn't listed in the drop-down box, click the ellipse (...) button and select www2.

b) Select the "Use SQL Server authentication" connection option, and enter your SQL Server username and password supplied to you by Indiaaccess Web Hosting (see screenshot below).  Click "OK" to connect to the www2 SQL Server database.

c) After your connected, enter the following query and click the green arrow in the toolbar to execute it:

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM SYSCOLUMNS

The query should return a single number as a result, usually 391 for a new database.  If you are able to successfully execute this query, then you have verified your client connection to your database, as well as your SQL Server username and password.

NOTE: If your connection to your SQL Server database failed in step (b) above, verify that you entered the client network information correctly in step (3) above.  Also, verify that you are not trying to connect to the INDIAACCESS SQL Server database from behind a firewall.  Many firewalls by default do not allow TCP/IP traffic on port 1433, which is the default port for SQL Server.  If you are attempting to connect from work, or some other location that may have a firewall installed, you may want to try connecting to your INDIAACCESS SQL Server database from your home, or some other location where you are certain you are not behind a firewall.


How do I add my Indiaaccess database to my SQL Server Enterprise Manager?

To administer your SQL Server database, you will most likely want to use the SQL Server Enterprise Manager.  This is installed in the Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 program group.  If you do not see this option available, you may need to re-install the SQL Server client on your machine, making sure you select "Management Tools" under the options during setup.

Follow these steps to add your Indiaaccess SQL Server database to Enterprise Manager:

1) Verify that you able to successfully connect to you SQL Server database by performing step (5) in the FAQ section "How do I set up my PC to connect to my SQL Server database at Indiaaccess Web Hosting?"

2) Run the Enterprise Manager, located in the Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 program group.

3) Click the "Action" menu item and select "Add New SQL Server Registration" to continue.  You can also right-click on the "Microsoft SQL Servers" node on the server tree and select the same thing.

4) In the "Registered SQL Server Properties" dialog box that appears, select "www2" as the Server to connect to.  If www2 isn't listed in the drop-down box, click the ellipse (...) button and select "www2".  Select the "Use SQL Server authentication" connection option, and enter your SQL Server username and password supplied to you by Indiaaccess Web Hosting (see screenshot below).  Click "OK" to register your INDIAACCESS SQL Server database.

5) Once your INDIAACCESS SQL Server database is registered, you will be able to connect to the INDIAACCESS SQL Server and administer your database.  Please note that you will be able to see all databases on the INDIAACCESS SQL Server, but you will only have permissions to view and modify your own database.

NOTE: When you connect to your SQL Server database with Enterprise Manager, you may see a popup dialog box with the following: "The SQL Server \\XXX is not know to be running.  Do you wish to connect?"  This is displayed because Enterprise Manager does not attempt to verify the state of a INDIAACCESS SQL Server registration before trying to connect.  This does not cause any problems, nor does it indicate an existing problem.  Click "Yes" to continue and you will be connected to your database.


What's the best way to transfer data that I already have to my Indiaaccess Web Hosting SQL Server database?

If you have data you want to transfer to your new database, the best way to do this is by using the "Import and Export Data" program, found in the Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 program group.  This runs the Microsoft Data Transformation Services (DTS) Wizard, which will guide you step-by-step through transferring your data to your SQL Server database at Indiaaccess.  If you do not see this option available, you may need to re-install the SQL Server client on your machine, making sure you select "Management Tools" under the options during setup.

While the DTS Wizard will transfer data from a large number of formats to SQL Server, we recommend that you get your data in the format you want it in either an Access database or a local SQL Server database before transferring it to your INDIAACCESS SQL Server database.  This will help ensure that the resulting database is in the format you expect.

A NOTE ABOUT THE MICROSOFT ACCESS UPSIZING WIZARD: the upsizing wizard has a number of known compatibility and scalability issues that make it unreliable when transferring data over a slow (i.e. dial-up) connection, or transferring large amounts of data, among other scenarios.  The DTS Wizard is as easy (if not easier) to use as the upsizing wizard, and works very well with SQL Server 7.0 over a remote connection.  Therefore, we do offer technical support for problems transferring data with the DTS Wizard, but not for transferring data with the Access upsizing wizard.  If you are having problems transferring data using the upsizing wizard, we strongly recommend using the DTS Wizard.

Follow these steps to transfer data using the DTS Wizard:

1) Verify that you able to successfully connect to you SQL Server database by performing step (5) in the FAQ section "How do I set up my PC to connect to my SQL Server database at Indiaaccess Web Hosting?"

2) Run the "Import and Export Data" program, located in the Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 program group.

3) Click "Next" from the introduction screen, and on the "Choose a Data Source" screen, select the source where your data currently resides.  The screenshot below illustrates selecting the Northwind.mdb Access database:

The options you will have to fill in will vary depending on the data source type you select in the "Source" drop-down list box.  For example, you'd select the default "Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server" if you were transferring data from a local SQL Server.

4) Click "Next" to continue.

5) On the "Choose a Destination" screen, leave the default "Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server" as the source.  Select "www2" for the Server to copy data to.  Select the "Use SQL Server authentication" connection option, and enter your SQL Server username and password supplied to you by Indiaaccess Web Hosting.  Then click the "Refresh" button to retrieve a list of databases from the INDIAACCESS SQL Server, and select your database from the "Database" drop-down list box.  See the screenshot below for an example.

6) Click "Next" to continue.

7) On the "Specify Table Copy or Query" screen, select "Copy table(s) from the source database" and click "Next" to continue.

8) If you see the "Select Source Tables" screen, you can specify which tables you would like to copy to your INDIAACCESS SQL Server.  Unless you are an expert user, leave the defaults for the "Destination Table" and "Transform" columns.  Click "Next" to continue.

9) On the "Save, Schedule, and Replicate Package" screen, leave the default "Run Immediately" selection checked, and click "Next" to continue.

10) Lastly, on the summary screen, review your selections and click "Finish" to execute the data transfer.