Visual Web Dev '08 Express and DB connection string (asp.net)
April 8, 2009 - 11:49am
April 9, 2009 - 8:25pm
Check the connection strings?
You might want to check the Connection Strings you use for connection to the database. I remember I had some issues with Visual Basic Developer Express a few years ago, when I was building a .NET desktop db client. Even when these free MS dev tools don't give you the exact option you might want in the menus, you can usually accomplish it directly in the code if you know where to look / what to update. For example, have you tried to connect via IP address instead of domain?
Check out this article that seems to touch on this area a little (for Web Dev 2005 / SQL Server 2005):
http://weblogs.asp.net/bsimser/archive/2005/11/20/...
... and the excellent ConnectionStrings.com, which will give you examples of virtually every possible connection string you can imagine:
http://www.connectionstrings.com/sql-server-2005#1
Alan.
April 10, 2009 - 8:34am
Thanks
I will check into these resources. The db works fine with the website because they are on the same machine in the same domain so the connection string seems OK. We ALMOST achieved a workaround but not quite yet. I have a high speed connection to remote desktop into the server so we just installed Visual Web Studio '08 Express on the server...instant access to the DB and all the websites on the server....except the new one I'm just now setting up! Ack! The IT guy is looking into why this is (probably a setup step or permission he missed in IIS) but I'm pretty close.
Still I will look at the suggestions because I think, cross domain or not, I should still be able to do this from my machine.
Thanks guys...you rock!
Chris
April 10, 2009 - 10:38am
update
I still haven't had a chance to try to the suggestions for local yet but IT guy just called to tell me the reason why the new one was the only site I COULDN'T get into when running VWS2008e on the actual server (via Remote Desktop) was because he had forgotten to put in local host entries...its always the small things.
So where I'm at right now with Visual Web Dev 2008 Express (for those keeping score):
Local machine with mapped network access to the server (on domain A):
Can open files from the server but cant browse to IIS on server and open websites, can't open DB.
Server via Remote Desktop (on domain B):
Can now browse/open all websites in IIS and can access DB.
Actually with a gigabit connection and a server with nothing else running on it...remote desktop is actually faster than my local version! :-) The joys of computing.
-Chris
Maybe this should go under .net? i wasn't sure...
I work on a website with a DB that is on a windows server. In the past the server and my computer were in the same domain so when I fired up Visiaul Web Developer Express I had no problem finding the DB in the Database explorer.
But recently the sys admin has moved the web server to its own domain...where i used to have direct access, now I only have access either by Remote Desktop or a mapped network drive. Now I can no longer connect to the DB in VWD08e.
Is there way to overcome this? One possibility I thought of was installing VWD on the actual web server and connect through my remote desktop, but I'm thinking that surely there is a way for me to connect to the DB correctly from my machine.
BTW, since the site and db are on the same server/domain the actual site has no problem using the DB.
Thanks for any help!
-CHris
Chris Cummings
Integrity Web Development
Chattanooga Web Service