Need alias to sql instance restored to different machine name

  • I have restored a virtual (cluster) sql instance to another sql server machine that is not clustered.  The original name was virtualsql\sqlinstance, and I installed the new instance and restored the databases to newserver\sqlinstance.  How can I set up a global alias that will redirect all references to virtualsql\sqlinstance to newserver\sqlinstance?  We have too many clients to use a client side alias.

  • If the old server is no longer used you could map the DNS name of the old server to the IP address of the new server.

    This would only be possible if you no longer use the old server.

     

  • Hi,

    are you taking the old computer off the network? If yes, then ask you network admins to create a DNS alias for the new server with the name of the old server and see if it works. I did not try it with SQL server yet but it works with a lot of things. I am going to try it here too. It may save lots of effort when renaming the server so developers don't have to modify the applications.

    This may work with things that use DNS name resolution, not NetBios

    Yelena

     

    Regards,Yelena Varsha

  • The old server is off line but I am already running a default instance on the new box.  Will the DNS name mapping work even when I am trying to access the new sql instance ?

  • I don't think you can specify a "\" in the DNS. But check with your admins and hope they might be able to give you a better handle. If not, then try to install a named instance with the same name as your old instance on your server and you can then just create a DNS entry for the servername.

  • I have tried various things with the network admins, including DNS entries.  We can get to the default instance only, not my new named instance even using the same instance name.  I was hoping that someone has successfully been able to do this and could tell me exactly what they did.

    Thanks.

  • 1. You do not need to specify a \ in the DNS alias. \ is used to separate a server name of the instance name

    2. Are you sure you have UDP 1434 open? SQL Locator service is using 1434

    Please, post here the error message that you are getting when trying to get the named instance using alias. What drivers did you use? ODBC, OLEDB, SQLclient from .NET?

    Yelena

    Regards,Yelena Varsha

  • If you are using DNS, have your administrator put a CNAME pointing the old name to the new name. If you have WINS, have your network admin insert a static entry for the old name pointing to the new IP. This will allow the clients to find the server in order to talk to the SQL Server listener port (udp/1434). Even if the server name is different than what the client references, so long as the instance name is the same you should be fine. I just tested it locally and was able to successfully make a connection even though the server name was different than what the client was looking for.

    Also, just as a test check to see if the client can get to the system using the old server name by attempting to ping the old server. That will check to see if name resolution is occuring.

    K. Brian Kelley
    @kbriankelley

  • Thanks. The DSN entry worked for other XP clients but not for my PC, which seems to be related to how my machine was originally built.  Its a little off subject but do you know of any configuration that would not allow for dynamic port connection?  If I set up an ODBC entry and specify port 1434 (port sql instance is running on), I can connect.  Otherwise I cannot.

     

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