How to connect to a SQL Server database from a local computer?

Question

I am a Crystal Reports developer, and I have always worked with an Oracle database, and this is my first time with SQL Server.

This is what I was desperately looking for.

On my local PC, I want to connect to the SQL Server database, which is located on the database server.

I know that I need a "native SQL Server client." And I also know that I need to use the “sql server management studio” so that I can browse tables and record queries instead of using a tool like TOAD.

My questions:

• Can I use Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express from my local PC to connect to a SQL Server 2005 database on a database server?

• If I install Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express, do I still need to install the SQL Server Native Client?

Thanks Rivi

Answer 1

• Can I use Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express from my local PC to connect to the SQL SERVER 2005 database on the database server?

Yes.

If I install Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express, do I still need to install the SQL Server Native Client?

If you want to connect to the database from your application, you will need to install it. It must be installed as part of the SSMS installation.

Answer 2

Answer 1:

SQL Server Management Studio can be used to manage a local or remote SQL database server.

If you installed SQL Server Express, the default instance will be SQLExpress. To connect it locally using your Windows credentials, just type. \ SQLExpress or yourmachinename \ SQLExpress in the server name text box.

If you are hosting SQL Server on a remote server, you must use the credentials provided by the authority that hosts your SQL Server. It's easy, ask your administrator for details.

Answer 2:

See this for details.

Copy and paste the important notes from the link above:

When deciding whether to use your own SQL Server client as the data access technology of your application, you should consider several factors. For new applications, if you use a managed programming language such as Microsoft Visual C # or Visual Basic, and you need to access new features in SQL Server, you must use the .NET Framework Data Provider for SQL Server, which is part of .NET Framework If you are developing a COM-based application and need to access the new features introduced in SQL Server, you must use your own SQL Server client. If you do not need access to the new SQL Server features, you can continue to use Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC). For existing OLE DB and ODBC applications, the main problem is the need to access the new SQL Server features. If you have a mature program that does not need the new SQL Server features, you can continue to use MDAC. But if you need to access these new features, such as the new xml data type, you must use your own SQL Server client. Both SQL Server Native Client and MDAC support reading transaction isolation using row versioning, but only SQL Server Native Client supports snapshot transaction isolation. (In terms of programming, reading transactional isolation with the row version is the same as a Read-Committed transaction.) For more information, see Select row-based isolation levels. For information on the differences between the internal SQL Server client and MDAC, see "Updating the Application for the SQL Server Native Client from MDAC."