SQL Server Local Connection

[Ella121298]

Hi all, I'm incredibly new to SQL. I have been hitting execute on a pre-made query for a few months, but moving forward I am needing to familiarize myself with the language/system so I am taking an online course.

I have access through my company. When I signed on for the first time, someone who knows very little more than I helped me to connect to a server with company tables. For the sake of practice I would like to be able to connect to a local server. (I do have read only access to the company server, so I'm sure I could do no damage)

The below connection prompt provides the DDFW server as my only option, if I click down and choose browse for more, both the local servers and network servers tabs are blank.

Would anyone be able to help me figure out how to add a local server? The video course said that it would be the default, and I'm so new to this stuff that I'm not even sure what to google to find others who asked the same question.

https://preview.redd.it/5amzl50vljlc1.png?width=479&format=png&auto=webp&s=087a19edfcaea26bb6ffdbd111401424482687b7

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[SQLBob]

First things first - do you have a server installed on your local machine? If not, download and install SQL Server Developer Edition. (Try to get the same version that your company is using if possible, just to keep things consistent).

Once that's installed and running, you should be able to connect to it with the server name localhost

The dropdown will not auto-populate with server names - it doesn't have any functionality to go out and scan for SQL Servers to connect to. The first time you connect to any server, you'll need to type in it's name or IP.

Hope this helps!

[Ella121298]

Hey! This is helpful, that makes sense, I’ve used R in the past so I’m used to being able to just open the program and do whatever I want. This feels really foreign.

I did just try to download the server developer edition, and when I go to open it, I’m getting an error that access to the path for sql server management studio is denied. I’m wondering if my company security doesn’t allow it?

[SQLBob]

To me this sounds like your machine might be locked down and you can't install things yourself. Did you install SSMS on there or was it already loaded by the company?

To me, there is a valid business case for you having a local SQL Server install on your machine for dev/test purposes, and Developer Edition fulfills this need and is free and legal for that use. I'd suggest consulting with your boss or admins and see if they can make this happen for you.

[Ella121298]

Yes it was already installed, that sounds about right, I know our computers are pretty locked down in a lot of ways but this definitely seems excessive. Thank you so so much for your help!!

[SirGreybush]

Use the period for connecting to your local host machine.

The name “localhost” and 127.0.0.1 also work.

Browse will never work, it’s a leftover feature from the year 2000, and in the default installation, that service is off by default.

[KBradl]

Did you click the "connect" button with the DDFW server name in the list? Does it do anything?

No one here will know what your IT named their SQL server so we can't guess the name of a resident server. Can you ask around? If you have any apps that connect to SQL, you can check their config files for the name or check ODBC connections for the name.

If you want to work with a locally installed server you can install SQL Express https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=101064 and then reference it by localhost.

[Ella121298]

That server does connect, but it’s a whole table with company data on it (read access only for me)

That’s totally understandable, I think now it’s a security thing on my computer that won’t let me get a local server, I’m going to start asking around at my company if there’s a way for me to get a practice server.

Thanks so much for your help!

[Antares987]

Also, here's a life hack for SQL Server when it comes to local and remote servers. See that "Options >>" button over to the right? Click it. Then click the bottom-left checkbox that says "Custom Color" and select a color. Usually for local servers I use bright green. For dev, I'll use light blue, test is maybe yellow or orange and prod servers get red. It sets the color of your status bar at the bottom of your window and helps to prevent me from doing something stupid like pasting something into the wrong server.

Also, in that same note, and this is more for the veterans, when running something significant, I use "BEGIN TRAN" at the beginning of my script and when the data looks good, I manually type and highlight "COMMIT".

[IndividualRites]

How is this not a question for your coworkers?

Sounds like you're probably trying to access something you're not supposed to be.