Symptoms
- Unable to connect SQL Management Studio Express to the vCenter Server database
- Connecting SQL Management Studio Express to the vCenter Server database fails
- You see the error:
A network-related or instance-specific error occurred while establishing a connection to SQL server. The server was not found or was not accessible. Verify that the instance name is correct and that SQL server is configured to allow remote connections. - When connecting to the database, you have entered localhost or local in the server name field
Resolution
To connect to the vCenter Server database using SQL Server Management Studio Express:
- Start SQL Server Management Studio Express.
- If the Connect to Server dialog does not appear, click File > Connect Object Explorer.
- Enter .\VIM_SQLEXP in the Server Name field.
Note: The default instance name is VIM_SQLEXP. - Click Connect.
Based on VMware KB 2010314
