connect sql server 2005/2008 over internet

Question

How do I connect to SQL Server 2005/2008 using Management Studio or other desktop application over the internet?

Answer 1

Check out WCF Data Services:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/data/bb931106.aspx

That way, you don't have to totally expose your database server out to the internet, but you get fine grained control over what gets exposed and who (which type of user) can see or modify what.

Marc

Answer 2

I finally solved this by:

Changing default SQL Port to 8080 from 1433 (our ISP was blocking)

Turning off Windows Firewall on the server. I know this is not a long term solution, but at least I was able to pinpoint the problem. I had set two inbound firewall rules to allow port 8080 and SSMS program, on the server. I created an outbound firewall rule on the client for SSMS (but don't think this mad a difference).

I had to change all apps to use the new port instead of the default port. I had to configure our router to handle the new port 8080 and forward to the database server.

I will modify the Windows Firewall settings to see what was blocking SSMS.

DB Server: Windows 7 Pro 64bit 24 GB RAM