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Configuration

By default, SQL Server Express does not accept incoming TCP/IP connections. EventSentry however needs remote access to the database through TCP/IP in order for the remote the remote agents to write to the database.

To enable this, open the SQL Server Configuration Manager from Start -> All Programs -> Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 -> Configuration Tools

You can see on the right that TCP/IP is set to "Disabled". Right click on it and choose "Enable". It will warn you that the SQL Server will need to be restarted for changes to take effect. To do this, click on "SQL Server Services". Right-click "SQL Server (EVENTSENTRY)" and choose "Restart".

Now we need to find out which port it is running on. Double click TCP/IP to bring up its properties. Click on the "IP Addresses" tab.

Under "IPAll" at the bottom, you will see "TCP Dynamic Ports". This is the port that the SQL Server is listening on. In this case, it is running on port 49171. Yours will most likely be different.

Make a note of this port since we will need it later when setting up our connection string.

If you are using Windows Firewall, then you will most likely need to open this port.