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Connecting to SQL Server Express

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This section provides information about using Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SQL Server Express) on a network. If you are developing an application that connects to an instance of SQL Server Express over a network, there are several considerations you must take into account:

  • For security reasons, networking protocols are disabled by default in SQL Server Express. Individual protocols can be enabled manually or during installation of SQL Server Express.
  • SQL Server Express is typically installed as a named instance. The default name of the instance is SQLExpress.
  • SQL Server Browser is used by some networking protocols to associate named instances with TCP/IP port numbers. However, if SQL Server Express is installed on the same computer as a pre-SP3 version of MSDE or SQL Server 2000, there might be conflicts. Also, the SQL Server Browser service does not start automatically after installation. For more information, see Using SQL Server Browser.

In This Section

This section includes the following topics:

Topic Description

Using Named Instances

Describes how to reference an instance of SQL Server Express that is in a named instance.

Protocols Supported by SQL Server Express

Describes networking protocols supported by SQL Server Express.

Using SQL Server Browser

Describes how SQL Server Browser works.