How to troubleshoot a shared database in Outlook with Business Contact Manager Update

This article contains the following information to help you configure shared databases in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 with Business Contact Manager Update:

• Business Contact Manager sharing best practices
• Business Contact Manager sharing configurations

Additionally, this article describes the following steps that you can take to troubleshoot sharing issues that you may experience:

• Verify the connection between the Business Contact Manager client and the Business Contact Manager server.
• Verify the connection between the Microsoft Firewall and the Business Contact Manager database.
• Verify the connection between a remote instance of Business Contact Manager and the Business Contact Manager database.
• Verify that the TCP/IP network protocol has been enabled for the Microsoft Small Business Server database instance on the remote computer.

Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 with Business Contact Manager Update now supports shared database configurations over a Local Area Network (LAN). You can use the new Business Contact Manager Sharing Wizard to configure a shared database. This article describes best practices to configure a shared database. Additionally, this article describes troubleshooting methods that you can use after you run the Business Contact Manager Sharing Wizard.

Note The troubleshooting methods assume that you successfully ran the Business Contact Manager Sharing Wizard.

This article uses the following terms:

• The Business Contact Manager server is the computer that is hosting the shared database.
• The Business Contact Manager client computer is the computer that is connecting to the shared database.
• The shared user is the user who has access to a Business Contact Manager database on the Business Contact Manager server.
• The logged-on user is the user account that is logged on to a Business Contact Manager client.

Business Contact Manager Update shared database best practices

Share databases over a LAN

In Business Contact Manager Update, databases are designed to be shared over a LAN in a domain or in a workgroup environment. It is best not to share Business Contact Manager Update databases in the following scenarios:

• You connect to a Business Contact Manager database over the Internet.
  
  Business Contact Manager databases were not designed to be shared between two Internet clients. In this scenario, there is not enough control over which ports may be available.
• You connect to a Business Contact Manager database over a wide area network (WAN).
  
  You can use a computer to connect to Business Contact Manager over a WAN, especially if the two computers reside in a unified corporate environment. However, many network administrators may close or restrict ports that are required by Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (MSDE).
• You connect to a Business Contact Manager database by using a dial-up connection or a virtual private network (VPN) connection.
  
  You can connect to a Business Contact Manager server by using either a dial-up connection or a VPN connection. However, the performance may not be satisfactory. Microsoft has not tested a configuration in which a user connects to a Business Contact Manager database by using a dial-up connection or a VPN connection. Therefore, we do not recommend this configuration.

Use the same domain or workgroup

Windows-based computers can belong either to a workgroup or to a Windows domain. However, we recommend that you configure your environment so that the Business Contact Manager server, the Business Contact Manager client, and the users all reside in the same workgroup or in the same domain.

For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Use a new account on each workstation

If many users in a workgroup use the Administrator account to log on to their individual computers, these users will use the same password to share a Business Contact Manager database. This behavior could lead to security issues. To help prevent security issues, create and use a new account on each workstation that is a member of the local Administrators group.

For more information about the Administrator account, visit the following Microsoft Web site:If the user name on the client computer has been changed, the account on the server must be the original account. The changed user name is graphical and does not actually affect the logon.

Business Contact Manager sharing configurations

The following tables describe the computer and user configurations that you can use to share data in Business Contact Manager.

Supported configurations

Unsupported configurations

Note You use the same credentials that you use to log on to the computer to access a shared database. The credentials that are used to access a mailbox are not passed to the Business Contact Manager server.

How to troubleshoot sharing issues

To troubleshoot issues that may occur with shared Business Contact Manager databases, perform the following procedures in the order that they are presented:

• Verify that the Business Contact Manager client is connecting to the Business Contact Manager server. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
  2. At the command prompt, type ping server_name.
     
     In this command, server_name is the NetBIOS name or the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the Business Contact Manager server.
  If the Business Contact Manager client is connecting to the Business Contact Manager server, you see the following results after you run the ping command:

  C:\>ping myserver
  
  Pinging myserver.contoso.com [10.0.0.1] with 32 bytes of data:
  
  Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
  Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
  Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
  Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
  
  Ping statistics for 10.0.0.1:
      Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
  Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
      Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms
  

  If the Business Contact Manager client is not connecting to the Business Contact Manager server, you see the following results after you run the ping command:

  • C:\>ping myserver.contoso.com
    Ping request could not find host myserver_name.contoso.com. Please check the name and
    try again.
    

  • C:\>ping myserver 
    
    Pinging Myserver with 32 bytes of data:
    
    Request timed out.
    Request timed out.
    Request timed out.
    Request timed out.
    
    Ping statistics for 123.0.0.2:
        Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
    

  If you cannot find the server when you run the ping command together with the NetBIOS name or the FQDN of the Business Contact Manager server, try to use the ping command together with the IP address of the server. For example, you receive the following results after you run the ping IP address of server command:

  C:\>ping 10.0.0.1
  
  Pinging myserver.contoso.com [10.0.0.1] with 32 bytes of data:
  
  Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
  Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
  Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
  Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
  
  Ping statistics for 10.0.0.1:
      Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
  Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
      Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms
  

  Note If you are not sure of the server IP address or the NetBIOS name, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
  2. At the command prompt, type ipconfig /all, and then press ENTER. You see the following information:

     C:\>ipconfig /all
     
     Windows IP Configuration
     
        Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : mymachine
        Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . : Contoso.com
        Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
        IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
        WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
        DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : Contoso.com
     
     Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
     
        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/1000 MT Network Connection
        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-08-74-16-20-91
        DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
        Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 169.0.0.126
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.252.0
     

  You are experiencing a name resolution problem if the following conditions are true:
  • You can successfully find the server when you run the ping command together with the IP address of the server.
  • You cannot find the server when you run the ping command together with the NetBIOS name or the FQDN of the server.
  To work around this problem in Business Contact Manager, connect to the Business Contact Manager server by using the IP address instead of the computer name.
  
  If you cannot successfully connect to the server when you run the ping command together with either the IP address or the NetBIOS name, you are experiencing a networking problem. You must resolve this problem before you try to share a Business Contact Manager database.
  
  For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  314067  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314067/ ) How to troubleshoot TCP/IP connectivity with Windows XP
• Verify the connection between the Microsoft Firewall and the Business Contact Manager database.
  
  If Business Contact Manager detects the presence of the Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) Firewall, two exceptions are created. One exception is for File and Printer Sharing. The other exception is for Microsoft Small Business Server. However, if the exceptions are not created, you may receive the following error message when the Business Contact Manager client tries to connect to the Business Contact Manager server:
  The Database Server on Computer <Computer_Name> is inaccessible. Confirm that the remote machine has Business Contact Manager for Outlook installed, that it is running, and that shared databases are available at that location. Firewall settings on the remote machine could also be blocking access. Check with the Administrator of the remote machine.
  You may also receive this error message if there is a third-party firewall on the Business Contact Manager server.
  
  To resolve this problem, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type wscui.cpl in the Open box, and then click OK.
  2. Click Windows Firewall.
  3. On the Exceptions tab, click Microsoft Small Business, and then click Edit.
  4. Verify that the TCP port number is 56183.
  If both the Business Contact Manager client and the Business Contact Manager server are on the same TCP/IP network, the default settings for the exception can be retained. For example, you can retain the default settings for the exception when the Business Contact Manager client and the Business Contact Manager server are in a small workgroup.
  
  If the Business Contact Manager client and the Business Contact Manager server are on different subnets, you may have to change the scope. To confirm that the Business Contact Manager client and the Business Contact Manager server are on different subnets, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type wscui.cpl, and then click OK.
  2. Click Windows Firewall.
  3. On the Exceptions tab, click to select Microsoft Small Business, and then click Edit.
  4. Click Change Scope, and then change the scope to Any Computer.
  If you can change the scope, the Business Contact Manager client and the Business Contact Manager server are on different subnets. Therefore, you must reset the default scope settings. Then, you must create a custom list to restrict the Firewall settings and to allow for only the clients that you want to access the Business Contact Manager server.
  
  For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  875357  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875357/ ) Troubleshooting Windows Firewall settings in Windows XP Service Pack 2
  164015  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/164015/ ) Understanding TCP/IP addressing and subnetting basics
• Verify that the Business Contact Manager client can establish a connection between a remote instance of Business Contact Manager and the Business Contact Manager database.
  
  To do this, follow these steps:
  1. On the Business Contact Manager client, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
  2. At the command prompt, type C:\>osql -E -S computer_name\microsoftsmlbiz,56183, and then press ENTER.
     
     Note In this command, computer_name is the IP address or the NetBIOS name of the Business Contact Manager server.
  When you run this command, the client tries to connect to the remote instance by using the OSQL utility. If the client can establish a connection to the remote instance of Business Contact Manager, an OSQL command prompt appears. An OSQL command prompt is indicated by “1>”. The appearance of an OSQL command prompt indicates that there is network connectivity and that a database has been shared. For example, if the client can establish a connection to the remote instance of Business Contact Manager, the following text appears

  C:\>osql -E -S computer_name\microsoftsmlbiz,56183
  1>
  

  If the client cannot establish a connection to the remote instance of Business Contact Manager, you may receive the following error message:

  C:\>osql -E -S computer_name\microsoftsmlbiz,56183
  [DBNETLIB]SQL Server does not exist or access denied.
  [DBNETLIB]ConnectionOpen (Connect()).
  

  This error message may indicate the following possible problems:
  • The Microsoft Firewall or a third-party firewall is blocking access to the SQL server.
  • The database has not been shared for the user who is trying to access the server.
  • The Business Contact Manager client and the Business Contact Manager server are in different workgroups or in different domains. For more information, see the tables in the “Business Contact Manager sharing configurations” section.
  • The two computers cannot communicate at a networking level.
  Important Remember that the credentials that are used for database access are the same credentials that are used to log on to the computer. Therefore, make sure that you are running the OSQL utility as a user who has been assigned access to a database on the Business Contact Manager server.
• Make sure that the TCP/IP network protocol has been enabled for the Microsoft Small Business Server database instance on the remote computer.
  
  To do this, follow these steps on the Business Contact Manager server:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type svrnetcn.exe, and then click OK.
  2. In the SQL Network Utility window, click to select the Business Contact Manager instance in the Instance{s} on this server box.
  3. In the Server Network Utility window, verify that Named Pipes and TCP/IP are enabled in the Enabled Protocols box.
  4. In the Enabled Protocols box, click TCP/IP, and then click Properties.
  5. Verify that the TCP port number is 56183.
  6. Stop and restart the SQL Service.
• Verify that remote Business Contact Manager users do not have blank passwords.
  
  Users to whom you grant Business Contact Manager database access must not have blank passwords. When you try to give access to a user who has a blank password, the remote user receives the following message when the user tries to connect to a remote database:
  Your attempt to connect to the remote computer <username>, where the database is stored, could not be completed due to the following reasons: BCM has not been granted access to the remote computer <user name>. The owner of the database you want to use has not granted you access to the database and the database computer. Request access from the database owner. The password that BCM uses to logon to the computer <username> is different than the password BCM uses to logon to the local computer <local computer username>, where you are working from To access a shared database on computer <username> from computer <local username>, your password on the remote computer must match the password on the local computer.
• Verify that the MSSQL$MICROSOFTSML instance is listening on port 56183.
  
  To do this, use the NETSTAT -AN command to look for an entry that resembles the following entry:
  TCP 0.0.0.0:56183 0.0.0.0:0 LISTENING
  View the SQL Server ERRORLOG file to verify that the MSSQL$MICROSOFTSML instance is initializing the correct port. This file is in the following location:
  C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL$MICROSOFTSMLBIZ\LOG
  This file should have an entry that resembles the following entry:
  2007-01-17 01:08:58.40 server SQL server listening on 10.0.0.0: 56183 server IP: Port
  View the following registy key to determine on which port the MSSQL$MICROSOFTSML instance is configured to listen:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\MICROSOFTSMLBIZ\MSSQLServer\SuperSocketNetLib\Tcp Reg
  SZ: TcpPort
  Value: 56183
  The instance should be configured to listen on 56183.