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      Setting up Firewall Exceptions for Acctivate.

      In order to work on the server, SQL server needs to be allowed through firewall. In order to work on workstations, the SQL server browser service needs to be allowed through firewall.

      By default, the Windows Firewall service is enabled in most Windows operating systems. The firewall may block SQL Server access from workstations on your network. You may need to add exceptions to the Firewall on the Windows Server to allow SQL Server connections.

      Follow the step-by-step instructions summarized from this Microsoft KB article to add exceptions for SQL Server.  Both the SQL Server and SQL Server Browser services need to be permitted through the Windows Firewall.

      The steps in this article should be taken only by an IT professional within your company. The Acctivate support team is unable to advise on the specific security needs of your server.

      1. Open the Services management console (services.msc) on the computer running Microsoft SQL Server from the Start Menu.
      2. In the Services window, scroll down through the list of services and right click SQL Server (ACCTIVATE), then click Properties. 

        Firewall-Properties
      3. Highlight and copy the Path to executable (e.g. “C:\Program Files\ACCTivate\Database\…\sqlservr.exe”) and click Cancel. Do not copy anything after the quotes end.
        1. Exec
      4. Enter “Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Settings” into the Start Menu search field and hit Enter. In the new window, right click “Inbound Rules” and select "New Rule"
        1. New Rule
      5. Select "Program" and click Next.
      6. Paste the path from step 3 into the "This program path:" box. Exclude the quotes.
      7. Click "Allow the Connection" and then Next.
      8. Select the network types this apply too, most likely "Domain" and "Private"
      9. Name the Rule and give it a description if you wish.
      10. Repeat steps 1-9 to also add an exception for the SQL Server Browser (sqlbrowser.exe).

      Please Note: The SQL Server Browser Service always listens on UDP 1434.  The ACCTIVATE SQL Server instance dynamically selects an available TCP port.  Microsoft has posted a KB article that explains how to configure a static TCP port.

      You may encounter an issue with Workstations being unable to log into Acctivate on the first attempt, but the following attempts may succeed. If that's the case, you'll need to change the protocol for the firewall exception. See this article for more information.