Fortis: SQL Server Does Not Exist or Access Denied

Answer:
When attempting to open a database in Fortis, you would receive this message:
"SQL Server Does Not Exist or Access Denied"

There are a few things you can check to see if one of these resolves the issue.

1)      Make sure the SQL Services Started (SQL Server browser and SQL Server (DBSERVER) )
2)      Enable TCP/IP within SQL Configuration Manager (In the left pane, expand SQL Server Network Configuration and click Protocols for DBSERVER, in the right pane right-click on TCP/IP and click Enable)
3)      Mixed mode Authentication – (Open SQL Management Studio- Right click on the database – Properties – Permissions – Security – and enable SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode)
4)      Check to make sure DBS and Base INI are pointed correctly. (DBS.ini needs to point to the correct SQL Server; base.ini should reference the UNC path to the Fortis Application Server)
5)      SYSADM is owner of the database(s) in SQL – (Also SYSADM needs the "dbcreator" server role in SQL)
6)      Test an ODBC Connection (32-bit) to the SQL server (Fortis will make the same kind of connection when opening a database). If you cannot open a connection to the database, it may be a firewall/network issue.
7)     Make sure the Server Service (under services) is running.
8)     Also make sure Network Discovery is enabled on the server. The following are dependent services of Network Discovery (they need to be enabled)
-     Computer Browser
-     DHCP Client
-     DNS Client
-     Network Connections
-     Network Location Awareness
-     Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
-     Server
-     TCP/IP Netbios helper
-      Workstation
-      DNS Client
-      Function Discovery Resource Publication
-      SSDP Discovery
-      UPnP Device Host

If you have tried all the above options, and/or cannot open an ODBC connection try the following:

1)      It may be a Firewall Issue, on the workstation or on the server. You can try disabling the Firewall (And/Or Windows Defender) on the workstation and on the server. If you can open the database after this, make sure you add exceptions for SQLSVR.EXE, and the following ports: IN&OUT 1433TCP – 1434UDP.

Note: Your SQL server may be running on a different port. See this article for more information (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/823938)

2)      Make sure you can ping and access the SQL server. Also you can try changing the DBS.ini to use IP address instead of Server Name