Configuring SQL Server To Run On Multiple TCP Ports

I recently ran into a situation where an existing SQL Server was configured to listen to a static TCP port and not the default 1433 port. As one of our developers was trying to deploy a new application, she was unable to get it to connect to the SQL Server. This was due to the default port being hard coded within the application. Since disabling the custom port was not an option as it would have broken the SQL Server connection to the existing applications I had to configure the SQL Server instance to listen to the default 1433 port in addition to the custom port.

The following will walk you through the necessary steps of configuring SQL Server to listen to multiple ports.

The first step is to launch SQL Server Configuration Manager from the front-end of the SQL Server where you want to make the change.

Once open, expand the SQL Server Network Configuration node and then select Protocols for INSTANCE .

Next, double-click TCP/IP and then click on the IP Addresses tab.

Scroll all the way to the bottom to the IPAII group. Here you will see the current TCP Port being used by SQL Server. If it’s not set to a custom port you should see the default port of 1433.

In the below screenshot I am adding an additional port of 1550. All ports should be separated by a comma.

Once the new port has been added click OK .

In order for the new port to be active you will need to restart the SQL Server service.

This can be done from SQL Server Configuration Manager or from the Services window on the front-end server. If doing this from within Configuration Manager click on the SQL Server Service node, right-click SQL Server ( INSTANCE) and select Restart from the menu.

The only other thing you may need to consider is the network firewall. Make sure it is configured to allow the IP address and port number to connect.

In order to connect to the SQL Server using the newly assigned port simply open SQL Server Management Studio and specify the server name or IP address along with the port number, separated by a comma.

I hope the above steps have provided you with all the information you need to assign new or multiple ports to your instance of SQL Server. As demonstrated above, these steps are relatively simple to configure. Just make sure to verify that no critical processes are running prior to restarting the SQL Server service.