Using of SQL Server alias name instead of server name is not working in gateway

[vamshi95]

Can we use the SQL Server alias name(which is created using sql server configuration manager) as server name while creating the data source in Gateway?

I am able to create the data source using server name but not with alias name.

It would be a great help if you can respond for this post.

[dimazaid]

hi @vamshi95,
Can you try connecting via SSMS using this alias? if it works, the enterprise gateway should work as well.

Another thing to check is ensure you are connecting via the alias name in the PBI desktop and match it in the gateway(Assuming the above works).

[vamshi95]

Thanks dimazaid for looking into my post. I am able to connect to SSMS using alias name and I am able to connect to.

I am able to connect to it using Power BI desktop as well, but unable to create datasource in gateway.

Is there anything I need to check on it.

[vliet_pbi]

From Power BI desktop we connect to SQL Server on our development database server with a (recent) copy of the production database. After publishing we want to connect to the live database on our production database server; however, this server needs to have the same name (or IP-address) to get the data through the gateway. We solved this issue by adding an entry to the .hosts file on both the laptop with Power BI desktop and on the server running the Enterprise Gateway, both pointing to the IP-address of the proper server. I'll have to admit it is a dirty hack, but hey, it works, so maybe it provides a solution for you too when you seek to use a different server using the same name in both environments. I could not find any information on whether SQL Server instance aliases are recognized by the gateway; you'll never know waht happens exactly under the hood.