A distribution server connects to all subscription servers as an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) client. Replication requires that the ODBC 32-bit driver be installed on all distribution servers. The SQL Server 6.0 setup program automatically installs the necessary driver on Windows NT-based computers. You do not need to preconfigure ODBC Data Sources for SQL Server 6.0 subscription servers, because the distribution process will simply use the subscriber's network name to establish the connection.
By default, regardless of the security mode the servers are set for, a distribution server connects to a subscription server using a trusted connection. To support this connection, the SQL Client Configuration Utility on a distribution server (either a combined publisher/distributor or a remote distributor) must be set to use Named Pipes or Multi-Protocol as the default network.