Configuring a client Net-Library to communicate with a server is optional. Your default client Net-Library, installed during SQL Server Setup, is Named Pipes for computers running Microsoft® Windows NT® or Microsoft Windows® 95/98. If the default network protocol connects to your server, you may not need to reconfigure the client connection. You should only configure the client when you must:
By default, SQL Server on computers running Windows NT listens on the server Named Pipes, TCP/IP Sockets, and Multiprotocol Net-Libraries. SQL Server on computers running Windows 95/98 listens on the server TCP/IP Sockets and Multiprotocol Net-Libraries. If the connection is local on a computer running Windows 95/98 (client and server on the same computer), SQL Server listens on the server Shared Memory Net-Library.
Because the default client Net-Library for SQL Server clients making remote connections is Named Pipes, which is not supported on servers running Windows 95/98, clients connecting to one or more servers running Windows 95/98 should use the SQL Server Client Network Utility to perform one of these options:
Note Configuring the client Net-Library with the SQL Server Client Network Utility only affects connections to SQL Server. It does not reconfigure the network protocol used by the client operating system.