I've got a SQL 2005 SP4 server that connects to a 2008 SP3 instance via linked servers using the SQL Server server type. Every once in a while, one of those linked servers will start throwing login timeouts. To rule out firewalls, I can RDP to the server and run sqlcmd and get in just fine, even making sure to use the same login. I'm thinking that SQL has somehow cached something that prevents it finding the right address. The remote servername is defined in that machine's host file. So far, only a reboot fixes the issue.
- linked server is setup using remote sql login.
- OLE DB provider "SQLNCLI" for linked server "myserver" returned message "Login timeout expired".
- Bouncing the service does not fix the issue.
Any ideas?