SQL Server 2005 Connecting to Instance and specified Port Number

A handy tip to connect to an instance of SQL server 2005 would also work with SQL Server 2000 have not checked with SQL Server 7

To connect to an instance

syntax
ServerName\Instance

Its always a good practice to say the IP address of the server rather than just the names

like 192.168.100.67\Beverly

The name of the instance can be obtained from opening the Sql Server Configuration Manager -> SQL Server 2005 Services and check for any entries which have SQL Server the instance name is present in the bracket next to it
eg SQL Server (BEVERLY)

To connect to an instance with a specific port number

This applies for TCP/IP connection so make sure you have enable TCP/IP protocol using the Sql Server Configuration Manager and opened the required ports from your firewall if you have one installed.

By default all connections connect to the default port number 1433. In order to specify a different port number the syntax is different from the normal url syntax of having an colon (:)

syntax:
192.168.100.67\Beverly,1364


Guess Microsoft wanted to keep it this way rather than the universal 192.168.100.67:1364\Beverly