If you have a SQL Database project in Visual Studio 2013, with a *.publish.xml file that you are trying to use to deploy the database to a SQL Server 2014 instance, you may be receiving an error stating that the data tools are “Unable to connect to target server”:
If that is the case, then you likely haven’t installed the updated SQL Server Data tools For SQL Server 2014!
You can learn more about the SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) here: http://msdn.com/data/tools.aspx
Anyhow, The fix is easy!
- From the Visual Studio 2013 menu bar, select “TOOLS” | “Extensions and Updates…”
- In the “Extensions and Updates” window, along the left, select “Updates” | “Product Updates” and then select the “Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Update for database tooling” update and click the “Update” button.
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- Follow the prompts to complete the install. You may want to close Visual Studio 2013 while the tools update installs, and re-open Visual Studio and your project when the installation completes.
Once you have the updated tools install, you should be back in business, and your publish process should succeed!
