SOLIDWORKS Electrical can operate in a client-server configuration enabling data sharing in a multi-user environment. Multiple components make up the server side of an Electrical installation but one of the most important is the SOLIDWORKS Electrical collaborative server. The collaborative server monitors the electrical database and keeps track of who is working on what. Ensuring an active connection to the collaborative server is essential to a smooth running SOLIDWORKS Electrical environment but what happens if a user is unable to connect to it?
“Unable to connect to collaborative server” error message
Windows Defender Firewall
The Windows Defender Firewall is a common cause of issues when it comes to communicating across the network. This is typically one of the first stops when troubleshooting SOLIDWORKS connectivity issues.
Allowing Traffic Through Ports
Communication on ports 1433, 1434, and the range 26666-26672 must be allowed through the firewall on both the SOLIDWORKS Electrical server and client machines for inbound and outbound communication.
To open ports in the Windows Defender Firewall:
- Open Windows Control Panel>Windows Firewall.
- Select “Advanced Settings” in the left panel.
- Select “Inbound Rules” on the left-hand side and choose New Rule.
- Choose Port and specify TCP ports 1433, 1434, 26666-26672.
- Choose the appropriate profile from Domain, Private, and Public.
- Give a descriptive name for the rule such as “SWElec TCP inbound.”
- Repeat the steps above for UDP ports as well as for outbound rules.
Allowing access through the public profile is not recommended. Verify your network settings to determine the required access. Opening a port within the public profile is at your own risk and should be reviewed and approved by your IT team.
An inbound rule for specified ports
Verify Server Connectivity
To check that communication between the server and client is not blocked by the Windows Defender Firewall or any other anti-virus programs your company is running you can run a test. However, the testing tool, Telnet Client, must be enabled. This can be enabled by navigating to Start>Turn Windows features on or off and enabling the Telnet Client.
With the feature activated, run the command prompt as an administrator and run the command telnet $SERVERNAME 26666 with $SERVERNAME being replaced by the name of your server hosting the SOLIDWORKS Electrical server components. The expected outcome is that the result is completely blank. Otherwise, this command will output a detailed error message.
Telnet port check
Disable Firewalls
If the problem still exists, turning off the Windows Defender Firewall can test whether it is the firewall causing problems or if further troubleshooting is needed.
To completely disable the firewall:
- Go to Start>Windows Defender Firewall.
- On the left-hand side, select “Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off”.
- For your network connection type, turn off the firewall and attempt to connect to the collaborative server.
Turning off Windows Defender Firewall
Testing the SOLIDWORKS Electrical Collaborative Server
If communication through the network from client to server is working then we must turn our attention to the server components for SOLIDWORKS Electrical.
Check if the Collaborative Server is Running
To verify if the SOLIDWORKS Electrical collaborative server is running as a service on the server machine:
- Open Start>Services.
- Locate the “SOLIDWORKS Electrical Collaborative Server” service.
- Verify the service is running.
- If the service is not running, right-click on this service and start it.
- If the service is already running, you can also try restarting it and test if this makes a difference.
SOLIDWORKS Electrical Collaborative Server service
If there are errors when restarting the SOLIDWORKS Electrical Collaborative Server service, additional troubleshooting steps may be needed.
Run a Single SOLIDWORKS Electrical Collaborative Server
If during the troubleshooting process, you downloaded SOLIDWORKS Electrical server components on the client machine you would now have SQL instance and SOLIDWORKS Electrical collaborative service installed locally. Make sure to stop the “SOLIDWORKS Electrical Collaborative” service using the steps outlined above to restart the service. Running multiple SOLIDWORKS Electrical Collaborative Server services on a network can cause interference when a client machine tries to connect.
Use Server IP Instead of Common Name
Within the SOLIDWORKS Electrical application go to Tools>Application Settings>Collaborative server and update the address to use the server IP address rather than the common name. Once that is updated, hit the Connect button to verify if the connection is successful.
SOLIDWORKS Electrical setting for server address
The steps outlined above should help solve connectivity issues to the SOLIDWORKS Electrical collaborative server. However, if the issues persist or you want additional assistance, please contact our Client Success Team here.
