Troubleshooting a VPN connection to the DDM server

DDM uses three different connection methods. This post covers each method and how to diagnose and fix problems with each method.
When using passive FTP, the following ports are used: 20, 21, 1433, 9896, 9897.

FTP connections are required.

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Web / WCF connection

The first method is"Web" or"WCF" which depends on the settings defined in the DDM client configuration:

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Now a connection will be attempted via: DDMSERVER:9897.

To test this connection method, try now to log in to the DDM Admin tool. The admin tool only connects to the server via WCF, and if the login succeeds, WCF can connect! However, if the login fails but works on another client, port 9897 or DDM Admin application may be blocked by the server or client firewall, or the VPN software.

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Connection to SQL

The second method is to test a direct SQL connection. The connection uses port 1433 and a server name defined on the server. In our case, the server name is DDMSERVER:1433. If this connection fails during the login to DDM Office, you will see the following error message:

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This means that either the application or port 1433 is blocked, again in the firewalls or VPN system. To test the SQL connection, create an empty text file and rename it from"New text file.txt" to"Test.udl" and double click on it. This will open the test tool for SQL. In the"Provider" tab you need toenter (for DDM 2020.01 and later)"OLE DB Provider for SQL Server", for versions before 2020 you need to enter"SQL Server Native Client 11.0".

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Then fill in the necessary information, such as the name of the server and the default login details which are username: desmgr and password: Desmgr[1234]. If your DDM installation was done a long time ago, the login can be the same username and password then: desmgr

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After this, click on"Test Connection". If this is successful, you will get a small popup indicating this:

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This means that port 1433 is open, but the DDM application is not allowed to use it. This indicates that there may be a restriction or blocking rule preventing the DDM application from using port 1433. You may then need to configure firewalls or VPN systems to allow the DDM application access to the port.

However, if this connection should fail, you will receive a message stating how and why it has failed, usually that"the server does not exist", meaning that the client cannot connect to a SQL instance at this address. This can again be due to firewalls or VPN systems. It could also be a potential DNS issue, where the client is unable to resolve the hostname to the correct address.

In such cases, you may need to check firewalls, VPN settings or DNS configuration to resolve the issue and enable a successful connection.

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If the above does not work, it may be that the server was installed and configured with its DNS hostname (not IP address) and the client cannot communicate with that DNS name, it will not work. If you need to use IP via VPN, the pointers in the registry on the server will need to be changed to match this.
But ideally, DNS should work over VPN.

These pointers on the server are as follows:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Concurrent Systems, Inc.\DesignDataManager\DDMFileServer\DDMServer
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Concurrent Systems, Inc.\DesignDataManager\DDMServer\DBServer
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Concurrent Systems, Inc.\DesignDataManager\DDMServer\DDMServer
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Concurrent Systems, Inc.\DesignDataManager\DDMWebClient\DDMServer
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Concurrent Systems, Inc.\DesignDataManager\DDMWCFServer\DBServer

Try changing these to the IP address and restarting the DDM services, then try the client again.

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FTP connection

The most common reason for failed connections is related to FTP. These can again be blocked by firewalls, antivirus software or VPN systems in use. You will see a similar error message:

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Here is a very descriptive video about this:

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A good test method is to open the command prompt and try to connect to the server by typing"ftp DDMSERVER" and then logging in with one of these credentials:

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Option one:

User name: desmgr

Password: Desmgrftp[123]

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Option two:

User name: desmgr

Password: desmgr123

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If this succeeds, then the FTP connection is allowed. But if it does not generate a folder list, then the FTP connection is blocked. Then watch the video above which demonstrates several troubleshooting options.

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