Blue icon with a question mark - what does this SQL server icon mean?

Question

The SQL Server instance is accessible and seems to be fine. Microsoft SQL Server 2016 (SP1-CU2) (KB4013106) - 13.0.4422.0 (X64) Mar 6 2017 14:18:16 Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation Enterprise Edition (64-bit) on Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard 6.3 (Build 9600: ) (Hypervisor) But what does the white question mark mean? What are this SQL server icon indicates and these icons don’t go away when I refresh. I am sysadmin inside sql server and outside I am an administrator on that box.

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Another thing I noticed, you can see on the picture below. These are 2 different Management Studio sessions. On the top one, I am logged in as myself, DBA and sysadmin, on the second one I use Management Studio with run as a different user and I use a domain account that I use for the replication, which is not sysadmin. The second one has the blue icon in this and other servers as well, whilst mine is the normal green one.

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Chloe Burgess · Accepted Answer

This sql server icon with blue question mark indicates that SSMS does not know if the service is running or not, by way of a WMI call. I'm quite certain this icon replaced the blank or white circle icon of prior SSMS versions. After some digging, it looks like you could run into one or more issues causing this behavior, as follows:

See if TCP port 135 to the server is open or not on your firewall? If it's not, opening it up may resolve this icon, but understand that there are also some special considerations to be aware of when enabling this port. Normally, this isn't a big deal if the server is not exposed to the perimeter of your network, but if your firewall rules are very restrictive or this server sits in a DMZ, this may be something you have to live with.
Your user may not have proper permissions to view the service state remotely. To enable those permissions, follow the instructions here.
WMI services are not running on the server hosting the database engine. Start the WMI services via services.msc, etc.

Ranjana Admin · Answer

The blue icon with a question mark in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) indicates that the status of the SQL Server instance is unknown. This can occur for several reasons:

1. Instance Offline or Unreachable

Offline: The SQL Server instance might be turned off or not running.

Network Issues: There could be network connectivity issues preventing SSMS from reaching the SQL Server instance.

2. Insufficient Permissions

User Permissions: The user account you are using might not have the necessary permissions to view the status of the SQL Server instance.

3. WMI Configuration Issues

WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation): WMI might be misconfigured or encountering issues, which can prevent SSMS from retrieving the status of the SQL Server instance.

4. SSMS Configuration

Configuration Errors: There may be configuration issues within SSMS itself that are causing the status to be unknown.

Steps to Troubleshoot and Resolve the Issue

1. Check the SQL Server Instance

Ensure that the SQL Server instance is running.

Verify that the instance is reachable over the network.

2. Verify Permissions

Check that your user account has the appropriate permissions to access the SQL Server instance.

Try connecting using an account with higher privileges, such as a system administrator.

3. Inspect WMI Configuration

Ensure that WMI is properly configured and running on the server where the SQL Server instance is located.

Restart the WMI service if necessary.

4. SSMS Configuration and Updates

Verify that SSMS is correctly configured to connect to the SQL Server instance.

Ensure that you are using the latest version of SSMS, as updates often include bug fixes and improvements.

Summary

The blue icon with a question mark in SSMS indicates that the status of the SQL Server instance is unknown. This can be due to the instance being offline, network issues, insufficient permissions, WMI configuration problems, or SSMS configuration errors. By following the steps outlined above, you can troubleshoot and resolve the issue to ensure proper connectivity and status reporting.

Blue icon with a question mark - what does this SQL server icon mean?

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