Cannot Connect to Server - A network-related or instance-specific error

[NeilCummings]

Cannot connect to 108.163.224.173.

A network-related or instance-specific error occurred while establishing a connection to SQL Server.

The server was not found or was not accessible. Verify that the instance name is correct and that SQL Server is configured to allow remote connections.

(provider: Named Pipes Provider, error: 40 - Could not open a connection to SQL Server) (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 1326)

This error is thrown when I try to configure my database to gridview in Visual Studio 2010. I'm at a loss as to how to debug this error.

How would you debug this error? What steps should I take in order to determine what is really going on here, in addition to the one mentioned in the error message?

[Justiin]

What else have you tried to do to resolve it? Have you tried this: Go to control panel >> Firewall Settings >> Add SQL Server’s Port to Exception List.

[OwenGByrd]

As I understand it, this problem occurred at the time of launching the local application and the remote database. Try using SQL server configuration manager to add an alias for the remote database. Hope it helps you!