All Apps and Add-ons

Splunk DB Connect: How to resolve error "Database 'NULL' does not exist"?

sassens1
Path Finder

Hello,

after a while my Splunk DB Connect instance stopped working and I noticed this particular error message:

ERROR ServiceResponder:352 - action=service_responder_responding_error error={}
com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.SQLServerException: Database 'NULL' does not exist. Make sure that the name is entered correctly.
    at com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.SQLServerException.makeFromDatabaseError(SQLServerException.java:216)
    at com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.TDSTokenHandler.onEOF(tdsparser.java:254)
../..

Basically I've checked the config and overwritten it, pure and simple. it immediately started working for few minutes then again the error message.
On the DB server side everything is OK and nothing has changed.

It's like Splunk DB Connect doesn't keep the database name.

Any idea?

0 Karma
1 Solution

sassens1
Path Finder

I've restarted splunk and it seems to have fixed the issue...
So far if any modification is done on the input config, splunk should be restarted I suppose.

View solution in original post

0 Karma

sassens1
Path Finder

I've restarted splunk and it seems to have fixed the issue...
So far if any modification is done on the input config, splunk should be restarted I suppose.

0 Karma

aaraneta_splunk
Splunk Employee
Splunk Employee

Yes, whenever you make changes to configuration files, you should restart Splunk for those changes to take effect: https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/6.5.1/Admin/Configurationfilechangesthatrequirerestart

0 Karma
Got questions? Get answers!

Join the Splunk Community Slack to learn, troubleshoot, and make connections with fellow Splunk practitioners in real time!

Meet up IRL or virtually!

Join Splunk User Groups to connect and learn in-person by region or remotely by topic or industry.

Get Updates on the Splunk Community!

Introducing ITSI 5.0: Unified Visibility and Actionable Insights

Introducing ITSI 5.0: Unified Visibility and Actionable Insights Tuesday, July 21, 2026  |  10:00AM PT / ...

Inside Splunk Agent Observability: Understanding Agent Behavior, Tokens & Costs

Inside Splunk Agent Observability:Understanding Agent Behavior, Tokens & Costs Thursday, August 06, ...

From Data to Insight: Announcing the Winners of the Splunk Dashboard Contest

Hi Splunkers, First off, thank you to everyone who participated in our very first From Data to Insight: The ...