>hi all,
>
>i'm testing some of my applications w/c runs on MSDE on the new Windows XP Service Pack2, which actually entails newer & more secure firewall settings.
>
>my application run on both the server & workstations only w/ the firewall switched off.
>but the problem comes w/n i have the firewall settings switched on. the applications runs on the server but the workstation applications cannot.
>
>how do i configure my workstations to be in the exception list on the firewall so they can access the server?
>
>i'll already added the workstation's IP address & subnet but still i can't get it connect.
>
>how do i configure my network to use TCP/IP protocol w/ a static port so i can add the workstations to the firewall's exceptions list?

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q287932

>is there any way that i have my applications get past the SP 2 firewall settings programmatically, if i were to develop an application?

For traffic coming in to the SQL Server, it should be impossible by definition.

Programmatically reconfigure the firewall for incoming traffic from the server side: also unlikely, because this is the first thing a trojan would try to do. MS is pushing hard on security in this update.