Hey @JeffSeaman , I did some digging in our internal docs and a found a few things for you to consider/research:

The most likely root cause has something to do with SQL Server Connectivity issues.

The central error describes a TCP timeout to 10.202.34.40:1433, which is the classic port for SQL Server:

• This strongly indicates that the Databricks compute resource (cluster or SQL warehouse) cannot reach the desired SQL Server endpoint—potentially due to network, routing, firewall, or SQL Server configuration issues.
• This is not an indicator of a Databricks metastore (Hive or Unity Catalog) outage or problem, but rather an inability of Databricks to initiate a connection to the remote SQL Server.

This aligns precisely with general troubleshooting guidance for JDBC connection timeouts, including:

• Verifying that the remote SQL Server is running and listening at the IP/port specified.
• Confirming firewall rules (on the Databricks side, the SQL Server VM(s), or any intermediate network device) are not blocking TCP/1433.
• Ensuring NAT, routing, or private link rules are configured for connectivity if using private endpoints/VNET architectures.
• Making sure JDBC URL parameters are compatible, especially in environments with custom SSL/certificates or required authentication mechanisms.

Are you trying to connect from Free Edition to SQL Server or SQL Server to Free Edition?

Let me know, Louis.