Can the default instance name be something other than (local) or (machinename)? For example, if my server is called Apple, and I install SQL Server 2008 and choose to create a default instance and name it Orange, will this work? Will I then be able to use a connection string that is "Database=Orange" from another server?
The end goal: I have a lot of DBs on a server Apple, and want them to all be moved to a new server Orange - is there a way of doing this without breaking all the connection strings that currently reference Apple?
I'm guessing the answer to all of this is no and that makes sense, but I'm hoping I'm wrong.