Is SQL Server Browser Service compulsory for remote access?
The SQL Server Browser Service does many different things... However the main purpose of it is to look up the port number associated with a given instance of SQL Server and giving that information back to the client.

Any instance of SQL Server (assuming tcp/ip) can be identified by using the computer name or ip address and the port number. If you know both of these things (or SQL Server is listening on the default port of 1433) then you'll be able to connect without using the browser service as an intermediary.

To do so, you can connect using the name or IP and the port:


MyComputer,1500
10.1.150.8,1600 (generic randomly picked ip for display purposes only)
MyComputer (this will assume default port of 1433)


If you are not using browser, I would advise you to disable it.