Problem resolved. The root cause is very simple but painful: VIDA can't connect to 64-bit SQL Server. When I reinstalled a 32-bit version SQL server, it connected immediately. Dynamic ports work, no firewall rule is needed. It seems 64-bit SQL server works well for many other people, not sure why it ...

The VIDA installation process is smooth, but when I tried to start VIDA, the Vida monitor was stuck in the red square status. The log looks like:

4/26/2024 9:10:04 PM : Log started
4/26/2024 9:10:04 PM : Reading configuration file system\config\VidaMonitor.conf.xml
4/26/2024 9:10:04 PM : Debug set ...