SMS: Logon Server Manager Fails to Update the PDC in a Large Domain with Multiple Sites

ID: Q227028

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

In a domain controlled by many Systems Management Server sites, Logon Server Manager on the site servers may consistently fail to update its own Logon Configuration File (LCF) on the primary domain controller (PDC).

One LCF file exists for each site that controls the domain: Smslogon\Sitescfg\Sitecode_cfg.lcf. To update its LCF file, Logon Server Manager must gain exclusive access to the PDC by exclusively opening the Nt_logon.tok file, located in the Smslogon\Sitescfg directory.

Logon Server Manager logs the following error in its Nt_logon.log file each time it fails to open the Nt_logon.tok file on the PDC:

~Warning Unable to get sole access to domain skipping
$$<SMS_NT_LOGON_SERVER_MANAGER>
This failure prevents the Logon Server Manager from updating its LCF file. If a Systems Management Server site server is unable to update its LCF file within the polling interval plus four hours, the Systems Management Server site is marked with 'inactive' in its LCF file. If the Systems Management Server site server is still unable to update its LCF file after the polling interval plus seven days, then the Systems Management Server site is marked 'dead' and its directories on the logon points are removed.

If at some point the Systems Management Server site server is able to get access to the PDC and updates its LCF file, its directories on the logon points will be re-created. However, the directories will be deleted if Logon Server Manager consistently fails to get access to the PDC again. This can result in excessive traffic if you have slow links.


STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Systems Management Server version 2.0. This problem has been corrected in the latest U.S. service pack for Systems Management Server version 2.0. For information on obtaining the service pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

S E R V P A C K

Additional query words: prodsms lcf sole access token login 


Keywords          : kbSMS200 kbSMS200bug 
Version           : winnt:2.0
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: July 9, 1999