No event is logged on the Back-End Database server when all servers in a pool become unavailable in Live Communications Server 2005 (889442)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 Enterprise Edition

SYMPTOMS

In an organization where you run Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005, Enterprise Edition, you may experience the following symptoms:
  • New users cannot connect to any Live Communications Server 2005 computers in a pool.
  • Users who are already connected to a Live Communications Server 2005 computer are unexpectedly logged off.
  • If you start the Live Communications Server 2005 Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in, you notice that all the Live Communications Server 2005 Enterprise Edition computers appear with a question mark.
When this problem occurs, no Warning event or Error event is logged in the Application log of the Back-End Database server. Additionally, you receive no notification message to indicate that the whole pool has become unavailable.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if one of the following conditions is true.

Note The following conditions are listed in their order of probability.
  • All the Live Communications Server 2005 Enterprise Edition servers in the pool lose power.
  • The network connection between two or more of the Live Communications Server 2005 Enterprise Edition servers in the pool is interrupted.
  • The Live Communications Server (Rtcsrv) service is stopped on one or more of the Live Communications Server 2005 Enterprise Edition servers in the pool.
  • The Live Communications Server (Rtcsrv) service unexpectedly quits on all the Live Communications Server 2005 Enterprise Edition servers in the pool.
  • A malicious user crafts an attack to block communication between two or more of the Live Communications Server 2005 Enterprise Edition servers in the pool.
In this scenario, you are not notified that the pool has become unavailable unless other server-health mechanisms are configured.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, configure your computer to log an event on the Back-End Database server if the User Connections counter of MSSQL$RTC:General Statistics decreases to a particular level. To do this, follow these steps.

Note We have not tested this workaround in all possible configurations. Therefore, we recommend that you first test this workaround in a test environment before you implement it throughout your organization.
  1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Performance.
  2. Expand Performance Logs and Alerts, right-click Alerts, and then click New Alert Settings.
  3. In the Name box, type a descriptive name for the alert, and then click OK.
  4. Type a comment in the Comment box, and then click Add.
  5. In the Performance object list, click MSSQL$RTC:General Statistics.
  6. In the Select counters from list, click User Connections, click Add, and then click Close.
  7. In the Alert when the value is list, click Under.
  8. In the Limit box, type 1.
  9. Click the Action tab.
  10. Click to select the Log an entry in the application event log check box, if this check box is not already selected.
  11. Click Apply, and then click OK.

MORE INFORMATION

It is unlikely that all the Live Communications Server 2005 Enterprise Edition servers in a pool might be shut down or become unavailable at the same time. However, a particular failure or an attack could cause this behavior.

For additional support information for Live Communications Server 2005, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010908711033.aspx

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:12/1/2004
Keywords:kbtshoot kbprb KB889442 kbAudITPRO
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.