Solution Package retracting stuck: SharePoint 2007

Problem: We were planning to retract an errored solution and re-deploy for one of our web applications.

However, as we all know we have to first retract the solution from the web application and for that we use the stsadm command line given below, 

stsadm -o retractsolution -name solutionName.wsp –immediate followed by STSADM -o execadmsvcjobs
We have waited for min 20 min, but after refreshing the CA for many times we have seen the solution was stuck in retract state.

Troubleshooting: We checked the status of ‘Windows SharePoint Services Solution Retraction for’ timer job and It was successful for all of the servers we have in the environment.

To check the status of the above Timer Service,

• Go to Central Administration
• Navigate to Operations >> Global Configuration >> Timer job status.
• Look for Jobs name starting with either "Windows SharePoint Services Solution Retraction for".

Resolution: we have tried running ‘execadmsvsjobs’ STSADM command.

STSADM -o execadmsvcjobs ( On all the Servers ).

To all of the servers in the env. And refreshing CA the status of the solution package was ‘not deployed’.

Some other things you can also try to resolve the problems are.

• Restarting the OWSTIMER Service.
• Deleting the Job Timer Definition for some reasons resolves it. (this worked for me in both cases - stuck retracting and stuck deploying).
• Restarting the machine and try one more time.

Search Service Account - MOSS 2007 (Password Reset)

When are reset password for the Search Service Account, you need to make sure you change the password on the Services running with this account on all Servers.

Also you need to verify in Central Administration >> Shared Service Admin >> SSP >> Search Administration, If you are using this account as "Default Content Access Account", you need to click on it and update the new password.

If you have more than one SSP, you  need to perform this activity on all SSPs.

Also verify the Services. Central Admin >> Operations >> Services on Server.
Stop and Start the Services, which requires you to update the new Password.

SharePoint Servers

SharePoint : Farm
A Farm or Server Farm is a group of servers that share the same administrative tools and are part of the same organization or group.

It can be done (web/datababase/index etc) on a single server in “Simple Installation” mode in which case you don’t need a NLB. For many small businesses this is plenty enough. Medium sized businesses usually start with at least 2 Web Front Ends (WFE’s) and a database server. Multinationals can have some very complex setups involving dozens of components.

SharePoint : Web Front End server (WFE)

A web server that handles web page requests from users, processes the request and returns the data. They process HTTP/S traffic and rely on Internet Information Server (IIS) to provide much of the web server 'stack'

In a farm there can be multiple Web Front End (WFE) servers and a Network Load Balancer (NLB) will distribute requests between them. This is the primary method of scaling in SharePoint - as the number of users grows you add more WFE servers. Is also used to add redundancy - If a WFE fails the NLB can distribute requests to other WFE's.

SharePoint : Application Server

An Application Server is a computer that provides key infrastructure and services for applications that are hosted on a farm.

Typically - in SharePoint this means that a server that has been assigned to run duties such as Excel, Visio or Access Services or Index/Search services - as opposed to general web server duties of a Web Front End server.

SharePoint : Index / Search Server

An Index Server is assigned the task of 'crawling' your content and building up an Index of key words and phrases. A Search Server then uses this index to respond to user searches and suggest results.

By pre-indexing content ahead of a search being performed results from a huge number (billions) of documents and web pages can be displayed extremely quickly. If the search was performed 'on demand' it could take hours for result to be collated. (This is exactly the same way that Internet search engines work).

In SharePoint you can have all services (web, database, index, search and application) on a single server in a small installation but indexing (and to a lesser extent) search services are often put on their own server. In a large installation you can have several index and search servers.

Profile Import Errors (Forefront Identity Manager Synchronization Service)

ISSUE
After setting up User Profile Service Application and configuring the synchronization connection to your active directory you receive the following error in Application Log of the Server running FIMSynchronizationService (In our case this is APP Server).

The management agent “MOSSAD-DEC” failed on run profile “DS_FULLIMPORT” because of connectivity issues. Event Id 6050

For further investigation use the MIISClient.exe tool located in “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Servers\14.0\Synchronization Service\UIShell” on the operations TAB you also see the following error under (DS_FULLIMPORT)  Status: stopped-conectivity.

failed-search    Replication access was denied    8453 (Error Code)



Resolution

Verify and Confirm that the service account used to run Forefront Identity Manager Synchronization Service (FIMSynchronizationService) has the AD Security right of “Replicating Directory Changes” at the Domain Level.

1. Open the "Active Directory Users and Computers" snap-in
2. On the View menu, click "Advanced Features".
3. Right-click the domain object, such as “ou.domain.com”, and then click "Properties".
4. On the Security tab, if the desired user account is not listed, click Add; if the desired user account is listed, proceed to step 7.
5. In the Select Users, Computers, or Groups dialog box, select the desired user account, and then click Add.
6. Click OK to return to the Properties dialog box.
7. Click the desired user account.
8. Click to select the "Replicating Directory Changes" check box from the list.
9. Click Apply, and then click OK.
10. Close the snap-in.

NOTE: Group “Domain Admins” already has the above right however if you are still seeing this issue add the service account explicitly to the AD Security.

Even after applying the above Steps, we may still see the problem some times.
Perform the below steps with the help of your Systems Admin, if you don't have access to Domains/Domain Controllers.

Use this procedure to grant Replicate Directory Changes permission on the CN=Configuration container to an account.

1. On the domain controller, click Start, click Run, type adsiedit.msc, and then click OK.
2. If the Configuration node is not already present, do the following:
   1. In the navigation pane, click ADSI Edit.
   2. On the Action menu, click Connect to.
   3. In the Connection Point area of the Connection Settings dialog box, click Select a well know Naming Context, select Configuration from the drop-down list, and then click OK.
3. Expand the Configuration node, right-click the CN=Configuration... node, and then click Properties.
4. In the Properties dialog box, click the Security tab.
5. In the Group or user names section, click Add.
6. Type the name of the synchronization account, and then click OK.
7. In the Group or user names section, select the synchronization account.
8. In the Permissions section, select the Allow check box next to the Replicating Directory Changes (Replicate Directory Changes on Windows Server 2003) permission, and then click OK.

After following all these steps, Full Synchronization was completed successfully with Profile Import.