Knowledge Base

Frequently encountered issues with Application Center 2000 Service Pack 2 (SP2)

Article ID: 836074

Article Last Modified on 1/22/2007

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Application Center 2000 Service Pack 2

SUMMARY

This article outlines some issues that are frequently encountered with Application Center 2000 Service Pack 2 (SP2). The article describes a series of prerequisite steps that you follow to verify the readiness of the system. This preparation will reduce the chance of problems while you perform common Application Center 2000 SP2 tasks. Also listed are some troubleshooting steps to take if problems occur.

IN THIS TASK

How to prepare to install Application Center 2000 SP2
How to prepare to join a member to the cluster
How to troubleshoot synchronization failures
How to troubleshoot Network Load Balancing issues

How to prepare to install Application Center 2000 SP2

Before you install Application Center 2000 SP2, make sure that the following requirements have been met.

Note Requirements are numbered for reference. You do not have to do them in the following order.

Installation requirements. For a detailed list of software and hardware requirements, visit the following Web site:

Microsoft Application Center 2000 Service Pack 2 Release Notes
http://download.microsoft.com/download/b/c/4/bc4a0cb0-4d2c-46f3-9e25-eb0e11c08e81/readme.htm
You have the original product installation CD key.
The server has the appropriate number of network adapters:
- If the server is not in a Network Load Balancing cluster, only one network adapter is required.
- If the server is in a Network Load Balancing cluster, at least two network adapters are required.
You can ping and resolve IP addresses as follows:
- Ping the NetBIOS name of each server, and the NetBIOS name of each server resolves to the IP address of the network adapter.
- For NLB clusters, the NetBIOS name of the server resolves to the IP address of the back-end (management) network adapter.
The server is not part of an existing cluster.
All previous Application Center 2000 configurations have been successfully backed up before you remove Application Center 2000 . You must remove Application Center 2000 before you upgrade to Application Center 2000 SP2.

For more information about the "Server Installation Instructions and Best Practices" topic, see Microsoft Application Center 2000 Service Pack 2 Release Notes:http://download.microsoft.com/download/b/c/4/bc4a0cb0-4d2c-46f3-9e25-eb0e11c08e81/readme.htm#AC2KSP2FullInstall
You have run the ACComPlusVerify tool. For additional information about how to detect and remove components that are either not valid or are corrupted, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

299039 HOW TO: Use the ACComPlusVerify Tool
Pre-installation software requirements.

For more information, visit the following Web site:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/b/c/4/bc4a0cb0-4d2c-46f3-9e25-eb0e11c08e81/readme.htm

How to troubleshoot an unsuccessful installation of Application Center 2000 SP2

If the installation of Application Center 2000 SP2 is not successful after you have met all the previous requirements, you can generate a log file that will help you determine the reason for the failure of the installation. To turn on the Windows Installer Logging feature and to generate an Ac_setup.log file, follow these steps:

Turn on the Windows Installer Logging feature. For additional information about how to enable Windows Installer Logging, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

223300 How to Enable Windows Installer Logging
To generate the Ac_setup.log file, start the Application Center 2000 SP2 installation process from the Setup.hta file instead of by using the Setup.exe program. This process creates an Ac_setup.log file in either the C:\Windows folder or the C:\Winnt folder.
Open the Ac_setup.log file in a text editor such as Notepad, and then search for "Return value 3". The "Return Value 3 " entry indicates the point where the installation failed.
View the text that appears immediately before "Return value 3" for indications about error codes or error messages.
For additional information troubleshooting installation failures, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

832325 How to troubleshoot the installation of Application Center

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How to prepare to join a member to the cluster

Before you add a member to an existing cluster, make sure that the following requirements have been met.

Note Requirements are numbered for reference. You do not have to do them in the following order.

Both the controller and the member have the same software configuration. The software configuration includes: operating system, service pack level, and installation path for Application Center 2000 SP2.
A cluster has not been configured on the member. If the member server was previously in a cluster, follow these steps:
1. Disband the cluster.
2. On the member server, run the ac cluster /clean command at a command prompt.
You can ping and resolve member and controller IP addresses as follows:
- Member: Ping the NetBIOS name of the member from the controller, and the NetBIOS name resolves to the IP address of the network adapter of the member.
- Controller: Ping the NetBIOS name of the controller from the member, and the NetBIOS name resolves to the IP address of the network adapter of the controller.
You can ping the IP addresses of both network adaptors on the member server, and you receive a valid response.
No firewall exists between the cluster controller and the member.
The IP addresses of both the frontend adapters and the backend adapters of both the controller computer and the member computer belong to the same subnet.

How to troubleshoot an unsuccessful attempt to join a member to a cluster

If the attempt to join the cluster fails after you have met all the previous requirements, enable DBMON logging on the cluster controller and on the member servers. To enable DBMON logging, follow these steps:

Locate the Traceoutput.reg file in the Support directory on the Application Center 2000 SP2 CD-ROM.

Follow the remaining steps directly from the servers.
On both the controller and the member server, double-click to open the Traceoutput.reg registry file. Opening the file prepares the registry for detailed logging (level 3).

Note After you have completed the installation, plan to restore this setting to level 1 to reduce the logging. Use one of the following methods:
- Change the following registry key from 00000003 to 00000001:
  
  [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\ACS]
- Back up the registry key before you run the Traceoutput.reg file, and then restore the original key after installation is complete.
Restart the computers.
At a command prompt on both the controller and the member servers, change to the Support subdirectory of the Application Center 2000 SP2 CD-ROM, and then run the dbmon.exe > dbmon.txt command.

This begins tracing to the Dbmon.txt file; the Dbmon.txt file is located in the root of your hard disk.
Try to join the cluster. When the attempt is not successful, you can stop the Dbmon.exe program on both the controller and the member.
Have the Dbmon trace output ready when you contact Application Center 2000 support.

After the installation is complete, restore your registry as described in step 2 earlier in this section. back to the top

How to troubleshoot synchronization failures

Before you try to synchronize the cluster, make sure that the following requirements have been met.

Note Requirements are numbered for reference. You do not have to do them in the following order.

Both the controller and the member have the same software configuration. This software configuration includes: the operating system, and the installation directory for Application Center 2000 SP2.
You can view the members list in Application Center 2000 SP2 Microsoft Management Console (MMC).
You can ping and resolve member and controller IP addresses as follows:
- Member. Ping the NetBIOS name of the member from the controller, and the NetBIOS name resolves to the IP address of the network adapter of the member.
- Controller. Ping the NetBIOS name of the controller from the member, and the NetBIOS name resolves to the IP address of the network adapter of the controller.
No firewall exists between the cluster controller and the member.
Application Center 2000 SP2 applications contain valid resources that exist on the controller. The file paths, the registry keys, and other resources have not be deleted from your cluster controller.
Try to synchronize each Application Center 2000 SP2 application separately.

This technique will help you to narrow the list of applications that are failing. After you identify the application or applications that you suspect are causing the problem, you can examine the individual resources of the application.

How to troubleshoot an unsuccessful attempt to synchronize your cluster

If the attempt to synchronize your cluster still fails, turn on the Debug Monitor (Dbmon.exe) logging feature on both the cluster controller and the member server. To do this, follow these steps:

Locate the Traceoutput.reg file in the Support subdirectory of the Application Center 2000 SP2 CD-ROM.

Follow all the remaining steps directly from the servers.
On both the controller and the member server, double-click to open the Traceoutput.reg registry file. Opening the file prepares the registry for detailed logging (level 3).
Restart the computers.
At a command prompt on both the controller and the member servers, change to the Support subdirectory of the Application Center 2000 SP2 CD-ROM, and then run the dbmon.exe > dbmon.txt command.

This begins tracing to the Dbmon.txt file; the Dbmon.txt file is located in the root of your hard disk.

Note After you have completed the installation, plan to restore this setting to level 1 to reduce the logging. Use one of the following methods:
- Change the following registry key from 00000003 to 00000001:
  
  [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\ACS]
- Back up the registry key before you run the Traceoutput.reg file, and then restore the original key after installation is complete.
Try to synchronize the cluster.

When the synchronization fails, stop the Dbmon.exe window on both the controller and the member server.
Have the Dbmon.exe trace output ready when you contact Application Center 2000 support.

After the installation is complete, restore your registry as described in step 4 earlier in this section. back to the top

How to troubleshoot Network Load Balancing issues

For additional information about network load balancing (NLB) configuration and settings, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

305064 HOWTO: Set up an NLB cluster for Application Center 2000