Server Admin can't connect

Question

Level 1

63 points

Server Admin can't connect

Hello All,

Recently the server admin application connection stopped working on one of my servers. I'm running OS X Server 10.6 and trying to connect locally or from other 10.6 machines. No matter what it refuses the connection with the following error whether local or over the network.

"Could not connect to servername.local
Server Admin was unable to connect to the server at servername.local"

I have tried 127.0.0.1, localhost, servername.local, servername and everything fails.

The server is ping-able over the network and changeip -checkhostname reveals the DNS is setup correctly.

This use to work fine and the other day it just stopped working. I deleted and reinstalled the server admin software. I restarted the server and is it is still not working.

The server is running 10.6.2 and I am hesitant to upgrade to 10.6.3, I don't want to cause more issues by running this update and I don't even know if that will fix the issue.

Does anyone know what I can try to get server admin working again for this server?

Thank you very much!

Support all Mac machines, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Apr 8, 2010 3:38 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 26, 2010 12:09 AM in response to spraguga

Hi All,

I see this problem all the time. Untick 'require valid digital signature (SSL)' in server admin prefs just incase you haven't trusted your server cert. Also get a 'known good' copy of com.apple.servermgrd.plist and replace the one in /Library/Preferences( like all prefs it gets corrupted ) reboot or launchctl . Do a quick nc -v 127.0.0.1 311 and see if it works. Let me know if this helps.

Thanks

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Answer 2

Aug 26, 2010 12:34 AM in response to Sean McGuigan

Hi Sean,

could you point me to a 'known good' version of com.apple.servermgrd.plist?
I've searched the 10.6 server install medium without success.

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Answer 3

Aug 26, 2010 11:25 PM in response to fidel-castro

A simple reboot did the trick here - while i dislike that kind of temporary solution.

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Answer 4

JDWest

Level 1

0 points

Sep 16, 2010 11:29 AM in response to fidel-castro

I have also periodically had this problem. A reboot has solved it in the past, but since this is a critical server, it would be great if there is a solution. Did upgrading to 10.6.4 solve this for anybody?

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Answer 5

Sep 28, 2010 9:29 AM in response to JDWest

The update only cured the issue for a while, it seems to break when you invoke stealth mode, up until then it worked fine for me.

Message was edited by: Ian Buck1

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Answer 6

Oct 7, 2010 7:35 AM in response to Ian Buck1

I have this going on with a client's server as well. Server is running 10.6.4 and restarting used to solve the issue. I cannot connect with Server Admin, even right on the server. I have VPN set up on this server and it needs to be restarted via the Server Admin after restart (sometimes) to get it to work. Now that I cannot access Server Admin, this cannot be done. Reboot sometimes fixes the VPN, sometimes not.

I have two 10.6.4 servers locally in my current employ, that do not have these issues.

I have never seen this Server Admin issue until recently. On this particular server, it seems to have started after the 10.6.4 upgrade.

I will try the .plist replacement proceedure but that looks hit-and-miss as a solution as well.

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Answer 7

spraguga Author

Level 1

63 points

Oct 8, 2010 8:04 AM in response to JDWest

@jdwest: The 10.6.4 update doesn't fix this issue.

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Answer 8

Nov 28, 2010 4:01 PM in response to Sven Koesling

I had the same problem, it turned out it was something wrong with my Open Directory Master. I had to destroy it to get Server admin to work again. Here is what I did:

First you will need to be root:
su root
check what type of directory you have:
slapconfig -getstyle
backup your LDAP data:
slapconfig -backupdb /path/to/backup/location
destroy your Open Directory server:
slapconfig -destroyldapserver

Also if you want to read the slapconfig man pages:
slapconfig -help

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Answer 9

Jan 7, 2011 2:06 PM in response to frequencydip

I am having similar problems with Server Admin - nonresponsive for long periods of time. It actually seems to be working fine on all of the servers. It is running Server Admin on clients that I am having problems. If I clear the cache and preferences, then Server Admin will open quickly. Once I try to connect to a server using either the FQDN or .local, it grinds to a halt. I have to clear both the cache AND preferences for the application to get it to open normally again.

Could this problem running Server Admin on a client indicate a problem with the OD Master? Or perhaps DNS? This started happening only very recently. Both the servers and the clients running Server Admin are on OS X 10.5.8. I have also tried running Server Admin on a 10.6.5 client with the same result.

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Answer 10

Jan 7, 2011 2:31 PM in response to bryan3000000

Typically, glacial connections are due to erroneous DNS configurations.

On the server, issue the command


sudo changeip -checkhostname

You'll have to enter an administrative password for the sudo. The command will make no changes, but will show the current server name and DNS resolution information, and will end with an indication that changes are (or are not) required. I'll suspect either your server is messed up or your client is messed up, based on the symptoms.

Another common issue that arises is the inclusion of one or more ISP DNS server references within one or more spots possibly including the clients or within lists of DNS servers or within DHCP services, and that'll throw a wrench into the works.

And if you're using unicast DNS for the .local top-level domain, then weirdness can ensue when unicast DNS and multicast DNS (Bonjour) get tangled. Don't use .local.

[Here is how to establish DNS services|http://labs.hoffmanlabs.com/node/1436]

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Answer 11

Jan 7, 2011 3:12 PM in response to MrHoffman

I'm familiar with most of the 'gotchas' with this, and I have double checked the hostname setup on the servers. They are still reporting that the names match.

I'm also not using unicast .local.

I'm fairly certain the clients are not messed up - I have tried it on multiple clients, wiped cache and prefs, and even reinstalled admin tools.

But DNS is seeming very slow, even ssh to the servers (whether using FQDN or .local). I believe this is what I will need to investigate, and it's a bit complex. Two Windows servers for internal DNS, and a SonicWall. Lots of DNS for testing web servers.

Thanks for the suggestions.

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Answer 12

Chriz555

Level 1

9 points

Feb 1, 2011 4:46 PM in response to bryan3000000

Hi!

I solved this problem with this 4-step instructions:

- Edit /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.servermgrd.plist with a text editor (ex: BBEdit)

- Add the following lines at the end (Just before the </dict></plist>)
<key>listenForRegularConnections</key>
<true/>
<key>listenForSSLConnections</key>
<false/>
<key>regularPort</key>
<integer>687</integer>
<key>sslPort</key>
<integer>311</integer>

- Unload the daemon: launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.servermgrd.plist

- Reload the daemon: launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.servermgrd.plist

(or simply restart the server).

Note that this has solved my problem. What's weird is that it kept working even after removing those lines.... :S

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Answer 13

davidh

Level 4

1,890 points

Feb 15, 2011 2:58 PM in response to Chriz555

@Chriz555 - those settings are not valid for the launchd plist for servermgrd.
If you attempt to use them servmrgd notes in the log that the entries aren't valid and seems to ignore them.

I just dealt with this issue at a client, and the issue is a corrupt plist in /Library/Preferences - namely the com.apple.servermgrd.plist - which does NOT get auto-replaced if you set it aside.
You need to extract it from your 10.6 server install disc (use your Terminal to navigate to the disc /System
and then use:

[code]open .[code]

to open that directory in the Finder. You can use Pacifist (please buy it if you use it regularly !)
to extract the plist.
Better yet, restore from backup.

The process you'll need to take is outlined already at one site, see:
http://www.remotesystems.org/77/no-server-available-at-the-address-you-entered

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Answer 14

davidh

Level 4

1,890 points

Feb 15, 2011 3:05 PM in response to rblaas

The steps outlined by "Spraguga" earlier in this thread, are what's required.

If you need a more step-by-step see
http://www.remotesystems.org/77/no-server-available-at-the-address-you-entered

I have no affiliation with that site.

But that is what fixes the issue of not being able to connect to/administer one's 10.6.3/x
server via Server Admin when
Server Admin allows you to attempt to authenticate but responds immediately that it can't connect/no server is available,
and
you DO see servermgrd running via
ps auxw

but you do NOT see it listening - ie,
netstat -an | grep LISTEN

shows nothing for port 311 for 687

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Answer 15

capsz

Level 1

0 points

May 16, 2011 2:29 PM in response to davidh

I was having this same problem, so I called Apple and this is what fixed my problem:

Troubleshooting steps taken with Apple before fixing my problem:

- sudo changeip -checkhostname (to check DNS)

- Tried accessing the server from Server Admin as root, same problem.

Apple then sent me a known-good com.apple.servermgrd.plist which was 4KB compared to my 2KB plist that wasn't working (and like davidh said does not get replaced if you Trash it). Replaced the plist in /Library/Preferences/, repaired permissions, rebooted and it worked!

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