group policy management console error

[ilann]

when I open the group policy management console I sometimes get a message:

the rpc server is unvailable

problem is that the rpc IS available when I check services running on the rpc server. I try to readd the forest but it fails... I usually wait for 1 hour and then it's working...

any idea??

Ilann

[chrisp]

It would be hard to tell exactly what is happening with this, since its intermittent and only an error provided.

Is GPMC being run from a workstation or a domain controller? Maybe if your running it from a workstation, we could be querying for a DC that has been removed from the network, but not cleaned out of Active Directory. Eventually, you may be querying for a good DC. hence the intermittent problem.

Just a guess. You might take a network trace when you load the GPMC, and monitor the DNS queries. Which DC are we looking for? Is the resulting DC online? RPC started? Does the name resolve to the correct IP?

Just some thoughts.

-cp

[ilann]

could you be more explicit on how to take a network trace....I'm not a network expert...

Thanks

Ilann

[chrisp]

ilann,
if you install GPMC on the PDC emulator, and run it from the PDC emulator as well, do you still get the error?

[ilann]

yes sir!!

Ilann

[chrisp]

Check the Network card configuration.

How many DNS servers are configured in the TCP/IP properties? Are they all internal? Make sure you are not pointing to any external internet DNS servers.

An intermittent rpc server unavailable sounds like DNS problem. But we are still only guessing without data.

Check this mentioned above and respond.