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What to do when your application server goes bang

What happens when someone kills your Application Server?

So imagine the scenario:

Three Server Solution
- SQL
- SharePoint 2010 and Project Server 2010 Application Server (Central Admin Host)
- Wfe/ReportServer

We wake one bleary Monday morning to find that some numpty has killed the application server and the users are baying for blood.

Well surprisingly SharePoint handles this disaster recovery scenario particularly well.  Well.  Better than I thought it would to be honest.

Rough steps:

- quick SQL backup to be safe
- Rebuild your application server
- reinstall pre-reqs
- reinstall SP, PS, SPFSP1, SPS+PSSP1, Cumulative Update and other stuff you usually put on there.
- Run your configuration wizard to reattach to the Farm, and select Host CA Site

The last step was what I was VERY wary of.  Would the server simply reattach to the Farm, even when there is no CA server available?  

Bingo your back.... almost.... you are going to get errors a-gogo in your event log as things just aren't quite back to normal after the farm had its head cut off.

Error:  Navigate to your Project Server site and select BI Center:  Unexpected error occurred
Logs:  URL events stating System.ServiceModel.ServerTooBusyException:  Secure Store Service Did Not Performed (sic) the operation
Fix:       Secure Store needs to be reset 

> Service Applications | Secure Store Properties
> Regenerate Key

Just for safety i went through and reset all properties for configured Service Applications.

Started Microsoft SharePoint Foundation Web Application Service as IIS was also not showing the same sites on application server as on the WFE.

Outstanding issues:
- Navigating to performancepoint content returns an Unexpected Error & Event Log shows
"the user xxxxx attempted to access an item in the following location http://..............."
Verify the location exists and that the user has the Read Items permission

Ok so I missed resetting the PerformancePoint Service Application properties... after doing this, all is well

Search:
Application SErver Administration Job Failed for SErvice instance Microsoft.office.server.search.administration.searchServiceInstance
Reason: There is no project Portal_Content mounted under gatherer application 68d05007-b712-46f2-adc6-58c22066dbd0.

I didnt find a way around this... recreated Search Service Application

Anyway that was my route to getting this farm up and running again.  we were lucky we didnt have any code recover from the dead app server.


At the end of this process we had:
- SP Sites back up and available
- CA Back up and available
- PWA sites and BI reports


Hope it helped some...


Carl

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