Diagnosing “Access Denied. Service is Down” Messages from NetWeaver

At some point in the implantation process we’ve seen the message “Access Denied. Service is Down” When implementing, updating or even running SAP NW IDM.  This document will go into a few tips for troubleshooting this message. Hopefully adding a few funny quotes will also help set the mood.

In my experience with these issues I’ve found it’s good to check the following categories:

1. Network Infrastructure.

“I know engineers, they LOVE to change things.” – Dr. Leonard McCoy, Star Trek: The Motion Picture

First things first, check the firewall settings and make sure all of the relevant ports are open. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a project stymied because a network engineer did not recognize one of the IDM project’s ports and shut them down. Some initial ones to check:

Also double check DNS.  If you’ve set up a dedicated instance of NetWeaver for IDM to use, it’s possible that the system was not entered into local DNS and/or the firewall as well. These are fairly simple, yet surprisingly common things.

2. NetWeaver

“Aye sir, the more they overtech the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain.” — Scotty, Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

Remember, the BASIS team are your friends.  Keep them in the loop and talk to them during your implementation / upgrade / ongoing operations. If new SCAs need to be deployed for WebDynpro or new EARs for REST or GRC, make sure they know about it and don’t be afraid to keep after them.  This might be the easiest “false positive;” you’re sure that you’ve told the BASIS team what needed to be done and what the deadlines were, but it’s YOUR project, so YOU follow up!

Also double check that NetWeaver and its database are up. This is critical when implementing or updating. More so if NetWeaver is undergoing maintenance.  Make sure you’re aware of the maintenance windows before screaming that the system is down.

3. JCBC Configuration in NetWeaver Administrator

Spock: We are traveling at warp speed. How did you manage to beam

  aboard this ship?

Kirk: You’re the genius. You figure it out.

-Star Trek (2009)

Finally, check with the BASIS team and make sure that the IDM installation was done correctly per this SAP Document. (Login Required)

There are three things to look at here:

1. Always make sure that the data source name is correct.  It should be: “IDM_DataSource“

2. Make sure you are using the correct database drivers. I’ve written an article about it here. and that you are using the correct database JARs.

3. Finally, When you look at the configuration in NetWeaver Administrator, you’ll notice a spot for database login credentials.  Note that these need to be for the PROV user (e.g., mxmc_prov) and the password is correct. I have seen issues, particularly on Oracle databases, where the password has been changed and the change in password is not updated in NetWeaver Administrator.  This turns into a classic example of “It was working yesterday and now it’s not working today”

When All else fails:

Spock: Consider the alternatives, Mr. Scott.

Scott: We have no fuel! What alternatives?

Spock: Mr. Scott, there are always alternatives.

-“Star Trek: The Galileo Seven

Kind of related to the previous section, but I wanted to be able to put in one more quote, and besides, it’s slightly different.

Make sure all services are running, the most important is the JMX service in NetWeaver (tc~idm~jmx~app) I have seen in the past when the NetWeaver server is rebooted that this one service does not start automatically.  Once it gets a manual “jump start” there are no further problems.

I’d even extend this a little bit further to double check database, security, and other services that might be relevant to how NetWeaver and IDM work in your environment.

I’m leaving this as an open document so that if anyone has further notes, observations or strategies they can add them.  If there are other things that need to be explored, please leave a comment.

And of course all quotes are (c) to their respective owners.

Useful port information – http://www.stengel.net/tcpports.htm