Environment
Directory and Resource Administrator 7.x
Directory and Resource Administrator 8.x
Situation
Some computer accounts are online and available, but show up as Unavailable, yet Directory and Resource Administrator can manage them.
Computer objects display a red question mark under the Object Type column.
Managed domains appear with a red question mark.
Trusted domains appear with a red question mark.
How do I disable the feature in DRA that uses the browser service to report the availability of resources, computers and domains?
Resolution
To stop the false reporting, choose the appropriate solution from among the following:
- Stop hiding the computer from the browse service. To stop hiding the computer, at the command prompt, run the following command:
net config server /hidden:no
. - Resolve the browser issues in the environment. You may use the
browstat
utility to troubleshoot browser issues. - Start the Computer Browser service on the DRA server.
- Manually run Resource Cache Refresh.
- Enable the Resource Cache Refresh for some interval or scheduled time.
An enhancement request has been opened with Development to remove this "feature" from DRA as it causes more confusion than good.
Cause
The Resource Cache Refresh assesses the availability of computers and their resources. The Resource Cache Refresh contacts the Browser service to determine the list of available computer accounts. If a computer is listed as Unavailable, Directory and Resource Administrator can still manage the computer if the computer is online.
Resource Cache Refresh wrongly reports computers and their resources as unavailable if any of the following are true:
- The computer is hidden from the browser service.
- There are browser-related issues in the environment.
- The Computer Browser service has been disabled on the Directory and Resource Administrator server or has been disabled in the environment.
- The computer came online after the last Resource Cache Refresh ran. By default, Resource Cache Refresh runs every 30 minutes
Additional Information
When managing computer resources that are wrongly reported to be offline, Assistant Admins will receive the message, "You may not be able to manage resources for this computer because this computer may be unavailable. To proceed, click the refresh button on the toolbar." Assistant Admins can manage these resources.