SharePoint 2010 UPA Idle

DESCRIPTION

I ran into an issue with the User Profile Application (UPA) recently.  I had recently added a custom user property to the UPA and needed to do a full synchronization to pull in the values from Active Directory.  I manually initiated a full sync, however, the Profile Synchronization Settings remained "Idle."

SOLUTION


First thing I did was RDP to the SharePoint application server and to figure out the LOGONSERVER.  From the command line I typed:

echo %logonserver%

Doing this revealed that that the LOGONSERVER was a domain controller DC01.  I investigated to find that this server was running Windows Server 2003.  I continued to research the domain and found that the entire domain was running at 2003 level and there were a mix of 2003 and 2008 domain controllers.  The domain level wasn't the issue, but the specific server might be the issue.

Next, I manually changed the LOGONSERVER of the SharePoint  application server to a Windows Server 2008 domain controller named, DC03.  I did this from the command line using the following command:

set logonserver=\\DC03

With the LOGONSERVER updated, I attempted to run another full UPA sync.  It was successful this time.

Finally, I wanted to hard code this LOGONSERVER setting to ensure that I didn't have to monitor this.  To do this, I made the following change on the SharePoint application server:  Start, Control Panel, System, System Properties. Advanced Tab, Environment Variables, System Variables.  I added a System Variable called "LOGONSERVER" and I set it to DC03.