[sims] Discover - issue loading the catalog

[simpsonj]

Got a slightly odd issue with Discover and our Data manager. She's the only one using Discover in Anger, setting up Assessment tables, Discover groups etc. She needed to demonstrate discover to the LT, so we moved her PC to a meetings room and everything started to go wrong.

 

Usually staff authenticate with SIMS using AD, so the first clue something was up was when the Discover Administrative Utility asked for a username and password. After trying various things to fix this issue (logging out, logging in, changing the authentication method), she tried logging into Discover to get a:

 

'There has been an issue loading the Catalog. This has been logged. Would you like to try and load the Catalog again?' Clicking Yes brings up the error message, no just loads Discover with no icons at the top.

 

We found a work around involving her using my account for the day, and then at the end of the day, we shifted her PC back to her office, and it started working normally again. Knowing that geographical location had nothing to do with the issue, I just put it down to bad luck. Until today, where it's reared it's head again.

 

I know it isn't computer specific as it her login doesn't work on my computer, yet my login will run Discover just fine. I thought it might be a Database transfer issue, but that doesn't appear to be the case either as I've ran a new transfer using the Discover Administrative Utility and it hasn't solved the issue.

 

So questions are:

 

1, Has anyone ran into this issue before, and how did you solve it?

2, Is there a way to 'rebuild' a user login to discover? Give it a new catalog, or refresh the user account?

 

Thanks for any help

[simpsonj]

Right, I've found the cure, but not the cause.

 

To cure said problem, unlink the affected user from Active Directory, login to SIMS. Log out of SIMS, relink the user to SIMS and all is well again. I have no godly idea why this occurs, and why this fixes the issue. The only reason I can think of is if the SQL database for Discover has a user called NETWORK\DataManager, this somehow corrupts whilst using the DAU. I remove the Active Directory link, making the user just DataManager, which then causes the issue loading the catalog as the Discover database is expecting NETWORK\DataManager, but some values are shared so it can't just create a new discover user account. Relinking the account fixes the data corruption in the DAU, and allows Discover to be used as normal.

 

Does any of that have a remote chance of making sense?

[hutchings_18]

Hi simpsonj,

 

What do you mean by "unlink the affected user from Active Directory"?

 

I have schools running Discover no problem, but my SIMS Training accounts won't log in, and give me the "catalog" error you've mentioned. I've got a SimsTraining01 database and a corresponding DiscoverTraining01 database. There are 17 of these pairs altogether.

 

Capita are asking me to reinstall Discover, but I'm reluctant to as the schools live databases are running fine.

 

Cheers,

Hutch

[simpsonj]

In SIMS, choose Focus - System Manager - Manage users and find your training accounts. If under login details it has a straight forward username, then you aren't using AD integration. If you have something like DOMAIN\Username then you are using AD integration. With the latter, just unlink your training account (so give them a username, taking out the DOMAIN\) log into SIMS with that account, sign out of SIMS, and then reattach them to Active Directory.

 

It's an absolute PITA, but I've only experienced it with one user, and not since I posted back in December...

[hutchings_18]

Hi simpsonj,

 

Thanks for your reply. However, I found the cause of my problem. The Discover database needs the COMPUTER ACCOUNT of the server that runs the Discover Services AND IIS. For me, this is done by 2 different servers SERVER1 runs the Discover Services and SERVER2 runs IIS so that we can access Discover via a XBAP webpage.

I opened SQL Management Studio and checked the Security\Users folder with the Discover database... DOMAIN\SERVER1$ was there, but DOMAIN\SERVER2$ was not.

After running this command, it allows me to login:

 

echo Granting Web Service rights in both databases...

"%DISCOVER_SERVICES_DIR%\Discover.SqlUserManager.Console" /operation=GrantAppPoolRights /AccountName="DOMAIN\SERVER2$" /Server="%SERVER_NAME%" /DiscoverDatabase="%DISCOVER_DATABASE_NAME%"

 

Replace %Discover_Services_DIR$ with the installation location of the Discover Services, e.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\SIMS\Discover Services

Replace %Server_Name% with the servername\instancename of the Discover database, e.g. Server1\SQL2008

Replace %Discover_Database_Name% with the discover database name, e.g. Discover

 

Hope this helps?

 

Thanks,

Peter

[ICTHUS]

Try this to see if the database name is correct on the client.

Go to C:/ Programdata, then go into the Discover folder.

Within that, there will be a Config file.

Open the Config file, and where it says “Database Name”, change it from “Discover” to whatever your discover database name is.

It was wrong for me now it works.

[JHLEHS]

Hey chaps first of all thank you to @hutchings_18 great post. I have this error today I fixed this by going to SQL management studio and then finding DOMAIN\SERVERNAME$ and checking the user mapping and noticed that the user did not have any access to teh SQL Database. I ticked all the options and hey presto it worked a treat. Cheers everyone!

[zag]

Hey chaps first of all thank you to @hutchings_18 great post. I have this error today I fixed this by going to SQL management studio and then finding DOMAIN\SERVERNAME$ and checking the user mapping and noticed that the user did not have any access to teh SQL Database. I ticked all the options and hey presto it worked a treat. Cheers everyone!

 

Thanks, just came across this problem. This solution worked for me.

[gh5000]

Just to give another "solution" to the problem for anyone searching. We had recently moved SIMS logons to AD authenticated so knew that was where to start.

 

In SQL Management Studio there were two sets of logons old simsdb_ghanel and the new DOMAIN\ghanel usernames. The domain SQL logons didn't have a user mapping for the discover DB so right click properties and add, schema DBO and tick the DiscoverLogin role membership underneath.

 

Now just need to write the sql script to do this en masse.

[KElliott]

Thanks for your help, viewed the SQL as suggested to see problem. The discover user synchronisation normally runs overnight, but I didn't realise a new user couldn't get access until the routine had been run overnight. Ran it manually and all was good.