SharePoint 2010: While creating a new web application, a 404 'Page not found' error is displayed and the web application is only provisioned on the local server

After a number of web applications have been created in the SharePoint 2010 farm, further attempts to create a new web application through Central Administration result in the following:

1. The creation process results in a 'Page cannot be displayed' message.
2. The web application is only provisioned on the Central Administration server.

As more and more web applications are created, the time in which it takes to create a web application increases. As part of the creation process, IIS is reset and by default, the application pool allows 90 seconds for the connections to close off before forcibly shutting down. When the number of web applications grows above 10, 90 seconds is not enough time for the provisioning to finish.

As a result, the w3wp process is killed and the provisioning process is stopped prior to the timer jobs being created.

The solution to this is to allow the process a longer amount of time before it is forcibly shutdown.

• On the server(s) hosting Central Admin, open IIS manager.
• In the tree view, expand the server name and click on Application Pools.
• Locate the SharePoint Central Administration v4 application pool. Right click on it and choose Advanced Settings.
• In the Process Model section, set the Shutdown Time Limit to a greater value. As an example, 300.
• Restart IIS.

Note This is a "FAST PUBLISH" article created directly from within the Microsoft support organization. The information contained herein is provided as-is in response to emerging issues. As a result of the speed in making it available, the materials may include typographical errors and may be revised at any time without notice. See Terms of Use (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=151500) for other considerations.