Error message when you try to access the search settings page in SharePoint Server 2007: "The search service is currently offline"

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SYMPTOMS

When you try to access the search settings page in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, you receive an error message that resembles the following:

The search service is currently offline. Visit the Services on Server page in SharePoint Central Administration to verify whether the service is enabled. This might also be because an indexer move is in progress.

This problem occurs when the following conditions are true:

SharePoint Server 2007 is configured to use the default proxy server to enable communication between different nodes in the farm.
The default proxy server is not configured to allow for dynamic traffic between the nodes in the SharePoint farm when the SharePoint farm communicates by using Web service calls to and from the Office Server Web Services Web application.

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CAUSE

This problem occurs because of the restrictions on the port that is requested. Therefore, the Web service call is not processed, the search service does not start, and indexing does not occur.

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RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, use one of the following methods, as appropriate for your situation.

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Method 1

On the proxy server that does not pass the traffic requests, configure the proxy server to pass the traffic on the specified port. Typically, TCP port 56737 and SSL port 56738 are used to pass traffic.

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Method 2

Configure the Web.config file for the Central Administration Web site to bypass the proxy server so that the communication with other nodes in the farm is direct.

Note You have to configure the Web.config file for the Central Administration Web site to bypass the proxy server on each node where Central Administration is provisioned.

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MORE INFORMATION

The proxy setting configuration for the default Web.config file setting is as follows:

<system.net>
    <defaultProxy>
      <proxy autoDetect="true" />
    </defaultProxy>
  </system.net>

A proxy bypass configuration resembles the following configuration:

<system.net>
    <defaultProxy>
      <proxy
         usesystemdefault="false"
                 proxyaddress="http://someproxy:74"
         bypassonlocal="true"
      />
      <bypasslist>
        <add address="[a-z]+\.somebody\.com" />
        <add address="Server1" />
        <add address="Server2" />
        <add address="Server3" />
        <add address="Server4" />
        <add address="Server5" />
        <add address="Server6" />
      </bypasslist>
    </defaultProxy>
  </system.net>

Note In this configuration, the "Server1" through "Server6" entries are placeholders that represent the names of each SharePoint node in the farm.

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