Active Directory replication error 1256: The remote system is not available

This article describes the symptoms, cause, and resolution steps for cases when Active Directory replication fails with error 1256: The remote system is not available.

Applies to:   All supported versions of Windows Server
Original KB number:   2200187

Symptoms

1. The DCDIAG reports that the Active Directory Replications test has failed with error 1256: The remote system is not available.

   Starting test: Replications
   [Replications Check, <Destination DC>] A recent replication attempt failed:
   From <source DC> to <destination DC>
   Naming Context: <directory partition DN path>
   The replication generated an error (1256):
   The remote system is not available. For information about network troubleshooting, see Windows Help.
   The failure occurred at <date> <time>
   The last success occurred at <date> <time>

2. REPADMIN.EXE reports that a replication attempt has failed with status 1256. REPADMIN commands that commonly cite the 1256 status include but are not limited to:

   • REPADMIN /REPLSUM
   • REPADMIN /SHOWREPS
   • REPADMIN /SHOWREPL
   • REPADMIN /FAILCACHE

   Sample output from REPADMIN /SHOWREPS depicting inbound replication from LonEMEADC to LonContosoDC failing with The remote system is not available error is shown below:

   Repadmin: running command /showrepl against full DC localhost
   London\LONCONTOSODC
   DSA Options: IS_GC
   Site Options: (none)
   DSA object GUID: a29bbfda-8425-4cb9-9c66-8e07d505a5c6
   DSA invocationID: d58a6322-6a28-4708-82d3-53b7dcc13c1a

   ==== INBOUND NEIGHBORS ======================================
   <snip>
   DC=ForestDnsZones,DC=Contoso,DC=com
   London\LONEMEADC via RPC
   DSA object GUID: cd691606-63d1-4cc8-b77a-055674ba569d
   Last attempt @ 2010-06-10 17:35:46 failed, result 1256 (0x4e8):
   The remote system is not available. For information about network troubleshooting, see Windows Help.
   <#> consecutive failure(s).
   Last success @ <date> <time>.

3. NTDS KCC, NTDS Replication, or ActiveDirectory_DomainService events with the 1256 status are logged in the directory service event log.

   Event Source	Event ID	Event String
   NTDS Replication ActiveDirectory_DomainService	1085 *	Internal event: Active Directory Domain Services could not synchronize the following directory partition with the directory service at the following network address.
   NTDS KCC ActiveDirectory_DomainService	1308	The Knowledge Consistency Checker (KCC) has detected that successive attempts to replicate with the following domain controller has consistently failed. The Knowledge Consistency Checker (KCC) has detected that successive attempts to replicate with the following directory service has consistently failed.

   Note

   Event 1085 is only logged if the NTDS Diagnostics value 5 Replication Events has been set to a value of 1 or higher.

Cause

Replication status 1256 is logged for the following reason:

When the destination DC fails to bind to the source DC using RPC a win32 error code in the Repsfrom status for that partition - usually Schema or Configuration since these partitions are replicated at a higher priority. After an RPC bind failure has occurred, a cleanup routine will run to clear the destination DCs queue from that same source DC. This is done to avoid wasting time attempting to replicate with a DC that it can't connect to. Since it hasn't attempted a sync for the partitions that have been cleared from the queue, a status 1256 is logged. In a scenario where destination DC replicates Schema, Configuration, and several GC non-writable partitions from the source DC, the win32 error status for the Schema and Configuration partitions that caused the RPC bind failure is logged. The destination DC will then cancel the pending replication tasks for the remaining partitions and log win32 error 1256 for the status.

In summary: 1256 is logged as the replication status per partition as a result of the destination DC cancelling the sync request from the source DC due to a connectivity failure previously encountered.

Resolution

The win32 error 1256 should not be the focus of troubleshooting efforts, instead find the replication status that led to the RPC bind failure and then follow the corresponding Troubleshooting Active Directory operations that fail with error... article.

Diagnose Active Directory replication failures.

In order to determine the actual win32 error to troubleshoot, use one of the following methods:

1. View repadmin /showreps or /showreploutput on the destination DC

   1. Identify Source DC in the output and list all win32 status messages per partition
   2. The win32 status that is listed that is not a 1256 should be the focus of troubleshooting efforts

2. Use repadmin /showrepl * /csv output:

   1. Filter column K, Last Failure Status: Deselect 0 and (Blanks)
   2. Filter column C, Destination DSA: Deselect (Select All) and select just the DC where the 1256 status is logged.
   3. If 1256 is logged on more than one Source DC, Filter column F, Source DSA: Deselect (Select All) and Select just one DC to narrow the focus.
   4. Column K, Last Failure Status will list the 1256's along with the real win32 error that led to the RPC bind failure.

   In the following example, win32 error 1722 is logged for the Configuration and Schema partitions and should be the focus of troubleshooting.

   B	C	D	E	F	H	I	J	K
   Destination DSA Site	Destination DSA	Naming Context	Source DSA Site	Source DSA	Number of Failures	Last Failure Time	Last Success Time	Last Failure Status
   London	LONCONTOSODC	CN=Configuration,DC=Contoso,DC=com	London	LONEMEADC	11	6/10/2010 17:35	6/10/2010 14:50	1722
   London	LONCONTOSODC	CN=Schema,CN=Configuration, DC=Contoso,DC=com	London	LONEMEADC	11	6/10/2010 17:36	6/10/2010 14:50	1722
   London	LONCONTOSODC	DC=ForestDnsZones,DC=Contoso,DC=com	London	LONEMEADC	11	6/10/2010 17:35	6/10/2010 14:50	1256
   London	LONCONTOSODC	DC=corp,DC=Contoso,DC=com	London	LONEMEADC	11	6/10/2010 17:35	6/10/2010 14:50	1256
   London	LONCONTOSODC	DC=EMEA,DC=Contoso,DC=com	London	LONEMEADC	11	6/10/2010 17:35	6/10/2010 14:54	1256
   London	LONCONTOSODC	DC=apac,DC=Contoso,DC=com	London	LONEMEADC	11	6/10/2010 17:35	6/10/2010 14:50	1256

3. Initiate a manual replication sync between source and destination DCs using repadmin.

   Repadmin /replicate DestinationDC SourceDC <DN of partition reporting status 1256> (This will require /readonly switch for GC partition or /selsecrets switch if destination is an RODC)

   repadmin /replicate loncontosodc lonemeadc.emea.contoso.com dc=forestdnszones,dc=contoso,dc=com

   DsReplicaSync() failed with status 1722 (0x6ba):

   The RPC server is unavailable.

   Take note that after manually initiating replication for the partition that the status has changed from 1256 to 1722:

   B	C	D	E	F	H	I	J	K
   Destination DSA Site	Destination DSA	Naming Context	Source DSA Site	Source DSA	Number of Failures	Last Failure Time	Last Success Time	Last Failure Status
   London	LONCONTOSODC	CN=Configuration,DC=Contoso, DC=com	London	LONEMEADC	11	6/10/2010 17:35	6/10/2010 14:50	1722
   London	LONCONTOSODC	CN=Schema,CN=Configuration, DC=Contoso,DC=com	London	LONEMEADC	11	6/10/2010 17:36	6/10/2010 14:50	1722
   London	LONCONTOSODC	DC=ForestDnsZones, DC=Contoso,DC=com	London	LONEMEADC	12	6/10/2010 17:46	6/10/2010 14:50	1722
   London	LONCONTOSODC	DC=corp,DC=Contoso,DC=com	London	LONEMEADC	11	6/10/2010 17:35	6/10/2010 14:50	1256
   London	LONCONTOSODC	DC=EMEA,DC=Contoso,DC=com	London	LONEMEADC	11	6/10/2010 17:35	6/10/2010 14:54	1256
   London	LONCONTOSODC	DC=apac,DC=Contoso,DC=com	London	LONEMEADC	11	6/10/2010 17:35	6/10/2010 14:50	1256

Data collection

If you need assistance from Microsoft support, we recommend you collect the information by following the steps mentioned in Gather information by using TSS for Active Directory replication issues.

More information

The following articles contain the troubleshooting procedures for errors typically logged with win32 error 1256: