BUG: NIK Fails to Clean Up Orphaned Connections

• Microsoft SQL Server Programmer's Toolkit, version 4.2

SYMPTOMS

Orphaned processes that went through the SQL Server Network Integration Kit (NIK) for Banyan VINES or Novell NetWare are sometimes left connected in SQL Server. Output from SP_WHO shows that SQL Server still holds a connection for a process that is no longer connected to SQL Server.

CAUSE

The Network Manager (NETMGR.EXE) portion of the NIK is not always informing SQL Server when a client connection has been broken due to a network error or an application terminating ungracefully, thus leaving orphaned (ghost) processes on SQL Server. If all connections to SQL Server are used, messages stating 'No PSS Structures ...' may appear in the SQL Server error log.

WORKAROUND

The Network Manager will clean up processes as long as there are well behaved applications using the NIK to connect to SQL Server and they are terminating gracefully by issuing a DBCLOSE() on the connection. Therefore, it is important to make sure that applications terminate their connection to SQL Server in the correct fashion.

Increasing the number of user connections will also help reduce the chance of being locked out of SQL Server and it is more likely that the Network Manager will find and close the orphaned processes.

If all of the connections are used by orphaned processes, there is no other choice but to stop and restart SQL Server.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in SQL Server NIK for Banyan VINES and Novell NetWare version 4.2. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.