SNA Client Does Not Retry Other Sponsors After Error Response

ID: Q180467

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft SNA Server, versions 2.11, 3.0 SP1, 3.0 SP2, 4.0

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When the SNA client attempts to get its sponsor connection from a specific SNA Server computer and it receives an error, the SNA client never tries to connect to another sponsor server listed in its sponsor server list. Instead, the SNA client repeatedly tries to connect to the first SNA Server computer that it attempted to connect to.

WORKAROUND

For SNA Server clients using Windows NT or Windows 95, a registry entry must be added in order for users to specify a SponsorRetryDelay time in case TerminateIfNoSponsors is disabled. This registry entry gives slow wide area networks or SNA Server computers time to recover from failure.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

To work around the problem, add the following registry entry:


   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\SnaBase\Parameters:
   SponsorRetryDelay:REG_DWORD:&lt;retry delay in seconds&gt;

NOTE: The default retry delay is 15 seconds.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in SNA Server versions 2.11, 3.0 SP1, 3.0 SP2, and 4.0.

This problem was corrected in the latest SNA Server versions 3.0 and 4.0 U.S. Service Packs. For information on obtaining these Service Packs, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

S E R V P A C K

Additional query words: sponsor client

Keywords : prodsna kbfix3.00.sp3 snawin95 snawinnt
Version : WINDOWS:2.11,3.0 SP1,3.0 SP2,4.0
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbbug