Group Policy Object 503 Service Unavailable Error

A Group Policy Object (GPO) applied on your domain which has removed or altered the user rights of the WhatsUpGold_User account on the WhatsUp Gold server can cause a generic 503 Service Unavailable Error to be displayed following WhatsUp Gold installation. The account is created during WhatsUp Gold installation and is used for the identity of the WhatsUp Gold application pool in IIS as well as the account with rights to the WhatsUp virtual directory. This user should be added to the Local Administrators group and should not be removed.

To correct the error, verify/restore applicable settings using the following procedures:

  1. Ensure the WhatsUpGold_User account exists on the WhatsUp Gold server:
    1. From the WhatsUp Gold server desktop, click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management.
    2. Expand Local Users and Groups in the Computer Management navigation tree.
    3. Click Users. If the WhatsUpGold_User account is not displayed, a GPO conflict exists and needs to be resolved at the Domain Controller.
  2. Ensure the WhatsUp_Gold User is a member of the Local Administrators group on the WhatsUp Gold server:
    1. From the WhatsUp Gold server desktop, click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management.
    2. Expand Local Users and Groups in the Computer Management navigation tree.
    3. Click Groups.
    4. Double-click Administrators. If the WhatsUpGold_User account is not displayed, a GPO conflict exists and needs to be resolved at the Domain Controller.
  3. Ensure the Local Administrators group has the Logon as a batch job Local Security option enabled:
    1. From the WhatsUp Gold server desktop, click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy.
    2. Expand Local Policies in the Security Settings navigation tree.
    3. Click User Rights Assignment.
    4. Double-click Logon as batch job. If the Administrators group is not displayed, a GPO conflict exists and needs to be resolved at the Domain Controller.

Important: If changes are made using these procedures, in IIS the Application pool Nmconsole is stopped. IIS needs to be restarted prior to continuing. Additionally, Event Viewer displays the following:

Application pool ASP.NET v4.0 has been disabled. Windows Process Activation Service (WAS) encountered a failure when it started a worker process to serve the application pool.

Application pool ASP.NET v4.0 has been disabled. Windows Process Activation Service (WAS) did not create a worker process to serve the application pool because the application pool identity is invalid.

See Also

Troubleshooting and Maintenance

Troubleshooting your network

Maintaining the Database

Recovering from a "Version Mismatch" error

Task Tray Application fails on Windows Vista

Co-located SQL Server and WhatsUp Gold server clocks must be synchronized

Connecting to a remote desktop

WhatsUp Gold engine message

Troubleshooting SNMP and WMI connections

False negative returned from WMI monitors

Re-enabling the Telnet protocol handler

Passive Monitor payload limitation

Receiving entries in the SNMP Trap Log

Recommended SMS modems and troubleshooting tips

Troubleshooting IIS configuration

Uninstalling Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold

Troubleshooting the WhatsUp Health Threshold