How to I fix this extra geodatabase connection?

[PaulHuffman]

After restoring some old geodatabases to my new configuration, 10.3.1 on Windows Server 2012 R2 64, SQL Server 2012, a couple months ago,  I noticed that the database properties were still set to version 9.3.1.  I went through ArcCatalog>Update geodatabase to bring them up to the current version.  Except one wouldn't update.  Says it can't update because there is another open connection.  I had two different connections in ArcCatalog, trying a connection as administrator and one as a user.  But closing the other connection didn't fix it, deleting the other connection didn't fix it.  When I look at the geodatabase properties > connections I see two connections,  both from local host, but one at 6:30 today, way too early to be my current ArcCatalog connection.  One is in italics, one is in non-italics. What does that indicate?  When I clicked on the italics one, disconnect was not allowed, and when I clicked on the non-italics one and tried to disconnect I got "Entry for SDE instance not found in services file".  What would you do here? What documentation should I be looking at?

[RebeccaStrauch__GISP]

Maybe a AGS service is accessing it?  Can you shut down the ArcGIs Server...or if production, turn on service off at a time, if needed?

Or, you can run a script to see what all the .mxd's for the services are using.  My guess is one of the services is still holding on to the older connection.

[AsrujitSengupta]

Italics indicates your own Connection,....the one you used to connect and open the Geodatabase Administrator window.

The other error is a known issue....as you cannot disconnect users from a 9.3.1 SDE geodatabase using the 'Geodatabase Administrator' window...

You can try the below:

1. Use SDE Command line tools to disconnect that connection

2. remove that Orphaned Connection from the 'Process Information' table from the SQL Server Management Studio

[PaulHuffman]

Where are the docs for the SDE command line?  All that I have been able to find are the ArcServer Command line Utilities http://server.arcgis.com/en/server/10.3/administer/windows/arcgis-server-command-line-utilities.htm  but it nice to know I can run these.  

[RebeccaStrauch__GISP]

Last version in the help was 10.0 I believe.

See this thread ArcSDE Command line utilities help on Resource Center?

[PaulHuffman]

found the 10.2 version but haven't found sdeservice.exe on the host yet. Are sde command line utilities still available in 10.3.1?

[AsrujitSengupta]

Just remove that Orphaned entry from Process_information table using SQL Server Management Studio...should be quicker...

Make sure you have a db backup before doing it.