Updating primary site account password broke tomcat web service

[StephanieSnider]

ArcGIS Server 10.1 SP 1

I updated the password on the Primary Site Admin Account using Manager.  See this instructions.
http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/index.html#//0154000005p0000000

When it logged me out, the ArcGIS Server website no longer works.  Rest, Admin and Manager sites are not able to connect (remotely or on the server itself).  We tried restarting the ArcGIS Server service, restarting Tomcat, restating the server, but still the website does not work.  The ArcGIS Server service says that it is running, but Tomcat keeps trying to start and shutting down (as seen in the log files).  We went through the configure arcgis server account (post install) again, notta.  We repaired the ArcGIS Server installation, notta.  We confirmed that the primary stie admin account is not disabled (from the json file under security super).

The Primary Site admin account is supposed to be different from the ArcGIS Server windows admin account.  In our case, the server admin account is a windows domain account and totally separate from the Primary site account (which is local).  So why would changing the password on the primary site admin account break the Tomcat web service??

[BubbaHey]

That is weird, but try this.  Open ArcGIS Server Manager > Security > Security Store Configuration (looks like a pencil icon), choose Users/Roles from Windows Domain > Put in the updated password (even if same password) for your domain user account > finish wizard.

We have to do this all the time because of our password policy. Changes every 60 days.

[StephanieSnider]

bubbahey25,
My problem was that changing the password blew up ArcGIS Server and the web server.  None of the websites for ArcGIS Server worked anymore.  I got a message "cannot display page" on the manager, admin and rest services web sites.  So I couldn't get into the manager to update the password.  The ArcGIS Server service was running, but none of the websites worked.  I contacted ESRI tech support and they said that the ArcGIS Engine was corrupted and recommended that I reinstall ArcGIS Server altogether.  Thank goodness this was a test machine with no major services on it as yet.  I will not be updating the password ever again - certainly on a production machine.

[BubbaHey]

Try logging into manager using your old password. If successful, use the steps I sent.

[JustinRodriguez]

Hello Everyone,
Please allow me to chime in for a moment. We are dealing with two accounts here:

1. The Primary Site Administrator Account (PSA)

2. The Windows Service Account (WSA)


PSA
The PSA is a Non Windows account. It is not local to the windows machine, nor the Domain. This account is local to the ArcGIS Server itself, and only exists in ArcGIS for Server.

WSA
This is an Account that runs the ArcGIS Server Service, and can be either a local or domain account.


What it sounds like you did was reset the PSA Account, then you rebooted the ArcGIS Server Service. Resetting the PSA Account should have no bearing on the WSA running the ArcGIS Server Service.

What happens when you reboot a service is the WSA running the account is 'relogged in' or at least the credentials are repassed. It is possible that the account had a password flag on it for resetting it, or the password was changed somewhere, and the credentials on the ArcGIS Server Service were never updated. Restarting the service could simply bring issues like this to the surface.

Were you able to correct your issue? Thank you very much-