SMS: The "Use All Detected Servers" Option in a Multisite Domain Causes Client and Logon Server Errors (270218)

SYMPTOMS

When two or more sites are configured in the same domain and one site has the Use All Detected Servers option selected in the Domain Properties for logon servers dialog box, newly installed clients may not show up in the Sites window of the Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) Administrator. You may also see the following error message in the Hman.log with blank entries for the SQL Server name, SQL Login name, and SQL database name:

{6534} INFO: Beginning processing cycle~ $$(SMS_HIERARCHY_MANAGER)(Mon Jun 26 16:18:55 2000~)(thread=326)
SQL Server = ~ $$(SMS_HIERARCHY_MANAGER)(Mon Jun 26 16:18:55 2000~)(thread=326)
SQL Login = ~ $$(SMS_HIERARCHY_MANAGER)(Mon Jun 26 16:18:55 2000~)(thread=326)
SQL database = ~ $$(SMS_HIERARCHY_MANAGER)(Mon Jun 26 16:18:55 2000~)(thread=326)
{6562} INFO: Checking access to SQL Server $$(SMS_HIERARCHY_MANAGER)(Mon Jun 26 16:18:55 2000~)(thread=326)
{6581} ERROR: Cannot establish a SQL connection.~ $$(SMS_HIERARCHY_MANAGER)(Mon Jun 26 16:18:55 2000~)(thread=326)
{6354} INFO: Work cycle completed: sleeping 300000 milliseconds~ $$(SMS_HIERARCHY_MANAGER)(Mon Jun 26 16:18:55 2000~)(thread=326)

CAUSE

When multiple sites within the same domain have the Use All Detected Servers option selected, one of the sites tries to install a logon server on top of the other site's existing logon server. This attempted installation results in the removal of several required SMS site registry settings. The blank or missing registry keys are:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Sms\Identification

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Sms\SQL Server

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, follow these steps:

Change the logon server setting in all cases from Use All Detected Servers to Use Specified Servers. Do not select any site servers.
Remove and rebuild the site. For additional information about inactive SMS site servers, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
188055 SMS: How to Remove Inactive SMS Site Servers
183348 SMS: Secondary Sites Are No Longer Active
Restore the SMS keys from a recent backup.
Restore the SMS keys from the Software._ hive located in either the %SystemRoot%\Repair directory or on the emergency repair disk.For additional information about the Rdisk.exe program, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
265422 How Rdisk.exe Updates Repair Information
Rebuild the registry keys with the site information. Call Microsoft's SMS Support office for assistance with this step.