"The RPC Server Is Unavailable" Error Message and System Event IDs 5718 and 3013 (297002)

SYMPTOMS

When you try to synchronize a backup domain controller (BDC) with the primary domain controller (PDC) of a domain, the synchronization of the Security Accounts Manager (SAM) database may not succeed. You may receive the following error message on the BDC:

The RPC server is unavailable

The System Event Log of the BDC may display the following information:

Event ID: 5718
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Netlogon
Description: The full synchronization replication of the name database from the primary domain controller computername failed with the following error: text

Event ID: 3013
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Rdr
Description: The redirector has timed out a request to computername.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if the communication link between the BDC and the PDC does not support large packet sizes, for example, packets that are more than 1024 bytes in size.

RESOLUTION

To resolve the behavior, adjust the communication link to support larger packet sizes. This setting is usually adjusted on a router.

MORE INFORMATION

To see whether there is a communication problem between the BDC and the PDC, use packets of increasing sizes and try to ping the PDC by IP address. You can use the ping command with the -l option. Also, you can use the Tracert.exe utility to determine where the packets are being dropped.