This comprehensive troubleshooting guide provides systematic approaches to diagnosing and resolving common issues with Microsoft Identity Manager 2016 Synchronization Service.

Diagnostic Methodology

1. Problem Identification

Systematic Approach:

1. Define the Problem: What exactly is not working?
2. Identify Scope: Which components are affected?
3. Determine Timeline: When did the issue start?
4. Gather Evidence: Collect relevant logs and error messages
5. Reproduce the Issue: Can the problem be consistently reproduced?

2. Information Gathering

Essential Information Sources:

• Event Logs: Application and System logs
• Synchronization Statistics: Import/Export counts
• Connector Space Objects: Object states and errors
• Metaverse Objects: Data consistency
• Run Histories: Historical performance data

3. Diagnostic Tools

Built-in Tools:

• Synchronization Service Manager: Primary management interface
• Metaverse Search: Object investigation
• Connector Space Search: Connector-specific objects
• Preview: Attribute flow testing
• Event Viewer: System and application logs

Third-Party Tools:

• Process Monitor: File and registry access
• Network Monitor: Network traffic analysis
• Performance Monitor: System performance metrics
• PowerShell: Automated diagnostics

Common Error Categories

1. Connection Errors

LDAP Connection Failures

Symptoms:

• "The server is not operational"
• "A referral was returned from the server"
• "The LDAP server is unavailable"

Common Causes:

• Network connectivity issues
• DNS resolution problems
• Authentication failures
• Firewall restrictions
• Domain controller availability

Diagnostic Steps:

1. Test Network Connectivity

   Test-NetConnection -ComputerName dc01.contoso.com -Port 389
   Test-NetConnection -ComputerName dc01.contoso.com -Port 636
   

2. Verify DNS Resolution

   nslookup contoso.com
   nslookup _ldap._tcp.contoso.com
   

3. Test LDAP Binding

   # Use LDP.exe to test LDAP connections
   ldp.exe
   

Resolution Strategies:

• Verify service account credentials
• Check domain controller status
• Validate firewall rules
• Test from MIM server directly

Database Connection Issues

Symptoms:

• "Cannot open database"
• "Login timeout expired"
• "A network-related or instance-specific error"

Common Causes:

• SQL Server unavailability
• Authentication failures
• Network connectivity
• Database corruption

Diagnostic Steps:

1. Test SQL Connectivity

   Test-NetConnection -ComputerName sqlserver -Port 1433
   sqlcmd -S sqlserver -E -Q "SELECT @@VERSION"
   

2. Verify Database Status

   SELECT name, state_desc FROM sys.databases
   WHERE name = 'FIMSynchronizationService'
   

2. Synchronization Errors

Import Errors

Common Error Types:

referential-integrity-violation

• Cause: Referenced object doesn't exist
• Example: Manager attribute points to non-existent user
• Resolution: Fix referential data or implement placeholder logic

attribute-value-must-be-unique

• Cause: Duplicate values for unique attributes
• Example: Multiple users with same email address
• Resolution: Implement conflict resolution logic

object-class-violation

• Cause: Required attributes missing
• Example: User object without sAMAccountName
• Resolution: Validate source data requirements

Diagnostic Process:

1. Review Import Statistics

   • Check import error count
   • Identify error patterns
   • Analyze error distribution

2. Examine Failed Objects

   • Use Connector Space Search
   • Review object attributes
   • Check error details

3. Validate Source Data

   • Verify data quality
   • Check referential integrity
   • Validate required attributes

Export Errors

Common Export Issues:

insufficient-access-rights

• Cause: Service account lacks permissions
• Resolution: Review and grant appropriate permissions

entry-already-exists

• Cause: Attempting to create existing object
• Resolution: Implement proper join logic

unwilling-to-perform

• Cause: Operation violates directory policy
• Resolution: Review directory policies and constraints

3. Performance Issues

Slow Synchronization

Symptoms:

• Extended run times
• High CPU utilization
• Memory consumption
• Timeout errors

Performance Analysis:

1. Baseline Measurement

   # Monitor synchronization performance
   Get-Counter "\FIM Synchronization Service(*)\*" -Continuous
   

2. Identify Bottlenecks

   • CPU utilization patterns
   • Memory usage trends
   • Disk I/O statistics
   • Network throughput

3. Database Performance

   -- Check for blocking processes
   SELECT * FROM sys.dm_exec_requests
   WHERE blocking_session_id <> 0
   
   -- Monitor expensive queries
   SELECT TOP 10 
       total_elapsed_time,
       execution_count,
       (total_elapsed_time/execution_count) as avg_time,
       SUBSTRING(st.text, (qs.statement_start_offset/2)+1,
           ((CASE qs.statement_end_offset
               WHEN -1 THEN DATALENGTH(st.text)
               ELSE qs.statement_end_offset
           END - qs.statement_start_offset)/2) + 1) AS statement_text
   FROM sys.dm_exec_query_stats qs
   CROSS APPLY sys.dm_exec_sql_text(qs.sql_handle) st
   ORDER BY total_elapsed_time DESC
   

Optimization Strategies:

• Implement Filtering: Reduce synchronized object count
• Optimize Queries: Improve database performance
• Resource Allocation: Increase available resources
• Batch Processing: Optimize import/export batch sizes

Service-Specific Issues

1. MIM Synchronization Service

Service Won't Start

Common Causes:

• Database connectivity issues
• Configuration corruption
• Permission problems
• Resource constraints

Diagnostic Steps:

1. Check Service Dependencies

   Get-Service -Name FIMSynchronizationService -DependentServices
   Get-Service -Name FIMSynchronizationService -RequiredServices
   

2. Review Event Logs

   Get-WinEvent -LogName Application | 
   Where-Object {$_.ProviderName -like "*Forefront*"} |
   Select-Object TimeCreated, Id, LevelDisplayName, Message
   

3. Validate Configuration

   • Check database connection strings
   • Verify service account permissions
   • Review configuration files

Metaverse Database Issues

Database Corruption:

1. Check Database Integrity

   DBCC CHECKDB('FIMSynchronizationService')
   

2. Repair Procedures

   -- For minor corruption
   DBCC CHECKDB('FIMSynchronizationService', REPAIR_REBUILD)
   
   -- For major corruption (data loss possible)
   DBCC CHECKDB('FIMSynchronizationService', REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS)
   

3. Backup and Recovery

   • Restore from known good backup
   • Re-initialize from authoritative sources
   • Implement preventive maintenance

2. Management Agent Issues

Management Agent Import Failures

Systematic Diagnosis:

1. Verify Connectivity

   • Test connection to data source
   • Validate credentials
   • Check network accessibility

2. Review Run Profile Configuration

   • Confirm run step configuration
   • Validate partition settings
   • Check filtering criteria

3. Analyze Import Statistics

   • Object counts by type
   • Error distribution
   • Performance metrics

Schema Detection Problems

Common Issues:

• Schema changes in source system
• Permission restrictions
• Network timeouts
• Source system unavailability

Resolution Steps:

1. Refresh Schema

   • Refresh management agent schema
   • Compare with previous schema
   • Identify changes and impacts

2. Update Attribute Flow

   • Modify import/export flow rules
   • Update transformation logic
   • Test with preview function

3. Rule Extension Errors

Compilation Failures

Common Causes:

• Syntax errors in code
• Missing references
• Version compatibility issues
• Deployment problems

Debugging Process:

1. Review Error Messages

   Common Compilation Errors:
   - "Could not load file or assembly"
   - "The type or namespace name could not be found"
   - "Method not found"
   

2. Validate Code Syntax

   • Use Visual Studio debugging
   • Check method signatures
   • Verify assembly references

3. Test Deployment

   • Confirm assembly location
   • Verify permissions
   • Restart synchronization service

Runtime Exceptions

Exception Handling:

public void MapAttributesForImport(
    string FlowRuleName,
    CSEntry csentry,
    MVEntry mventry)
{
    try
    {
        // Rule logic here
    }
    catch (UnexpectedDataException ex)
    {
        // Log and handle data issues
        System.Diagnostics.EventLog.WriteEntry(
            "FIM Synchronization Service",
            $"Data validation error: {ex.Message}",
            System.Diagnostics.EventLogEntryType.Warning);
        throw;
    }
    catch (Exception ex)
    {
        // Log unexpected errors
        System.Diagnostics.EventLog.WriteEntry(
            "FIM Synchronization Service",
            $"Unexpected error in {FlowRuleName}: {ex.Message}",
            System.Diagnostics.EventLogEntryType.Error);
        throw;
    }
}

Monitoring and Alerting

1. Performance Monitoring

Key Performance Indicators:

• Import/Export Object Counts: Track throughput
• Error Rates: Monitor failure percentages
• Run Duration: Identify performance degradation
• Resource Utilization: CPU, memory, disk usage

Monitoring Implementation:

# PowerShell monitoring script
$counters = @(
    "\FIM Synchronization Service(*)\Objects Remaining",
    "\FIM Synchronization Service(*)\Objects Processed per Second",
    "\Process(miisserver)\% Processor Time",
    "\Process(miisserver)\Working Set"
)

Get-Counter -Counter $counters -SampleInterval 30 -MaxSamples 120

2. Log Analysis

Automated Log Monitoring:

# Monitor for specific error patterns
$logs = Get-WinEvent -LogName Application -MaxEvents 1000 |
Where-Object {
    $_.ProviderName -like "*Forefront*" -and
    $_.LevelDisplayName -eq "Error"
}

$logs | Group-Object Id | Sort-Object Count -Descending

3. Health Checks

Regular Validation:

# Daily health check script
function Test-MIMSyncHealth {
    $results = @{}
    
    # Check service status
    $service = Get-Service -Name FIMSynchronizationService
    $results.ServiceStatus = $service.Status
    
    # Check database connectivity
    try {
        $connection = New-Object System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection($connectionString)
        $connection.Open()
        $results.DatabaseConnectivity = "Success"
        $connection.Close()
    }
    catch {
        $results.DatabaseConnectivity = "Failed: $($_.Exception.Message)"
    }
    
    # Check recent synchronization runs
    # Implementation would query MIM database for recent run statistics
    
    return $results
}

Recovery Procedures

1. Service Recovery

Service Restart Procedure:

1. Stop Synchronization Service

   Stop-Service -Name FIMSynchronizationService -Force
   

2. Wait for Clean Shutdown

   • Allow 30-60 seconds for cleanup
   • Monitor process termination

3. Start Service

   Start-Service -Name FIMSynchronizationService
   

4. Verify Startup

   • Check event logs for errors
   • Test basic functionality

2. Database Recovery

Database Restoration:

1. Stop MIM Services

2. Restore Database Backup

   RESTORE DATABASE FIMSynchronizationService
   FROM DISK = 'C:\Backup\FIMSyncDB.bak'
   WITH REPLACE
   

3. Restart Services

4. Validate Configuration

3. Configuration Recovery

Management Agent Recovery:

1. Export Current Configuration

   <!-- Use Synchronization Service Manager -->
   <!-- Management Agents -> Export -->
   

2. Restore from Backup

   • Import saved configuration
   • Validate settings
   • Test connectivity

3. Re-run Initial Synchronization

   • Full import from all sources
   • Validate object counts
   • Check for errors

Best Practices for Troubleshooting

1. Documentation

Maintain Troubleshooting Records:

• Document all issues and resolutions
• Create knowledge base articles
• Maintain change logs
• Record configuration baselines

2. Proactive Monitoring

Implement Early Warning Systems:

• Set up performance counters
• Configure event log monitoring
• Establish alerting thresholds
• Regular health checks

3. Testing Procedures

Systematic Testing:

• Test changes in development environment
• Use preview function before live runs
• Validate backup and recovery procedures
• Regular disaster recovery testing

4. Escalation Procedures

When to Escalate:

• Data corruption issues
• Unrecoverable service failures
• Performance degradation without clear cause
• Security-related incidents

Conclusion

Effective troubleshooting of MIM 2016 Synchronization Service requires a systematic approach, proper tools, and comprehensive understanding of the system architecture. By following the procedures and best practices outlined in this guide, administrators can quickly identify, diagnose, and resolve issues while maintaining system stability and data integrity.

Related Topics

• MIM 2016 Synchronization Service Overview: System architecture and components
• Active Directory Integration: AD-specific troubleshooting
• Rule Extensions Development: Custom code debugging
• Performance Tuning: Optimization strategies
• SQL Synchronization Guide: Database integration issues