Error: Server Object Instance Creation Failed on All SOC Machines

Error Message

When attempting to publish an ArcMap Document (.mxd), the following error is displayed in ArcCatalog:

"Server object instance creation failed on all SOC machines.

Server Object instance creation failed on machine <machine name>. Cannot open file <path>\name.mxd.

The system cannot find the path specified.

Probable Cause: The file is inaccessible to ArcGIS Server Object Container account."

The error is written to the log, upon failure to publish the .mxd. When written to the log, the error is formatted like other log messages. For example:

<Msg time='2007-12-12T08:17:56' level='Error' code='10001' target='streetsnosoc.MapServer' machine='etobicoke' process='192' thread='3148'>Can not open file <path>\name.mxd. The system cannot find the path specified. Probable cause: The file is inaccessible to ArcGIS Server Object Container account.</Msg>
<Msg time='2007-12-12T08:17:56' level='Error' code='1042' target='streetsnosoc.MapServer' thread='340'>Server object instance creation failed on all SOC machines.</Msg>

Cause

This error occurs when the ArcGIS Server Object Container (SOC) account does not have access to the path where the .mxd resides.

Solution or Workaround

The ArcGIS SOC account needs to be given permission to the path where the .mxd resides, or the user needs to publish the .mxd using a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) pathname rather than through a mapped drive.

The easiest way to make the data available to all SOC machines is to use the operating system tools to share the directory in which the data is stored. Shared directories are commonly referred to with UNC paths, which contain the name of the server (for example, \\myServer\data). When using UNC paths to reference data, all SOC machines will look to the correct machine for the data.

If storing GIS resources in shared directories, remember that all data source paths within the resource must also use UNC paths or relative paths. For example, if a map document contains layers from three feature classes, the paths to those feature classes must be UNC paths or relative paths.

To establish a UNC path to an .mxd in ArcCatalog:
1. In ArcCatalog, click the 'Connect to Folder' button.
2. In the dialogue box at the top of the Connect to Folder window, enter the UNC path to the folder where the .mxd is stored (for example, \\myServer\data).
3. Click OK.
Using this new connection in ArcCatalog, browse to the .mxd to be published, right-click the file, and publish as usual.
Alternatively, enter the UNC path directly when adding a new service in ArcCatalog, by using the same convention. Instead of browsing to the .mxd location, simply type the full UNC path to the data. (for example, \\myserver\data\mymap.mxd).

Article ID: 000009772

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