Change the password for an application pool identity (Search Server 2008)

  • Article

Applies To: Microsoft Search Server 2008

 

Topic Last Modified: 2009-05-21

Note

Unless otherwise noted, the information in this article applies to both Microsoft Search Server 2008 and Microsoft Search Server 2008 Express.

Use either procedure in this article to change the password for the application pool identity of a Web application that hosts the Search Center. Because Search Server is built on Windows SharePoint Services, you can create several Web applications. However, typically you will have only one Web application on port 80 that hosts the Search Center site. The application pool is the context in which the Web application runs, and the identity is the account under which the application pool runs. The application pool stores the credential information of the identity account and continues to function even after the password expires. However, if the application pool restarts, the stored credential information is lost, and the application pool cannot restart until the credential information is updated.

If the application pool cannot start, Search Server 2008 displays a "Service Unavailable" HTTP error to users of any Web pages or services that the Web application provides.

Note

  • These procedures can be performed successfully only after the password has been changed on the domain controller. The credentials entered are checked against those on the domain controller. If you enter the new password before the password has been changed on the domain controller, an error will result and the settings will not be changed.

  • To save the changes, you must restart the IIS. This will cause the content or services that the Web application provides to be momentarily unavailable while the application pool restarts.

  • This procedure needs to be run only on the server that is running the Central Administration Web site.

Note

You cannot use these procedures to change the password for the Central Administration Web application. To do this, see Change passwords for Central Administration and the Timer service (Search Server 2008).

To change the password for an application pool identity

Important

Membership in the Search Server Farm Administrators group is the minimum required to complete this procedure by using the user interface.

Change the password for an application pool identity by using the user interface

  1. On the Central Administration Web site, click Operations.

  2. On the Operations page, under Security Configuration, click Service accounts.

  3. On the Service Accounts page, in the Credentials Management section, under Select the component to update, select the Web application pool option.

  4. From the Web service drop-down list, select the service under which the application pool was created. The default is Windows SharePoint Services Web Application.

  5. From the Application pool drop-down list, select the application pool whose credentials you want to update.

  6. Type the new password in the Password box.

  7. Click OK.

  8. Once the new password has been successfully accepted, you will be asked to run the iisreset /noforce command.

    At a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    iisreset /noforce

Note

Memberships in the Search Server Farm Administrators group and in the Administrators group on the local computer are required to complete this procedure.

Change the password for an application pool identity by using the Stsadm command-line tool

  1. On the computer running the Central Administration Web site, at a command prompt, change to the following directory: %COMMONPROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft shared\Web server extensions\12\Bin.

  2. Type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    stsadm -o updateaccountpassword –userlogin <domain\username> -password <newpassword> -noadmin

    Note

    userlogin is the application pool identity account.
    For additional information, see Updateaccountpassword: Stsadm operation (Office SharePoint Server).

  3. At a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    iisreset /noforce

See Also

Concepts

Change passwords for administration accounts and service accounts (Search Server 2008)
Change passwords for SQL Server services (Search Server 2008)
Change passwords for Central Administration and the Timer service (Search Server 2008)
Change passwords for the Search service accounts (Search Server 2008)
Change the password for the Shared Services Provider (Search Server 2008)
Change the password for the content access account (Search Server 2008)