Windows Server 2003-based domain controller that has many locales configured stops handling authentication requests for a while when many NSPI client requests are received

Consider the following scenario:

• You configure many locales on a domain controller that is running Windows Server 2003.
• Many users in the domain use Name Service Provider Interface (NSPI) API functions to query address book information at the same time.

In this scenario, the domain controller stops handling authentication requests from clients for a while randomly. Therefore, clients might be unable to log on to the domain, clients might be unable to access some webpages, and clients might encounter various function failures.

Note The DS Threads in Use performance counter for the NTDS object spikes on the computer when this issue occurs.

This issue occurs because the Windows Server 2003-based domain controller does not handle the authentication requests correctly if the following conditions are true:

• The domain controller has many locales configured.
• The domain controller has to handle many concurrent NSPI client requests.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

To apply this hotfix, you must be running Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2).

For more information about how to obtain a Windows Server 2003 service pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Registry information

To use the hotfix in this package, you do not have to make any changes to the registry.

Restart requirement

You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace a previously released hotfix.

File information

The English (United States) version of this hotfix installs files that have the attributes that are listed in the following tables. The dates and the times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The dates and the times for these files on your local computer are displayed in your local time together with your current daylight saving time (DST) bias. Additionally, the dates and the times may change when you perform certain operations on the files.

For all supported x86-based versions of Windows Server 2003

For all supported x64-based versions of Windows Server 2003

For all supported IA-64�based versions of Windows Server 2003

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about a similar issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: