Scenario 1: Dispatcher does not start due to a port conflict

There's probably nothing worse than not being able to start your SAP system. Where's the problem? The operating system? The database server? Or perhaps it is time to dive into the dark corners of SAP to get some answers? This handy troubleshooting guide by veteran site expert Giovanni Davila will help you figure out what's going on.

Published: 27 Jul 2005
Symptoms
  • No work processes (disp+work.exe) exist in Task Manager.
  • Dispatcher shows status "stopped" in the SAP MMC.
  • Errors found in "dev_disp":
***LOG Q0I=> NiPBind: bind (10048: WSAEADDRINUSE: Address already in use) [ninti.c 1488]
*** ERROR => NiIBind: service sapdp00 in use [nixxi.c 3936]
*** ERROR => NiIDgBind: NiBind (rc=-4) [nixxi.c 3505]
*** ERROR => DpCommInit: NiDgBind [dpxxdisp.c 7326]
*** DP_FATAL_ERROR => DpSapEnvInit: DpCommInit
*** DISPATCHER EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN ***

Problem Analysis
I highlighted the keywords in the error messages above:

  • Address already in use
  • Service sapdp00 in use

Solution
If your server has a firewall client, disable it and attempt to start the SAP instance again.
If the instance starts successfully you can enable the client firewall back again.
If there is no firewall client at all, or if disabling it did not resolve the problem, edit the "services" file and check what port the appropriate "sapdp" is using.
If the instance number is 00, look for sapdp00. If the instance number is 01 look for sapdp01 and so on. You can use the following OS command to help you resolve port conflicts:
netstat -p TCP

There are also utilities on the Internet that can help you list all the TCP and UDP ports a system is using.


TROUBLESHOOTING SAP STARTUP PROBLEMS

 Home: Introduction
  Scenario 1: Dispatcher does not start due to a port conflict
 Scenario 2: Dispatcher dies due to a database connection problem
 Scenario 3: SAP does not start at all: no message server and no dispatcher
 Scenario 4: Users get 'No logon possible' messages when they attempt to log in
 Scenario 5: The message server starts but the dispatcher doesn't
 Scenario 6: Work processes die soon after they start
 Review: Conclusion and more resources
The TCP port number assigned in the "services" file is being occupied by another application. Due to the conflict, the dispatcher shuts down.

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