How to fix Lync Server Error "An unhandled exception was encountered in Service service"



We recently encountered an error with a Microsoft Lync server "An unhandled exception was encountered in Service service" that impacted users who were trying to expand a Distribution Group in Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 that had a simple fix. Read more about this error message and how we fixed it.


From the log files:

Log Name:      Lync Server
Source:        LS Web Components Server
Date:          4/30/2013 11:39:41 AM
Event ID:      4096
Task Category: (1074)
Level:         Error
Keywords:      Classic
User:          N/A
Computer:      DC-FEC-22.dc.ad.contoso.com
Description:
An unhandled exception was encountered in Service service.
Exception Details. System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException (0x8007203A): The server is not operational.
   at Microsoft.LiveServer.DLExpansion.Service.ThrowSoapFault(Exception e)
   at Microsoft.LiveServer.DLExpansion.Service.QueryADGetDistributionListInfo(String mail, DirectorySearcher dSearcher)
   at Microsoft.LiveServer.DLExpansion.Service.ProcessADRequest(OCSPrincipal user, String key, DlxGroup& result)
   at Microsoft.LiveServer.DLExpansion.Service.ExpandDistributionList(String groupMailAddress)
   at SyncInvokeExpandDistributionList(Object , Object[] , Object[] )
   at System.ServiceModel.Dispatcher.SyncMethodInvoker.Invoke(Object instance, Object[] inputs, Object[]& outputs)
   at System.ServiceModel.Dispatcher.DispatchOperationRuntime.InvokeBegin(MessageRpc& rpc)
   at System.ServiceModel.Dispatcher.ImmutableDispatchRuntime.ProcessMessage5(MessageRpc& rpc)
   at System.ServiceModel.Dispatcher.ImmutableDispatchRuntime.ProcessMessage4(MessageRpc& rpc)
   at System.ServiceModel.Dispatcher.MessageRpc.Process(Boolean isOperationContextSet)
Cause: Application error. Please look through the exception details for more information.
Resolution:
Restart the server. If the problem persists contact product support.


Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
  <System>
    <Provider Name="LS Web Components Server" />
    <EventID Qualifiers="50226">4096</EventID>
    <Level>2</Level>
    <Task>1074</Task>
    <Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2013-04-30T15:39:41.000000000Z" />
    <EventRecordID>65745</EventRecordID>
    <Channel>Lync Server</Channel>
    <Computer>DC-FEC-22.dc.ad.contoso.com</Computer>
    <Security />
  </System>
  <EventData>
    <Data>Service</Data>
    <Data>System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException (0x8007203A): The server is not operational.
   at Microsoft.LiveServer.DLExpansion.Service.ThrowSoapFault(Exception e)
   at Microsoft.LiveServer.DLExpansion.Service.QueryADGetDistributionListInfo(String mail, DirectorySearcher dSearcher)
   at Microsoft.LiveServer.DLExpansion.Service.ProcessADRequest(OCSPrincipal user, String key, DlxGroup&amp; result)
   at Microsoft.LiveServer.DLExpansion.Service.ExpandDistributionList(String groupMailAddress)
   at SyncInvokeExpandDistributionList(Object , Object[] , Object[] )
   at System.ServiceModel.Dispatcher.SyncMethodInvoker.Invoke(Object instance, Object[] inputs, Object[]&amp; outputs)
   at System.ServiceModel.Dispatcher.DispatchOperationRuntime.InvokeBegin(MessageRpc&amp; rpc)
   at System.ServiceModel.Dispatcher.ImmutableDispatchRuntime.ProcessMessage5(MessageRpc&amp; rpc)
   at System.ServiceModel.Dispatcher.ImmutableDispatchRuntime.ProcessMessage4(MessageRpc&amp; rpc)
   at System.ServiceModel.Dispatcher.MessageRpc.Process(Boolean isOperationContextSet)</Data>
  </EventData>
</Event>

• Affected Users: users trying to expand Distribution Groups in Office Communicator 2007 were affected.

• Fix: Restarted IIS on Lync servers. Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below this post.