The Problem
User is unable to start sssd service and can see following errors in the log files.
# tailf /var/log/messages ... Jan 26 12:48:54 xxx systemd: Starting System Security Services Daemon... Jan 26 12:48:54 xxx sssd: SSSD is already running Jan 26 12:48:54 xxx systemd: sssd.service: main process exited, code=exited, status=2/INVALIDARGUMENT Jan 26 12:48:54 xxx systemd: Failed to start System Security Services Daemon. Jan 26 12:48:54 xxx systemd: Unit sssd.service entered failed state. Jan 26 12:48:54 xxx systemd: sssd.service failed.
# tailf /var/log/sssd/sssd.log ... (Wed Jan 24 09:58:39:460082 2018) [sssd] [main] (0x0010): pidfile exists at /var/run/sssd.pid (Wed Jan 24 10:02:07:460441 2018) [sssd] [main] (0x0010): pidfile exists at /var/run/sssd.pid
The Solution
sssd or the System Security Services Daemon is a one-stop shop for user identity wrangling, authentication, and account mapping. The above error simply means that the sssd process was not started or stopped successfully which has created a lock. So it is showing the pidfile existing error.
To resolve this issue, follow the below steps:
1.Remove the /var/run/sssd/sssd.pid file if exists else remove /var/run/sssd.pid file.
# rm /var/run/sssd/sssd.pid
or
# rm /var/run/sssd.pid
2.Remove ‘sssd‘ file inside /var/lock/subsys directory if exists.
# rm /var/lock/subsys/sssd
3.Stop the sssd service
# systemctl stop sssd
4.start sssd service
# systemctl start sssd