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ERROR_NO_SUCH_SITE
The specified Active Directory site does not exist.
ERROR_NO_SUCH_SITE is Win32 error 1249 (0x4E1). An Active Directory-aware operation was given a site identity that cannot be resolved in the directory configuration being queried. A site is not merely a DNS suffix or office label; it is an AD DS configuration object associated with subnets and domain-controller placement.
Likely causes
- the site name is misspelled, renamed, or removed
- the application is connected to a different forest than expected
- configuration replication has not delivered the site object to the contacted domain controller
- a subnet was moved and automation still uses the former site
- the code passes a distinguished name where an API expects the simple site name
Evidence to preserve
Record the exact site string, forest and domain, contacted domain controller, naming context, caller credentials, and API flags. Include the local machine’s computed site from DsGetSiteName when relevant. This helps distinguish a nonexistent object from a client that has been assigned to the wrong site because its subnet is missing.
Diagnostic sequence
Query the configuration partition through an authoritative AD tool and confirm that the site object exists with the expected spelling. Check replication health between the domain controllers that serve the operation. Then verify subnet-to-site mappings and the client’s current IP address; a valid site can still be undiscoverable for a client whose subnet is not represented.
When automation recently renamed a site, inspect stored task definitions, deployment metadata, and service configuration for the former value. Do not create a replacement site simply to satisfy one failing client, because sites influence replication topology and service location.
Recovery
Correct the requested name or repair directory replication and subnet mapping. After directory state is consistent, invalidate cached DC locator and site data only through documented mechanisms or restart the affected service if its cache cannot be refreshed safely. Blind retries against the same domain controller rarely help when the object truly is absent there.
Difference from related errors
ERROR_NO_SUCH_DOMAIN concerns a domain, while ERROR_NO_LOGON_SERVERS means suitable logon servers are unavailable. Error 1249 identifies the site object itself, even when the domain and domain controller are otherwise reachable.
Example
A deployment system targets site Prague-1 after administrators renamed it to Prague-Central. The domain is healthy, but the site lookup returns 1249. Updating deployment metadata is correct; recreating the old site would reintroduce an obsolete replication boundary.
References
- Microsoft: System Error Codes (1000–1299)
- Microsoft: DsGetSiteNameW function
- Microsoft: Directory Service Functions
- Microsoft: Designing the Site Topology
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