If packages are not available to install in SIMS Services Manager, then carry out the following steps on the server to resolve the issue:

  1. Restart the SIMS Services Manager service and then open SIMS Services Manager. Click 'Manage Packages' and check if the packages are now available.

  2. In SIMS Services Manager, click the 'Settings' tab and enter the correct proxy settings. These should match those entered into the web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Google Chrome). If any changes have been made, restart the SIMS Services Manager service.

  3. If the above steps have not resolved the issue, then please create an External Access Account. Navigate to the SQL Binn folder (e.g. C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.SQLSERVER\MSSQL\DATA), and locate 'SIMSExternalAccessAccount.exe'. Right-click and select 'Run as Administrator'. 
    Enter the Server Name and Login credentials. Then, you will need to create the account. You can decide on the Username, and a Password will be generated. An example could be 'SSMConnector'.

NOTE Once the account has been created, it is not possible to locate the login credentials again, and therefore, if the account credentials are lost, they cannot be recovered. It is recommended that a notepad entry be created for the login credentials so that they are not lost.

Once this account has been created, open SIMS Services Manager and click the 'Schools' tab. Click the edit button for the School that has been entered, and untick 'Windows Authentication'. For the username and password, enter the credentials for the External Access Account that has just been created. Please save this and restart the SIMS Services Manager service.

  1. If the above does not resolve the issue, then you will need to reinstall SIMS Services Manager. This can be done by going to the SQL Binn folder (e.g. C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.SQLSERVER\MSSQL\Binn) and locating the 'SIMSServicesManagerSetup.exe'. 
    Right click and 'Run as Administrator'. Click the Next button and select 'Remove'. Once this has been uninstalled, you can reinstall SIMS Services Manager by using the same Setup.

If you are attempting to install packages and they are not appearing, then this indicates that there is an incompatibility between the version of SIMS Services Manager and the service itself. It is recommended that you upgrade SIMS Services Manager to the latest version which can be downloaded from this link

Run the 'SIMSServicesManagerSetup.exe' as an Administrator. This will display the directory that SIMS Services Manager has been installed to. Ensure this is correct and then Install.

Once this has completed, open SIMS Services Manager. Click 'Manage Packages' and install the relevant ones. They should appear on the Homepage shortly afterwards, with a status of 'Started'.

If the above does not resolve the issue, navigate to C:\ProgramData\SIMS\SIMS Services Manager\Logs and sort the Date Modified column so that it shows the most recent date and log a call here providing a zipped copy of the following log files:

  • Capita.sims.communications.dataservice.log

  • Capita.sims.communications.routingservice.log

  • Capita.sims.communications.synchronisationpoller.log

  • Capita.sims.communications.scheduler.log