Project General Data Access Layer error while getting connection strings

Summary:   The Data Access Layer reads information from the configuration database of the SharePoint Server farm when a Project Server application server is starting. The configuration database contains system infrastructure information, including the location of the Microsoft Project Server databases. If a Project Server application server cannot obtain this information from the configuration database, it cannot start.

Cause:   A General Data Access Layer Error may occur for any of the following reasons:

• Infrastructure availability problems that affect the configuration database or the Microsoft SQL Server computer where the configuration database is hosted.

• Credential issues with the service account. This can be caused by a failure to propagate an account or a changed password, or the account has been locked out.

• Incomplete or incorrect information in the configuration database due to a partial farm restore of an older copy of the configuration database that does not contain the Project Server information.

Possible resolutions include the following:

• Depending on the root cause of the issue, you might use the troubleshooting guides in the following list to resolve the problem or restore the configuration database from backup.Possible resolutions include the following:

  • If the problem is due to network connectivity problems between the Project Server application servers and SQL Server computers, see How to troubleshoot network connectivity problems (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=72704).

  • If the problem is due to SQL Server connectivity issues, see How to troubleshoot connectivity issues (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=72704).

  • If the problem is due to incorrect data in SQL Server, see Disaster Recovery Articles for SQL Server (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=72704).

  • In the case of an out-of-step restore of the configuration database that has no possibility of rolling forward based on database logs, it is recommended that you reinstall Project Server and restore its data from backup into the new databases.