“The username, password, or domain is not correct. Please correct the entry” BES 5.0

As I write this entry, I am on the phone with RIM technical support.  Let me tell you the story of upgrading my BES server to version 5.0.

*NOTE: The second time for this issue, the issue was DNS related insofar, the entry had gotten changed with the wrong server name through replication.
I have been working with BES for a long time (since version 2) and my current environment is 4.6.  I downloaded the 5.0 upgrade media and kicked off the install.  I was pleased with the progress and the install seemed to be moving right along with no major issues.  Every other time I have upgraded my BES servers, something always went crazy mid install, be it my fault or not.

The first option which I am still regretting is the option to select windows authentication for the Blackberry Administration Service.  I had thought, why would I need another hardset password, my organization would just use the besadmin account anyways!  As you will see, this is a huge mistake.

The install finishes without any noticeable problems and the first thing I realized was that the Blackberry manager snapin no longer works.  I read up on the features that version 5.0 brings, but for some reason, I never knew that it would take it to a webdav.  Regardless, I launch the shortcut and it brings me to a pretty login page where I enter the besadmin creds.  It then provides the error message:

“The username, password, or domain is not correct.  Please correct the entry”

The first thing I do is enter it again, and again, and again.  Next, I check to make sure that the time is correct on the bes server and the LDAP domain controller.  It is.  This rules out TIME KB.  I then verify that my reverse DNS and proper ldap settings are correct.  They are.  This rules out the LDAP kb.

After further reading, I see that the test LDAP settings button may be corrupted.  I did hit the test LDAP button (who wouldn’t????) and thought, HA that MUST be my problem.  I followed the following steps in option 1, and rebooted the BES, but the error still occurred.

Option 1

1. On the server where the BlackBerry Administration Service is installed, navigate to this directory:<drive>:\Program Files\Research In Motion\BlackBerry Enterprise Server\BAS\bin
2. Run the following command:basUtility “C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_15″ “C:\Program Files\Research In Motion\BlackBerry Enterprise Server\BAS” encode “<LDAP Password>” > C:\Output.txt
3. Open the text file created in Step 2.
4. Copy the hashed version of the password to your Microsoft SQL Server.
5. Run the following SQL Query against the BlackBerry Configuration Database:update BASAuthenticationCredentials set password = ‘<contents of output.txt>’ where AuthenticationType LIKE ‘1′
6. Restart the BlackBerry Administration Service services.
7. Log in to the BlackBerry Administration Service using Microsoft Active Directory.

Option 2

Install the BlackBerry Administration Service again.
I then went down the path of option 2, but this also did not fix my issue.  At this point, I was at wits end, and decided to give RIM tech support a call.  Applying the latest SPs actually allowed me to login, and I was happy.  This worked until my VM got rebooted, and now today, the problem is still occuring.  Once the BES tech gets back on the phone, (I have been on hold for 40 minutes now, while he “reviews” my case, I will paste the resolve)