If connected to an SDE enabled Postgres database via ArcGIS (10.1) for a long period of time, maybe an hour +, I will often receive an error from ArcGIS stating "Failure to access the DBMS Server[my schema name.sde.GDB_items]. I can't pin down any specific event causing the error, and my fix is to simply restart ArcGIS. Disconnecting and re-connecting the database connection without an ArcGIS restart results in the same error message.
Its a minor inconvenience, but one that would save myself and others daily grief if corrected. Any ideas?
Best Answer
Check the sde.dbtune and make sure TCPKEEPALIVE is set to FALSE. If it is set to true, a slight network problem can kick off the connection in 10 minutes.
http://edndoc.esri.com/arcobjects/9.2/NET_Server_Doc/manager/geodatabase/administering_a-557706548/arcsde-1362237508.htm
The article is for 9.2, however the TCPKEEPALIVE parameter is still present in 10.2.2 dbtune