ITCM r14.0 SP1 - Caf SetCreds: CAF plugins fail to start with, "worker process executable not found or failed to start."

Products

• CA Client Automation - IT Client Manager
• CA Client Automation

Issue/Introduction

When using the "caf setcreds" command to set a particular CAF plugin to run as a specific user account, the corresponding CAF plugin fails to start with error, "worker process executable not found or failed to start."

In this example, the sdagent plugin for software delivery is configured to run as a local administrator account--

C:\>caf setcreds sdagent user Administrator password
CA DSM r14 Common Application Framework 14.0.1000.194
Copyright (c) 2016 CA Technologies. All rights reserved.

Password: ************************
sdagent will now run as user <ComputerName>\Administrator. This takes effect on next startup.

C:\>caf start sdagent
CA DSM r14 Common Application Framework 14.0.1000.194
Copyright (c) 2016 CA Technologies. All rights reserved.

Starting sdagent...
Worker process executable not found or failed to start.
The command failed.

Environment

ITCM r14.0 SP1 **ONLY**

Cause

A change made specifically for r14.0 SP1, relating to how domain and username information are parsed for remote DSM Explorer connections, has adversely affected how domain and username information are parsed for the "caf setcreds" command.

Resolution

In order to resolve the problem, open a CA Support Case and request patch:
T533279 (CAF PLUGINS FAIL TO START). 

This patch needs to be applied directly on the endpoint(s) where you are attempting to configure a CAF plugin to run as a different user.