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Q249203: Site Attachment Fails or Causes Damaged Data at the Parent Site

Article: Q249203
Product(s): Microsoft Systems Management Server
Version(s): winnt:1.2
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbsms200 kbsms200bug kbsms120 kbsms120bug smsinst
Last Modified: 08-MAY-2002

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Systems Management Server version 1.2 
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SYMPTOMS
========

During the inventory synchronization process initiated either manually or
automatically as part of the site attachment process, the inventory information
sent to the parent site may be damaged. This can lead to failure in the
inventory synchronization operation and/or cause damaged data to be inserted at
the parent site.

CAUSE
=====

This problem is caused by the child site improperly formatting the data files
that represent the inventory and then forwarding the improperly formatted data
files to the parent site. Upon reception, the parent site attempts to insert the
data as formatted, causing invalid data to be inserted or insertion failures
resulting in damaged information and/or failed inventory synchronization. This
is the result of a buffer overflow during the site attachment file construction
at the child site and can cause damage at 8 kilobyte (KB) intervals within site
attachment data files. If the data that is damaged during this process is
validated by SQL server prior to insertion into the site database (as with
date/time fields), a failure will cause the attachment process to fail. If the
data that is damaged during this process is an unvalidated field such as a
string, the corrupt data is inserted at the parent site without causing a
failure in site attachment.

RESOLUTION
==========

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to
correct the problem described in this article and should be applied only to
systems experiencing this specific problem. This fix may receive additional
testing at a later time, to further ensure product quality. Therefore, if you
are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait
for the next that contains this fix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services
to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services
phone numbers and information about support costs, please go to the following
address on the World Wide Web:

  http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

NOTE: In special cases, charges that are normally incurred for support calls may
be canceled, if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific
update will resolve your problem. Normal support costs will apply to additional
support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in
question.

The English-language version of this software update should have the following
file attributes or later:

  Date        Time      Size     File name       Platform   Version
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  01/31/2000  02:01pm   129,648  Dataldr.dll     I386       1.2.0.0
  01/31/2000  02:02pm   209,680  Dataldr.dll     Alpha      1.2.0.0



STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Systems Management Server
version 1.2.

Additional query words: prodsms

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbsms200 kbsms200bug kbsms120 kbsms120bug smsinst 
Technology        : kbSMSSearch kbSMS120
Version           : winnt:1.2
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbfix

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