KnowledgeBase Archive

An Archive of Early Microsoft KnowledgeBase Articles

View on GitHub
Q302674: Advertisement Does Not Run with Unavailable Distribution Point

Article: Q302674
Product(s): Microsoft Systems Management Server
Version(s): 2.0,2.0 SP1,2.0 SP2,2.0 SP3
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbsms200 kbsms200bug kbAdvertisement kbSoftwareDist kbsms200preSP4fix
Last Modified: 06-AUG-2002

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Systems Management Server versions 2.0, 2.0 SP1, 2.0 SP2, 2.0 SP3 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SYMPTOMS
========

After an advertised program does not run because of a network problem in
reaching the distribution point, Smsapm32.exe initially schedules and attempts a
retry of the program, but later unschedules the program after the Offer Data
provider's next polling cycle.

This is a brief summary of events that describes how the problem occurs:

- The System Offer Data provider (Odpsys32.exe) notifies Smsapm32.exe that an
  advertisement is ready to run.

- Smsapm32.exe attempts to run the advertisement but cannot because of a
  network error in reaching the distribution point.

- Smsapm32.exe reschedules the advertisement to run again in 10 minutes.

- The next time that Odpsys32.exe performs its work cycle, the Smsapm32.exe
  thread that it creates unschedules the pending advertisement. You can see
  this in the Smsapm32.log file by searching on "Unscheduling program."

The number of times that the program attempts to retry the advertisement depends
on the Offer Data provider polling interval. If the interval is set to 15
minutes, Smsapm32.exe has time to attempt the retry twice. If the interval is
set to the default value of 60 minutes, it retries approximately 6 times.

CAUSE
=====

When Smsapm32.exe finds pending programs, they are correctly unscheduled. In
this situation, the problem occurs if the program does not meet enough of the
criteria required to be rescheduled.

RESOLUTION
==========

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Systems Management
Server version 2.0. For additional information, click the following article
number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q236325 How to Obtain the Latest Systems Management Server 2.0 Service Pack

WORKAROUND
==========

Because the problem occurs after the next polling cycle by the Offer Data
provider, the longer this interval is, the more times the program will be
attempted by Advertised Program Monitor (APM).

You adjust this interval in the site settings or on each individual client
computer. The site-wide setting is the "Check for new programs every x minutes"
value, which is defined on the General tab of the Advertised Program Client
agent. If the site-wide settings are allowed to be overridden, you can set the
individual client setting in the Advertised Programs Monitor tool in Control
Panel. Click System, and then Options to define a custom polling interval that
applies to this computer only.

Because APM waits 10 minutes before another attempt, adding 10 minutes to the
polling interval equates to another retry attempt by Smsapm32.exe.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that
are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in
Systems Management Server 2.0 Service Pack 4.

MORE INFORMATION
================

A variety of network conditions and errors can cause this behavior. However,
defining User Connection limits on the distribution point shares (SMSPKGx$) also
results in this behavior.

The following entries from the Smsapm32.log file show some of the Smsapm32.exe
behavior that is associated with this problem:

SCHED DATA  : Return code = 0x35; The network path was not found.~~; IsExecutePossible returned error 53 for program 'testapp.exe'~ 
SCHED DATA  : Reporting status : APA_JOB_STATUS_NETWORK_DOWN~  
SCHED DATA  : Setting job status to 0xc.~  
SCHED DATA  : Handling an error condition (0x35) for program Run TestApp in package Test Application.~ 
SCHED DATA  : Beginning with a job run status set to APA_RUNSTATUS_NOT_RUNNING.~ 
SCHED DATA  : *** UNRECOGNISED JOB COMPLETION RETURN CODE. ASSUMING UNSUCCESSFUL EXECUTION~ 
SCHED DATA  : The error requires that some type of reschedule action be taken.~ 

--Later--

SCHED DATA  : For program Run TestApp in package Test Application compiling all offers in order to get its schedule time and attributes.~  
SCHEDULER   : Determining whether to unschedule or schedule the next time the program will run ...~ 
SCHEDULER   : Unscheduling program Run TestApp in package Test Application for DOMAINTEST\USER1.~

The problem that is described in this article and the problem that is described
in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article are very similar:

  Q302535 SMS: Problems with Smsapm32.exe When No Distribution Points Are
  Available

If the "Assignments are not mandatory over slow links" check box is not selected
for a mandatory advertisement, the symptoms that are described in this article
occur. If the check box is selected, the systems that are described in article
Q302535 occur. The hotfix for the problem that is described in this article also
contains the hotfix for the problem that is described in article Q302535.

How to Install the Hotfix
-------------------------

Install this fix on all of the primary sites and secondary sites in the SMS
hierarchy. Install the hotfix only on the site servers; the clients will receive
the updated client files automatically. To install the fix, use one of the
following methods.

How to Use the Hotfix Installer:

NOTE: You can use this method only for Intel-based computers.

1. Copy the hotfix folder structure to a local folder on your site server or to
  a share on your network. The I386 and Alpha subfolders are required and must
  also be downloaded from the Microsoft FTP site. It is important to keep the
  folder structure intact. The Q302674.exe file is a Microsoft SMS Installer
  file that updates specific files on your site server.

2. Log on to your site server by using an account with administrative
  privileges.

3. On the site server, quit the SMS Administrator console.

4. Run the Q302674.exe file and follow the instructions in the wizard. You can
  run this file in Quiet mode by using the /s switch. The SMS services are
  stopped and restarted as part of the installation process.

How to Manually Install the Hotfix:

You can use this method for both Intel-based and Alpha-based site servers.
Substitute I386 or Alpha for your platform type where <Platform> is used
in the following steps:

1. Copy the hotfix folder structure to a local folder on your site server or to
  a share on your network. The I386 and Alpha subfolders are required and must
  also be downloaded from the Microsoft FTP site. It is important to keep the
  folder structure intact.

2. Quit the SMS Administrator console and stop all SMS services in Control
  Panel. If the SMS_SITE_BACKUP service is running, stop it also.

3. Copy the Apasetup.exe file from the hotfix <Platform> folder to the
  <Drive>:\Sms\Inboxes\Clicomp.src\Smsapm32\<Platform> folder on
  the SMS site server.

4. Replace the Compver.ini file in the
  <Drive>:\Sms\Inboxes\Clicomp.src\Smsapm32 folder with the
  Compversmsapm32.ini file from the hotfix I386 or Alpha (both files are the
  same) source folder after renaming the file to Compver.ini.

5. Copy the Smsapm32.exe file from the hotfix <Platform> folder to the
  <Drive>:\Sms\Bin\<Platform> folder.

6. Restart the SMS_SITE_COMPONENT_MANAGER service on the site server. This
  automatically restarts the SMS_EXECUTIVE service.

Additional query words: prodsms

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbsms200 kbsms200bug kbAdvertisement kbSoftwareDist kbsms200preSP4fix 
Technology        : kbSMSSearch kbSMS200 kbSMS200SP1 kbSMS200SP2 kbSMS200SP3
Version           : :2.0,2.0 SP1,2.0 SP2,2.0 SP3
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbfix

=============================================================================
THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.