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Q307026: SMS: Duplicate Resources Appear in Collections

Article: Q307026
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 kbsms200fix kbCollections kbDiscovery kbsms200preSP4fix
Last Modified: 06-AUG-2002

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The information in this article applies to:

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

In network environments in which certain conditions exist, Network Discovery may
collect information that later causes some of the resources that appear in
collections to be duplicated. For SMS client resources to be duplicated, the
following conditions must exist:

- There is a multiple-site hierarchy in which at least one primary site reports
  to another primary site.

- Network discovery must occur at the child primary site level or below it (for
  example, at a secondary site).

- Domain Name System (DNS) reverse lookup zones do not contain unique fully
  qualified domain names (FQDNs) for different TCP/IP addresses.

- The SMS client must be reinstalled on a computer such that it obtains a new
  Globally Unique Identifier (GUID).

These conditions occur together rarely; most Systems Management Server (SMS)
installations do not encounter this behavior.

The most obvious symptom of this problem is visible by examining the resource
names that are defined in the discovery data for a client computer that has been
duplicated. The problem occurs when the resource name for a client is shared by
another client. Later, when the SMS client is reinstalled on one of these
computers, the computer can appear more than once when you view it in the
collections of a primary site that is a parent to another primary site.

This problem may occur more frequently with network devices that do not run
Microsoft Windows. Network printers, routers, and other devices cannot have the
SMS client installed and are found exclusively through Network Discovery. If
Network Discovery returns resource names that are not unique for these devices
or are later changed because the computer obtains a new TCP/IP address, these
resources can also appear to be duplicated.

CAUSE
=====

When the SMS Discovery Data Manager (DDM) component processes a Data Discovery
Record (DDR) that does not contain a GUID (such as a Network Discovery DDR) or
contains a GUID that is not already present in the SMS database, DDM builds a
list of potential matching resources by examining certain key discovery
attributes including the resource name, NetBIOS name, TCP/IP address, IPX
address, and media access control (MAC) address. Using this list of potential
matching resources, DDM examines the other discovery attributes for each
resource to determine whether it is an exact match for the DDR that is being
processed.

The problem occurs if the list of potential matches contains more than one
resource and the exact match is not the first resource in the list. When this
occurs, DDM updates the wrong record (the first resource in the list). This
causes the existing discovery record for a valid computer to be replaced by the
discovery data for another computer that already exists in the SMS database.
When you view the collection, the resource appears twice and another resources
is not displayed.

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:

  Q288239 SMS: How to Obtain the Latest Systems Management Server 2.0 Service
  Pack



WORKAROUND
==========

To prevent this problem from occurring, correct the DNS reverse lookup tables so
that unique FQDNs are always returned.

You can also prevent this problem from occurring on clients that run Windows by
allowing network discovery to occur only at the top of the SMS hierarchy. This
ensures that the Resource Name data that is found by Network Discovery is not
appended to a DDR as it passes up the hierarchy on the way to an upper-level
primary site.

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
the Systems Management Server 2.0 Service Pack 4 Hotfix Rollup Package (HRP).

For additional information about the SMS 2.0 SP4 HRP, click the article number
below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q323206 SMS: List of Bugs Fixed in the Systems Management Server 2.0 SP4 HRP

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

Network environments that use Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) for
TCP/IP address assignment but have static DNS reverse lookup tables run a
greater risk of encountering this problem. In this type of environment, one
Network Discovery pass can determine a unique name for a computer's TCP/IP
address, but after the next Network Discovery pass, that same TCP/IP address
could belong to another computer. The second computer would then receive the
same resource name as the first computer.

To test reverse lookup, use the "nslookup" command at a command prompt on the
site server on which Network Discovery runs. Typing the TCP/IP address of the
client computer causes Nslookup to query the reverse lookup zone and attempt to
resolve it to an FQDN.


Additional query words: prodsms netdisc identical replace missing

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Keywords          : kbsms200 kbsms200bug kbsms200fix kbCollections kbDiscovery 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

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