Kent Agerlund

Together with a very good friend I have founded The Danish Microsoft System Center User Group. As a consequence to that my blog is moving to http://scug.dk/members/Agerlund/default.aspx 

Even though the site is a Danish user group all posting will continue to be in English so hopefully “you” will still come and visit me from time to time :-)

We all know that support is added for the latest operating systems:

• Windows 7
• Windows Vista Sp2
• Windows Server 2008 R2
• Windows Server 2008 SP2

After some testing of the servicepack yesterday I discovered a few other very nice changes like policies being applied straight away (in the “old days” Config mgr SP1 and previous versions) policies were retrieved from the Management Point and were not effective until after 2 minutes. Some policies are now applied immediately like software policies and policies for Service Windows. 

I might not be the biggest of all changes but it now allows to deliver software packages “on the fly” :-)

In my test I deployed Visio Viewer. First notice the time in the policeagent.log next notice the time in the exemgr.log

PolicyAgent.log

Notice the policy download time 08:41:43

Exemgr.log

Notice the advertisement arrival time 08:41:48

The System Center Configuration Manager team would like to announce that the following has been released and available for download:

Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 2 Beta

This is the official Beta build for Configuration Manager 2007 SP2.

New features:

• Refer to the SP2 Overview article posted on the primary Configuration Manager MSConnect site for all the new features and new supported configurations
• Hotfixes included in SP2 article can be found on the primary Configuration Manager MSConnect page.
• Deployment guides for BranchCache and the new AMT features are available in the download section. .
• The new OpsMgr07 R2 ConfigMgr07 Management Pack can also be downloaded, this supports 64bit OpsMgr client agents.
• Please review the Release Notes before performing any installation and upgrade.

It’s time to play around :-)

Add Windows Windows 2008 SP2 and Vista SP2 support (Thanks to Jens-Ole for posting these): http://support.microsoft.com/kb/969991 Configuration Manager 2007 RTM Hotfix
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/970093 Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 Hotfix

954214 The SMS_Site_Component_Manager service stops unexpectedly when you try to install Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 or reinstall a specific component after an unsuccessful installation attempt

954474 System Center Configuration Manager 2007 blocked from deploying security updates

954716 The SMS_EXECUTIVE service of System Center Configuration Manager 2007 on a child site server may crash when it handles the .sha file and sends inventory data to its parent site

954718 You cannot use the Out of Band Management console in Configuration Manager 2007 to connect to computers that use versions of Intel AMT that are earlier than version 3.2.1

955114 The SMS_Executive service process may crash when the System Center Configuration Manager 2007 S955114 Hierarchy Manager handles the site control (.ct2) file from child sites that are running the RTM version of Configuration Manager 2007

955115 The "Client Push Installation" operation fails when both multiple management points and customized ports are configured in a System Center Configuration Manager 2007 site

955126 The SMS_Executive service process (Smsexec.exe) in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 may crash if you have Intel AMT-related software installed

955262 You receive an error message when you click and then update the Drivers node in the Configuration Manager console of a Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 site that uses SQL Server 2008 for the site database

955355 A distinguished name that contains more than 100 characters and that is discovered from Active Directory for an AMT host causes the SMS_EXECUTIVE service to crash in System Center Configuration Manager 2007

955388 Error message when you use the Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 S955388-based Configuration Manager Configuration Manager console to check software distribution point settings

955842 The System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 hardware inventory may recognize an x64-based client as an x86-based client

955955 A task sequence that contains many packages may take longer to run after you install System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 or hotfix 949225

956194 Distribution Manager in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 may require several hours after startup before it begins to process packages

956259 Recurring advertisements or maintenance windows start to run an hour later or earlier than expected when the time is changed because of DST in System Center Configuration Manager 2007

956337 System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 is unable to remove AMT user ACLs during the provisioning process for AMT 2.x computers

956465 The SMS_EXECUTIVE service process restarts unexpectedly when a limit is set for the maximum transfer rate between two sites in System Center Configuration Manager 2007

956733 Some attributes of a System Center Configuration Manager 2007 client may be missing after it is configured as a branch distribution point

956918 The "Delete Aged Configuration Management Data" site maintenance task may take a long time to finish in System Center Configuration Manager 2007

956941 You cannot take some actions when you take remote control of a Windows Vista-based client computer that has User Account Control enabled in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1

956944 Error message when you use the System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 console to connect to a Configuration Manager 2007 site server that is not running Service Pack 1

957183 You cannot add a group as an AMT user account in Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 if the group name has more than 20 characters

957255 The wake-on-LAN (WOL) feature in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 wakes clients one hour earlier than expected

957325 The Inventory Data Loader component cannot process hardware inventory data from System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 clients if one or more properties contain more than 256 characters in the NOIDMIF files

957469 FIX: The Out of Band Power control function does not work for clients that have the Intel AMT 4 or Intel AMT 5 chipset in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1

957576 Status message ID 7404 is reported frequently in an installation of System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2 that uses SQL Server 2008 as the site database

957879 The ConfigMgr Service Manager tool in Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 cannot query the SMS_SITE_SQL_BACKUP service, and you receive an "Error communicating with component" error message

958021 Error message in the Configuration Manager console when you create a new task sequence: "The task sequence cannot be created"

958598 The audit message for a task sequence creation operation does not identify system, component, or user information correctly in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 RTM systems

958808 User data from the USMT may be deleted unexpectedly by the task sequence engine during the operating system deployment process in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 S958808

959038 The execution of a task sequence that you create in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 may continue when a program in the task sequence returns a failure exit code

959040 System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 systems cannot provision AMT 2.2/2.6 clients in PKI mode and AMT 2.1/2.5 clients in PSK mode

959257 Recurring advertisements or maintenance windows start to run an hour later or earlier than expected when the time is changed because of DST in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1

959700 The Out of Band Management console in Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 cannot connect to AMT-enabled computers

959812 Operating System Deployment (OSD) tasks may fail randomly in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1-based systems

959875 The shared folders that store packages on branch distribution points may be removed in systems that are running System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1

960065 Updates are not deployed to some clients when you use WSUS or SUM to deploy updates in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1

960189 Some expired user state stores are not deleted on System Center Configuration Manager 2007 State Migration Point

960448 The Asset Intelligence Catalog Sync Service of System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 cannot connect to a System Center Configuration Manager database that is installed on a SQL Server 2005 named instance

960634 System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2 Client Status Reporting fails when clients have multiple discovery records

960712 A monthly recurring advertisement skips November in Systems Management Server 2003 Service Pack 3 systems if the scheduled day is after the first Sunday in November

960741 The SMS_Executive service process crashes on a Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 site server when you use Intel WS-MAN Translator to provision computers that are equipped with AMT 3.2.1 chipsets

960846 The shared folders that store packages on branch distribution points may be removed in systems that are running System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1

960929 Packages on Distribution Points may not be updated with the latest source version in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 systems

961105 Error message when you try to import OSD drivers in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 systems: "The selected driver is not applicable to any supported platforms"

961268 Packages on distribution points are not updated with the latest source version in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 systems

961269 Only two expired user-state stores are deleted on a site server that is running System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1

961328 System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1-based systems cannot provision AMT 2.2/2.6 clients in PKI mode and AMT 2.1/2.5 clients in PSK mode

961960 The state of the check box for the maintenance window that you double-click is changed when System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 is installed on a Windows Server 2003 x64-based system or on a Windows Server 2008 x64-based system

962891 State messages that have long file names may get stuck in the Statesys.box\Incoming folder or the \SMS_CCM\FSPStaging folder and may block state message processing on a System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 fallback status point

967359 Some task sequences may not run on the client computers in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1-based systems

967491 Hotfix for System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2 Client Status Reporting

967648 Package distribution fails on a System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 site if a file name in the package contains an ampersand (&)

967649 System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 systems ignore the source location property in MSI packages

967919 On a System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 site server, the SMS_Executive service process (Smsexec.exe) crashes when you use Intel WS-MAN Translator version 1.1 (build 558) to provision some computers

968177 System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 clients do not run an advertisement if the advertisement is set to run when the user logs on and the SMS Agent Host Service runs after the user logs on

968594 System Center Configuration Manager 2007 software inventory processing fails when a data file contains an invalid time

968635 The Ccmexec.exe process may consume almost 100 percent of CPU resources on System Center Configuration Manager 2007 clients

968718 You cannot customize the ramdisk TFTP block size on a System Center Configuration Manager 2007 S968718 site server that has the Pre-Boot Execution Environment (PXE) service point role

969113 Operating system deployment fails in a System Center Configuration Manager 2007 S969113 environment if you deploy a different operating system to a client within one hour of a previous deployment

969341 Delta merge may fail on System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1-based branch distribution points

969529 Users cannot enumerate collection members if hotfix 955262 is installed on System Center Configuration Manager 2007 S969529 site servers

969530 The Ccmexec.exe process may consume almost 100 percent of CPU resources on System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 clients

970242 Some attributes of a System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 client may be missing after it is configured as a branch distribution point

956940 getKB -AI KB Data: LU_MSProd contains wrong data

969620 getKB -RFH: smsexec randomly crashing when SQL Server has SQL Authentication enabled

970093 getKB -Interop: Failed to capture Vista SP2 RC Escrow due to the sysprep version is lower than os version in SCCM 2007 S970093

970634 getKB -RFH: Freshly awoken client needs to keep OS awake long enough to run advertised programs

970635 getKB -RFH: SCCM race condition leads to client machines never rebooting

970636 getKB -RFH:TS Continue On Error Does Not Work if Content For Step Cannot Be Resolved

970637 getKB -RFH : SMS Provider leaks memory when querying CI objects

970739 getKB -RFH:CRASHES of the Console when using the "Filtered view" on collections (using the "Look for" field)

971226 getKB -RFH: Request for SCCM S971226 Backport of 172822 (AD objects disabled after provisioning)

971300 getKB -RFH : Prompted queries based on non-default classes do not prompt user for values

971413 getKB -RFH: Multicast Downloads over 4 gigabytes.

971506 getKB -RFH:Large Packages Frequently Fail Hash Check on BDP

971583 getKB -CDCR 5948 - CDCR: DistMgr: Shutdown detected inside the decompression, exiting...

Included in Configuration Manager SP1

942536 You cannot move created objects into a folder or out of a folder if the folder was created on a secondary site of System Center Configuration Manager 2007

942700 The task sequence does not run on the protected branch distribution points in System Center Configuration Manager 2007

944342 Users cannot edit advertisements that they created in the Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Administration Console

944542 The "wake on LAN" feature does not work as expected if a site server uses a non-daylight saving time zone in System Center Configuration Manager 2007

945306 Execution requests may remain in the WaitingDisabled state after an Operating System Deployment task sequence is executed in Configuration Manager 2007

945501 Some users do not receive a program that is advertised to a user group in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 advertisements

945898 The System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Offer Status Summarizer does not process advertisement status summary data

946518 Inventory data is not completely removed after you delete a system resource in System Center Configuration Manager 2007

946519 Every even task sequence reports exit error code 183 if you advertise several task sequences to a Systems Management Server client in System Center Configuration Manager 2007

950531 The Configuration Manager 2007 International Client Pack installation process fails, and you receive a "Setup cannot start SQL Server to perform the upgrade" error message

949767 When you use PXE to run a task sequence on a System Center Configuration Manager 2007 client computer, the task sequence does not run

949025 Users who have sufficient instance rights cannot delete a collection in System Center Configuration Manager 2007

949209 After you use the Transfer Settings Wizard to transfer status filter rules from one site to another in System Center Configuration Manager 2007, the receiving site no longer processes status messages

950653 A software inventory operation does not work correctly in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 if the inventoried file has invalid time attributes

950527 Windows Vista SP1, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003 SP2, and Windows XP SP3 are not listed as supported platforms for software distribution, update management, or desired configuration management in System Center Configuration Manager 2007

949957 The Active Directory System Discovery process and the Active Directory System Group Discovery process run slower than expected in a Configuration Manager 2007 site

952298 The installation fails when you use the unattended mode to try to install System Center Configuration Manager 2007 International Client Pack

949863 The "Get Programs" dialog box displays a blank program list if you open this dialog box shortly after you start a Windows Vista-based computer that has Configuration Manager 2007 Agent installed

949225 System Center Configuration Manager 2007 does not process all advertised task sequences

948303 Active Directory System Discovery does not resolve the IP address of a computer that is discovered by System Center Configuration Manager 2007

953148 System Center Configuration Manager 2007 cannot wake up more than 30 clients at a time

Accindently deleting computer objects in the Config Mgr. console has happened in the past and it will most likely happen again in the future. This post will hopefully help you understand what’s going on in the background and how Configuration Manager recovers the deleted objects.

Components involved

On the site server the data loader component is responsible for loading inventory data (and other stuff) into the SQL database. The log file used is Dataldr.log

On the client you should pay attention to the Inventory Agent which is responsible for gathering inventory data. The log file used is InventoryAgent.log

What happens

When you delete an object in the database, you don’t uninstall anything on the client. For that reason, the client doesn’t have a clue about what’s going on. So it will continue to ask for policy updates, run inventory cycle ect.

1. When a client runs the inventory cycle it will initially run a Full inventory after that only Delta inventory cycles are initiated.
   
   From the InventoryAgent.log – Notice the ReportType
   

   Inventory: Message type is InventoryAction    InventoryAgent    04-06-2009 09:38:16    5636 (0x1604)
   Inventory: Temp directory = C:\WINDOWS\system32\CCM\Inventory\Temp\    InventoryAgent    04-06-2009 09:38:16    5636 (0x1604)
   Inventory: Clearing old collected files.    InventoryAgent    04-06-2009 09:38:16    5636 (0x1604)
   Inventory: Opening store for action {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001} ...    InventoryAgent    04-06-2009 09:38:16    5636 (0x1604)
   Inventory: Action=Hardware ReportType=Delta    InventoryAgent    04-06-2009 09:38:45    5636 (0x1604)
   

2. The dataloader component will receive the delta data and add them to an existing record in the database. But the record has been deleted and the mif file (the mif file contains the inventory information) will be discarded and moved to a folder called Badmifs.
   
   From the Dataldr.log – Notice the error, resync command and moving the mif file.
   Processing Inventory for Machine: _TESTT400_KEA   Version 1.4  Generated: 06/04/2009 09:29:49    SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER    04-06-2009 09:29:53    7452 (0x1D1C)
   Begin transaction: Machine=_TESTT400_KEA(GUID:855F4F78-C950-4696-BD0C-70F2195C4A7F)    SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER    04-06-2009 09:29:53    7452 (0x1D1C)
   ERROR - attempt to update non-existent row. Invalid command:  exec pWorkstationStatus_DATA 1,891,'06/04/2009 09:29:53',1,'6/4/2009 09:29','4294967300',1033,120    SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER    04-06-2009 09:29:53    7452 (0x1D1C)
   Rollback transaction: Machine=_TESTT400_KEA(GUID:855F4F78-C950-4696-BD0C-70F2195C4A7F)    SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER    04-06-2009 09:29:54    7452 (0x1D1C)
   Remote client hardware inventory resync generated for client GUID:855F4F78-C950-4696-BD0C-70F2195C4A7F; update/insert result = 1    SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER    04-06-2009 09:29:54    7452 (0x1D1C)
   Send resync command to local site for machine GUID:855F4F78-C950-4696-BD0C-70F2195C4A7F.    SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER    04-06-2009 09:29:54    7452 (0x1D1C)
   STATMSG: ID=2722 SEV=I LEV=M SOURCE="SMS Server" COMP="SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER" SYS=DKHS1012P SITE=HS1 PID=1784 TID=7452 GMTDATE=to jun 04 07:29:54.151 2009 ISTR0="_TESTT400_KEA" ISTR1="" ISTR2="" ISTR3="" ISTR4="" ISTR5="" ISTR6="" ISTR7="" ISTR8="" ISTR9="" NUMATTRS=0    SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER    04-06-2009 09:29:54    7452 (0x1D1C)
   Cannot process MIF XHN3LP46F.MIF, moving it to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Configuration Manager\inboxes\auth\dataldr.box\BADMIFS\ey9l8ii1.MIF    SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER    04-06-2009 09:29:54    7452 (0x1D1C)
   STATMSG: ID=2703 SEV=W LEV=M SOURCE="SMS Server" COMP="SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER" SYS=DKHS1012P SITE=HS1 PID=1784 TID=7452 GMTDATE=to jun 04 07:29:54.167 2009 ISTR0="XHN3LP46F.MIF" ISTR1="C:\Program Files\Microsoft Configuration Manager\inboxes\auth\dataldr.box\BADMIFS\ey9l8ii1.MIF" ISTR2="" ISTR3="" ISTR4="" ISTR5="" ISTR6="" ISTR7="" ISTR8="" ISTR9="" NUMATTRS=0    SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER    04-06-2009 09:29:54    7452 (0x1D1C)
   
   
3. The client will pick up the Resync flag as part of the next policy download. This will force the Inventory agent to perform a Resync inventory type.
   
   From the InventoryAgent.log – Notice the ReportType
   

   Inventory: Message type is InventoryAction    InventoryAgent    04-06-2009 09:33:39    3212 (0x0C8C)
   Inventory: Temp directory = C:\WINDOWS\system32\CCM\Inventory\Temp\    InventoryAgent    04-06-2009 09:33:39    3212 (0x0C8C)
   Inventory: Clearing old collected files.    InventoryAgent    04-06-2009 09:33:39    3212 (0x0C8C)
   Inventory: Opening store for action {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001} ...    InventoryAgent    04-06-2009 09:33:39    3212 (0x0C8C)
   Inventory: Action=Hardware ReportType=ReSync    InventoryAgent    04-06-2009 09:34:12    3212 (0x0C8C)

4. The data loader will take the complete inventory information and add it to the database. Once the data is added into the database the client will become visible in the console once again – well it might take just a few “config mgr” seconds before it happens.
   
   From the dataldr.log – Notice the InsertMachine
   

   Processing Inventory for Machine: _TESTT400_KEA   Version 2.0  Generated: 06/04/2009 09:34:22    SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER    04-06-2009 09:34:44    5052 (0x13BC)
   CMachineSource::InsertMachine - machine info is resynced data (ie: MIF is a full/resync report).    SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER    04-06-2009 09:34:44    5052 (0x13BC)
   STATMSG: ID=2715 SEV=I LEV=M SOURCE="SMS Server" COMP="SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER" SYS=DKHS1012P SITE=HS1 PID=1784 TID=5052 GMTDATE=to jun 04 07:34:44.771 2009 ISTR0="SMS Inventory Agent" ISTR1="" ISTR2="" ISTR3="" ISTR4="" ISTR5="" ISTR6="" ISTR7="" ISTR8="" ISTR9="" NUMATTRS=0    SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER    04-06-2009 09:34:44    5052 (0x13BC)
   Begin transaction: Machine=_TESTT400_KEA(GUID:855F4F78-C950-4696-BD0C-70F2195C4A7F)    SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER    04-06-2009 09:34:45    5052 (0x13BC)
   Commit transaction: Machine=_TESTT400_KEA(GUID:855F4F78-C950-4696-BD0C-70F2195C4A7F)    SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER    04-06-2009 09:34:46    5052 (0x13BC)
   Done: Machine=_TESTT400_KEA(GUID:855F4F78-C950-4696-BD0C-70F2195C4A7F) code=0 (1016 stored procs in XH3UZ0S2Q.MIF)    SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER    04-06-2009 09:34:46    5052 (0x13BC)