Problem/Symptoms
Why does the Notfication Server Console seem so slow to respond? The database connectivity seems good, config request intervals are good, patch inventories are turned off.
Cause
StringCache access from the KnownCulture table is taking a long time. This is a result of the Altiris.ClientTask.Policies.CTserverconfig assembly not caching the requests using the IItemCacheable procedure.
Resolution
Current workaround is to change the Task config request interval from 5 mins to 60 mins. However, this is a design change that will be implemented in a future release.
23 March 2007
21 March 2007
KNOWN ISSUE: An unexpected end of file parsing CDATA has occurred
Notification Server log files contain the following errors:
Source: Altiris.NS.ClientMessaging.FileDispatcher.ProcessFileCallback Description: Unable to process the file "F:\Program Files\Altiris\Notification Server\NSCap\EvtQFast\Process\nse482E.tmp" Moving to "F:\Program Files\Altiris\Notification Server\NSCap\EvtQFast\Bad\XmlException\nse496B.tmp". Reason: An unexpected end of file parsing CDATA has occurred. Line 84, position 1.
Additionally, the server will contain numerous .TMP files in '...\NSCap\EvtQFast\Bad\XmlException' folder.
Cause:
The Summary Data NSE is missing ending XML tags. The bottom of the incorrect NSE's will appear as below:
[Summary Data in XML in this part of the NSE] [Missing XML tags] 20070111162029.520000+420
Resolution:
One possible workaround is to rename the AexAMInventory.txt file to AexAMInventory.tx_ located in the Altiris Agent folder on a client with the application metering agent installed. This will force the client to generate a new AeXAMInventory.txt. However, doing so will also cause the client to lose all of its previous Application Metering inventory stored in the deleted AeXAMInventory.txt and it's possible that the problem can reoccur with the new AeXAMInventory.txt file as well.
This issue has been resolved in Application Metering 6.1 Service Pack 2 (build 6.1.32) , available from the Solution Center.
Source: Altiris.NS.ClientMessaging.FileDispatcher.ProcessFileCallback Description: Unable to process the file "F:\Program Files\Altiris\Notification Server\NSCap\EvtQFast\Process\nse482E.tmp" Moving to "F:\Program Files\Altiris\Notification Server\NSCap\EvtQFast\Bad\XmlException\nse496B.tmp". Reason: An unexpected end of file parsing CDATA has occurred. Line 84, position 1.
Additionally, the server will contain numerous .TMP files in '...\NSCap\EvtQFast\Bad\XmlException' folder.
Cause:
The Summary Data NSE is missing ending XML tags. The bottom of the incorrect NSE's will appear as below:
Resolution:
One possible workaround is to rename the AexAMInventory.txt file to AexAMInventory.tx_ located in the Altiris Agent folder on a client with the application metering agent installed. This will force the client to generate a new AeXAMInventory.txt. However, doing so will also cause the client to lose all of its previous Application Metering inventory stored in the deleted AeXAMInventory.txt and it's possible that the problem can reoccur with the new AeXAMInventory.txt file as well.
This issue has been resolved in Application Metering 6.1 Service Pack 2 (build 6.1.32) , available from the Solution Center.
19 March 2007
Altiris Agent Scan and Fix
Do you ever find that you have several computers that are no longer talking to the Notification Server even though they still have the agent running and are on-line? Here's how we keep our computers talking (even when they don't want to).
This script has proven very effective in fixing clients that have lost communication with the Notification Server. We run weekly reports on clients that have not talked in x number of days and then export that list of names to a text file.
This script uses ping and nslookup to check if the computer is still on the network. If it is, it deletes the machine's policy file, kills the agent process and the starts the service. The script uses a few utilities from Sysinternals, pskill, and psservice. Another utility we use, reg.exe, is part of Windows XP or it can be downloaded from the the Windows Resource Kit. These utilities need to be downloaded and stored locally on the PC the script is run from.
The script can be downloaded here
This script has proven very effective in fixing clients that have lost communication with the Notification Server. We run weekly reports on clients that have not talked in x number of days and then export that list of names to a text file.
This script uses ping and nslookup to check if the computer is still on the network. If it is, it deletes the machine's policy file, kills the agent process and the starts the service. The script uses a few utilities from Sysinternals, pskill, and psservice. Another utility we use, reg.exe, is part of Windows XP or it can be downloaded from the the Windows Resource Kit. These utilities need to be downloaded and stored locally on the PC the script is run from.
The script can be downloaded here
HII Tools 3.1.0 for Deployment Server 6.8 [updated]
HII Tools is a set of sample jobs and custom tools that empower you to easily create and deploy Hardware Independent Images using Deployment Server 6.8.
See HIITools.chm (included in HIITools.msi) for tips on using HIITools.
http://juice.altiris.com/download/979/hii-tools-3-0-2-for-deployment-server-6-8
Can the Altiris Agent uninstall status be verified from the Notification Server?
The Altiris Agent sends an uninstall events to the NS before completely removing itself so that the removal can be tracked down on the Notification Server using reports on the Software Delivery execution (if this type of events is enabled on the NS).
Here is a sample SQL query that could be used to show the computers that have executed the
Agent Uninstall package:
select ex._ResourceGuid, vc.Name as 'Computer name', vc.Domain as 'Computer domain', ex.PackageName 'Package name', ex.[Start] 'Execution start', ex.[End] 'Execution end' from Evt_AeX_SWD_Execution ex join vComputer vc on ex._ResourceGuid = vc.Guid where AdvertisementId in ( select AdvertisementId from SWDAdvertisement where name = 'Altiris Agent Uninstall' )
Here is a sample SQL query that could be used to show the computers that have executed the
Agent Uninstall package:
select ex._ResourceGuid, vc.Name as 'Computer name', vc.Domain as 'Computer domain', ex.PackageName 'Package name', ex.[Start] 'Execution start', ex.[End] 'Execution end' from Evt_AeX_SWD_Execution ex join vComputer vc on ex._ResourceGuid = vc.Guid where AdvertisementId in ( select AdvertisementId from SWDAdvertisement where name = 'Altiris Agent Uninstall' )
17 March 2007
Improving IIS and NS response times by disabling debug mode
Some solutions still have debug-mode compiling enabled in their related web.config files. Debug-mode compiling can cause performance problems for any ASP.NET application. In particular, the following debug-mode behaviors impact NS performance:
The compilation of ASP.NET pages takes longer (since some batch optimizations are disabled)
This can be seen in the initial viewing of each NS console page
Code can execute slower (since some additional debug paths are enabled)
Much more memory is used within the application at runtime
This is of particular importance on NS servers with 2GB of physical memory, and large client facing servers with multiple Altiris solutions enabled
Additional information about debug mode is available at ScottGu's BlogNote: The current version of Altiris Notification Server utilizes ASP.NET v1. It is not currently possible to use the deployment retail="true" setting which is available for ASP.NET v2
Manual Resolution
Make the following modification to each web.config file that is part of the Altiris installation (\Program Files\Altiris). The change will be implemented as soon as another request to the related page occurs. In most cases, this will involve a visit to the related configuration or task NS console page.
Before (web.config)
After (web.config)
Automated Resolution
On the following link you can find an exe file that provides a resolution.
http://kb.altiris.com/article.asp?article=33499&p=3
The compilation of ASP.NET pages takes longer (since some batch optimizations are disabled)
This can be seen in the initial viewing of each NS console page
Code can execute slower (since some additional debug paths are enabled)
Much more memory is used within the application at runtime
This is of particular importance on NS servers with 2GB of physical memory, and large client facing servers with multiple Altiris solutions enabled
Additional information about debug mode is available at ScottGu's BlogNote: The current version of Altiris Notification Server utilizes ASP.NET v1. It is not currently possible to use the deployment retail="true" setting which is available for ASP.NET v2
Manual Resolution
Make the following modification to each web.config file that is part of the Altiris installation (\Program Files\Altiris). The change will be implemented as soon as another request to the related page occurs. In most cases, this will involve a visit to the related configuration or task NS console page.
Before (web.config)
After (web.config)
Automated Resolution
On the following link you can find an exe file that provides a resolution.
http://kb.altiris.com/article.asp?article=33499&p=3
08 March 2007
NS60 SP3 R4 Released
Improvements for this release include the following new features:
Windows Vista:
This release enables Windows Vista to be supported as a managed resource in the Notification Server.
and a few bug fixes:
Windows Vista:
This release enables Windows Vista to be supported as a managed resource in the Notification Server.
Updated Reports and Collections for Windows Vista:
Core reports and collections have been updated and created to include the Windows Vista operating system.
Internet Explorer 7.0
This release enables the Altiris Console to function with Internet Explorer 7.0.
and a few bug fixes:Want to find out more? Here are the Release Notes
07 March 2007
Package Replication Solution Articles
Nice work from Altiris to summerize all articles fof Package Replication.
The KB can be foud here
The KB can be foud here
02 March 2007
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