Problem Running SMS on CNTFS Partition

• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 3.51
• Microsoft Systems Management Server versions 1.0 and 1.1

SYMPTOMS

Systems Management Server version 1.0 performance degrades after upgrading to Windows NT Server version 3.51.

CAUSE

Windows NT version 3.51 includes support for file compression on Windows NT file system (NTFS) partitions (called Compressed NTFS [CNTFS]). CNTFS is based on a new compression file attribute. If SMS resides on a CNTFS partition, both SMS and CNTFS may attempt compression of the same files. This imposes unneeded overhead.

For example, if the SMS Scheduler compresses a package for distribution, a compressed data stream is written to a file. If the file attributes have the compression bit set, CNTFS attempts to compress this data stream when writing to the disk. Redundant compression attempts waste server resources causing performance to degrade.

WORKAROUND

To prevent this redundant operation, ensure that directory and file attributes in the SMS\SITE.SRV directory and subdirectories do not have the compression bit set. To do this, type the following at the MS-DOS command line:

   COMPACT /U /I /S <x>:\SMS\SITE.SRV\*.*

NOTE: In addition to file compression on package files, server performance can also be affected by the compression of files located in the subdirectories below LOGON.SRV. If these files are compressed by CNTFS, additional server overhead is required to make the data available to SMS clients.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Systems Management Server versions 1.0 and 1.1. We are researching this problem and will post new information in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.