SMS: Despooler Service Processes SNI Files Slowly

ID: Q168130

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Systems Management Server version 1.2

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

After Systems Management Server jobs are canceled, it may appear that subsequent jobs remain in a Pending state. The Systems Management Server Despoolr.log file may display the following:

Despooler failed to execute the instruction, error code = 38a

CAUSE

Canceling a Systems Management Server job may corrupt the .sni file. This causes the Despooler service to process very slowly through each corrupt file, and display the message shown in the SYMPTOMS section of this article. These .sni files are job status MIFs returning from the client, and are processed before .ins files. It appears that Despooler is not getting to the Pending jobs.

Additionally, deleting an Active job or deleting a job before it is completely canceled can also cause the error to occur.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix that corrects this problem is now available from Microsoft, but it has not been fully regression tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. If you are not severely affected by this specific problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Systems Management Server service pack that contains this fix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:


   Date      Time     Size    File name     Platform
   -------------------------------------------------

   2/24/99   1:35pm   254,400 Smsinst.dll   X86
   2/24/99   1:34pm   481,040 Smsinst.dll   ALPHA

NOTE: Due to file dependencies, the most recent hotfix or feature that contains the above files may also contain additional files.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, examine the Sms\Site.srv\Despoolr.box\Receive directory and move all .sni files that are unrelated to current active jobs to a temporary subdirectory.

The following are some good practices to implement:

If you cancel your jobs, do not delete them until they have been canceled for 48 hours.

If you are canceling jobs, do not cancel more than one at a time.

Do not delete Active jobs.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Systems Management Server version 1.2.

MORE INFORMATION

The hotfix changes the precedence of the Despooler's file processing. Previously the Despooler processed files in the following order:

.ist, .nil, .sni, .ins

Now the Despooler processes .sni files last, according to this new order:

.ist, .nil, .ins, .sni

Additionally, the Despooler processes files in batch. By default, the Despooler selects 50 files at a time. This hotfix allows the batch size to be configurable by means of a registry entry.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

To specify the Despooler batch size create the following registry key:

HKEY Local Machine\Software\Microsoft\SMS\Components\SMS_Despooler\
(DWORD) MaxFileEnum (decimal value)

To install the hotfix, perform the following steps:

Stop the SMS Executive service on the Systems Management Server site server.

Replace the Smsinst.dll file in the \Site.srv\Platform.bin directory with the version obtained from the hotfix.

Restart the SMS Executive service.

NOTE: You can perform Step 2 automatically by using Hotfix.exe with the provided Hotfix.ini file.

Additional query words: prodsms slow hang delete

Keywords : kbSMS120 kbSMS120bug smsdespooler kbbug1.20
Version : winnt:1.2
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug