HELP needed waking up SMS!!!!

[PhilMarcum]

I've got a very frustrating issue where NONE of the SMS Components for any of my primary and secondary site servers have updated since 5/17/06. As a possible result of this nothing in the admin console appears to be consistent. For instance:
1. The number of collections constantly fluctuates from 5500 to as low as 100 systems. My Heartbeat option is set to 1 week and my delete options are all set to 28 days.

2. I can't see any updates on new packages or advertisements.

3. When removing a secondary site server, MP, for testing and viewing either of the SCHED, SITESTAT, SENDER, or COMPSUMM log files I see absolutely NO changes throughout the entire removal process. There last update was back in 2005 way before I even started working at this location.

I've done a site reset on the Primary and it shows the new date on the components but notice thatiIf I start SMS Service Manager and query the components the following components are ALWAYS STOPPING:

SMS_MP_FILE DISPATCH_MANAGER
SMS_REPLICATION_MANAGER

If I check the Component Status on a few of my troubled secondary site servers I see errors with the same components:

SMS_LAN_SENDER
SMS_MP_CONTROL_MANAGER

The one thing I've done on ALL of my secondary site servers is ran the MPList and MPCert tests and they returned the correct responses indicating that they're communicating with the site server.

As I'm frantically going through my MP troubleshooting procedures I'm wondering if anyone can assist with any of the others issues I mentioned above? The issue has gotten critical as I've got technicians in the field that either see a few or don't see anything in Collections making it impossible to remote in and resolve user issues.

ANY responses are appreciated.

 

[JPlevel]

try a more aggressive client detection schedual. Mine is set to 1 day, that seems to work better for me. + how long has this system existed? Did you just reciently upgrade to sp2 w/o pushing out clients?

 

[PhilMarcum]

I tried that agressive detection method by setting everything to 1 day and it worked in some ways and in some ways it didn't. I think my delete aged objects, collections, etc setting were also too agressive and everything was working against each other. So I ended up changing the settings back to 28-30 days for delete aged items and 1 week for heartbeat. Looking in the console at the few systems remaining I can start the remote tools even though the clients don't show the site code or that the client is installed. I've gone into the site settings for each of these secondary sites and added my site code so instead of SITECODE=AUTO it now equals SITECODE=ATL.
Again, I think all of this is a result of the site server not updating consistently and none of the secondary sites having updated since 5/17. The problem is figuring out why the number of systems fluctuate and how to kick off my services and update my SMS console???

This setup is on SMS w/SP1 and was in place before I got here 2 months ago and I'm still having the same problems the previous admin had which was getting the consoles to show the clients as assigned, installed, and able to be fully managed.

THanks

 

[JPlevel]

insure that your inventories are going off too. Like hardware and software. if your clients are not checking in they will not show up in the console. also right click on the collection and go to properties, make sure that the collection updates atleast once a day. Also check the site systems folder and see if your server is set up as a reporting point, management point and a Client acess point.

 

[ncotton]

The actual number of collections shouldn't fluctuate on client data, as the collection rules are specified create the collection, not the client data, so even if you have no clients representing that collection, it should still exists. Whether of not any clients have or have not ever populated it, even if the data was invalid (as long as the syntax was correct, and the database table that it references exists).

Do you mean collections, or do you mean clients\machines?

Hope this Helps.

Neil J Cotton
njc Information Systems
Systems Consultant

 

[JPlevel]

wow. i assumed that he meant clients when he said collections. if his collections are fluctuating he has some other serious problem

 

[ncotton]

Thinking about it ...... 5500 collections is a bit above normal, no? i've never worked in SMS operational environments in massive enterprise so I wouldn't know the actual scale...i would say 5k collections is pusing it.

Hope this Helps.

Neil J Cotton
njc Information Systems
Systems Consultant

 

[JPlevel]

yea 5000 seems rediculous, but to me 500 also does. I try to keep mine pretty simple. but i could see if you had allot of sites it could expand allot. hmm... interesting guy. sms is being pushed to the limit? or maybe each collection represents different sites on a wan link. the wan link could be unstable making the sites not respond in time, but colletions should never disappear, their populations should just change depending if their clients reported in.

 

[ncotton]

or he just meant clients...

Hope this Helps.

Neil J Cotton
njc Information Systems
Systems Consultant

 

[JPlevel]

cross your fingers!

 

[ncotton]

JP...if you're in europe... you should be in bed...I just sad.

Hope this Helps.

Neil J Cotton
njc Information Systems
Systems Consultant

 

[JPlevel]

in california... still at work :-(

 

[PhilMarcum]

I'm sorry for the mis-communication but I meant that of my assigned 5500+ clients only 300+ are now appearing in the All client systems collections. I will admit that I do have a LOT of collections created in that for each of my 40+ sites I have an XP, 2000, and 2003 collection. Up until recently this has been working fine but from what I'm hearing in the field the SMS Advanced client is no longer installed on the client systems and appear to be uninstalling. Inspite of me having the 1e SMSClient Health configured as a startup script the helpdesk and field admins are re-installing the client manually but this isn't good enough. HELP!!! This is just another reason for higher management to abandon SMS and convert me to a script kiddie. Even though I didn't set up SMS here I cannot uninstall and start fresh.
I have the HW & SW inventories configured and they were working fine. My component status on ALL of my secondary site servers show 5/17/06 as the last date an update was made. I can reset the site server and it shows the correct date but nothing is updated.
I also found out that the AD Admin switched the network over to native mode without informing anyone so I'm wondering if this may have something to do with it? Does switching from mixed to native mode break SMS and will I need to re-extend the schema to resolve this? I'm also currently at SP1 so I'm guessing this'll be a good time to upgrade to SP2.

THanks

 

[ncotton]

I would upgrade now anyway....If it aint broke dont fix it....if it is....mess around with it Joke.

I would try extending the schema again. Check your client installation accounts.
As a temporary measure, set all your discovery mechanisms, Heartbeat, Network (inc all topologies), and AD System, and set it to every day or 2. Go into your tasks, make sure you have high figures on all the "DELETE tasks".
As I say, these are countermeasures to test for problems.
Manually look at the database and look in the System_DATA table, and see how many entries you have in there.

Hope this Helps.

Neil J Cotton
njc Information Systems
Systems Consultant

 

[JPlevel]

You should also check out your site to site links. Make sure the replication schedule is not messing you up. It seems like your secondary sites are not talking to your primary. You wanna check your site boundries for each of the secondary, and make sure the client is set to automatically install. The SMS client will uninstall itself if it does not speak to the site server in a certain period of time. MTechHead: do you have a book on this subject. if you do i say taht you should just set it all up again fromt he beginning. That will probably fix it and that way you will know the steps that you need to take to insure it works. SMS is not an easy program, but once you got it down its a breeze.. Also make sure all of your client accounts are set right along with password and that each remote site has a proxy management point set

 

[PhilMarcum]

I'm about to extend the schema now before upgrading to SP2 and will use this opportunity to make some additional changes.
Replication Manager is screwed up and hasn't been working since I've been here but i thought the secondaries were working at one time, briefly.
To keep things simple for me I'm only going to use 3 or 4 accounts for everything, one as the primary and the others for backup. I'm also open for suggestions on a step-by-stpe so if anyone have any please shoot them over.
I do have the only resource availble for this version of SMS but what I'm finding is that there is a lotta info missing on additional accounts etc so I've resorted to searching online for answers to some of my issues.

Thanks

 

[JPlevel]

when you extend the schema make sure the permissions are set right in AD users and computers, if not that could cause some problems. I have a book..System's Management Server 2003 Administrator's companion that helped me get my setup all running

 

[PhilMarcum]

I made sure the account I'm using was a member of the schema admins group before running extadsch at the command line on the site server. Checked the extadsch.log file and it shows the modification was successful.

 

[PhilMarcum]

Question on SQL. Running
SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('productversion'), SERVERPROPERTY ('productlevel'), SERVERPROPERTY ('edition')

in Query Analyzer to obtain the SQL version returns the following:

8.00.194 RTM STandard Edition

I'm not too familiar with RTM so is it the equivalent to SP3a? I ask because I'm looking to either upgrade to SQL 2000 SP4 or leave it where it is.

Thanks

 

[JPlevel]

RTM usually means release to manufacturing, so basically, its ancient version. Suprise you could even install sms 2003 on it.

Btw just cause it says its extended right does not mean it did, i had to manually add the permissions to the systems management container.

to do this follow these steps:

open up AD users and computers, go to View > Advance Features
Now on the left navigate to system > system management
right click properties, select the security tab and add the names of the actual computer accounts of the sms servers. i gave them full control on mine but you might want to do a little less. but they will need to read and write and the such.