FIX: You receive a SQL Server 2000 time-out error when you try to update or upgrade an instance of Notification Services by using the NSControl command-line utility (870657)

SYMPTOMS

When you try to update or upgrade the instance and the application databases for an existing instance of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Notification Services by using the NSControl Update command or the NSControl Upgrade command, the update operations or the upgrade operations may not be completed successfully. You may receive an error message that is similar to the following:

SqlServerError:
Source: .Net SqlClient Data Provider
Number: -2
State: 0
Class: 10
Server: Server_name
Message: Timeout expired. The timeout period elapsed prior to completion of the operation or the server is not responding.
Procedure: ConnectionCheckForData (CheckforData()).
Line Number: 0

Timeout expired. The timeout period elapsed prior to completion of the operation or the server is not responding.

This problem occurs if the application databases for the instance of Notification Services are large.

RESOLUTION

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Date         Time   Version     Size       File name
----------------------------------------------------------------
30-Jun-2004  16:33  2.0.3008.2  2,101,248  Microsoft.sqlserver.notificationservices.dll
30-Jun-2004  16:33  2.0.3008.2     36,864  Nscontrol.exe

MORE INFORMATION

After you apply this hotfix, you can specify the time-out period for completing the NSControl Update command and the NSControl Upgrade command. To specify the time-out period, you must do the following:

Create a configuration file.
Specify a value for the time-out period in the CommandTimeout argument.
Name the configuration file Nscontrol.exe.config.
Put the configuration file in the folder that contains the Nscontrol.exe file for the NSControl command-line utility.

The configuration file that specifies the CommandTimeout argument looks similar to the following:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<configuration>
<appSettings>
<add key="CommandTimeout" value="PT02M" />
</appSettings>
</configuration>

In the configuration file, the data type of the CommandTimeout argument value is XML duration. The format of the XML duration data type is P0DT00H00M00S. For more information about the XML data types, visit the following Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Web site:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/xmlsdk/html/xsdrefprimitivexmldatatypes.asp

REFERENCES

For more information about the NSControl Update command and the NSControl Upgrade command, visit the following MSDN Web sites:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/sqlntsv/htm/ns_nscontrol_8hyr.asp

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/sqlntsv/htm/ns_nscontrol_30l1.asp

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: