The ddm.box inbox folder is backlogged with many DDRs, and the SMS database is not updated with newly created objects in Systems Management Server 2003 (918914)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003

SYMPTOMS

You may experience the following symptoms on a Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 site server:
  • The SMS database is not updated with newly created objects after a discovery interval has passed.
  • Discovery data records (DDRs) are queued in the ddm.box inbox folder.

    Note By default, this folder has the following path:

    C:\SMS\inboxes\auth\ddm.box

  • The ddm.log file contains many error entries that resemble the following:

    *** insert into System_SMS_Assign_ARR (ItemKey, SMS_Assigned_Sites0) values (8851, 
"SMS:S01")	SMS_DISCOVERY_DATA_MANAGER	<date> <time>	6436 (0x1924)
*** [22001][8152][Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver][SQL Server]String or binary 
data would be truncated.	SMS_DISCOVERY_DATA_MANAGER	<date> <time>	6436 
(0x1924)
*** insert into System_SMS_Assign_ARR (ItemKey, SMS_Assigned_Sites0) values (8851, 
"SMS:S01")	SMS_DISCOVERY_DATA_MANAGER	<date> <time>	6436 (0x1924)
*** [01000][3621][Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver][SQL Server]The statement has 
been terminated.	SMS_DISCOVERY_DATA_MANAGER	<date> <time>	6436 (0x1924)
CDiscoverySource_SQL::UpdateItem - could not execute sql- insert into 
System_SMS_Assign_ARR (ItemKey, SMS_Assigned_Sites0) values (8851, 
"SMS:S01")	SMS_DISCOVERY_DATA_MANAGER	<date> <time>	6436 (0x1924)
CDiscoverDataManager::ProcessDDRs_PS - Unable to update data 
source	SMS_DISCOVERY_DATA_MANAGER	<date> <time>	6436 (0x1924)
STATMSG: ID=2636 SEV=E LEV=M SOURCE="SMS Server" COMP="SMS_DISCOVERY_DATA_MANAGER" 
SYS=SMS SITE=S01 PID=<pid> TID=<tid> GMTDATE=<date> <time> 
ISTR0="" ISTR1="" ISTR2="" ISTR3="" ISTR4="" ISTR5="" ISTR6="" ISTR7="" ISTR8="" 
ISTR9="" NUMATTRS=0	SMS_DISCOVERY_DATA_MANAGER	<date> <time>	6436 (0x1924)
CDiscoverDataManager::ProcessDDRs_PS - SQL problem detected.  Will retry 
later.	SMS_DISCOVERY_DATA_MANAGER	<date> <time>	6436 (0x1924)
CDiscoverDataManager::Process - Failed to manage files in inbox.  Will retry in at 
least 60 seconds	SMS_DISCOVERY_DATA_MANAGER	<date> <time>	6436 (0x1924)

    Note By default, the ddm.log file is located in the C:\SMS\Logs folder.
  • In the contents of the affected DDRs, two SMS_AUTHORITY instances, such as SMS:S01 and SMS:S02, are displayed. For example, XML that resembles the following appears in the affected DDRs:

    BEGIN_PROPERTY
<17><SMS Assigned Sites><11><128>
BEGIN_ARRAY_VALUES
<S01><SMS:S01>
END_ARRAY_VALUES
END_PROPERTY

BEGIN_PROPERTY
<17><SMS Assigned Sites><11><128>
BEGIN_ARRAY_VALUES
<S01><SMS:S02>
END_ARRAY_VALUES
END_PROPERTY

CAUSE

This problem occurs if the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) property on the SMS client contains two or more site codes. In this situation, the following process occurs:
  1. An SQL statement that resembles the following runs to insert the three-character site code into the SMS_Assigned_Sites0 column of the SMS database: 
    insert into System_SMS_Assign_ARR (ItemKey, SMS_Assigned_Sites0) values (25912, "SMS:XXX")
    The SMS_Assigned_Sites0 field is four characters wide. In this scenario, the DDR processing operation removes the SMS part from the site code. Therefore, site code information such as SMS:XXX is truncated to XXX.
  2. If the DDR XML contains two SMS_AUTHORITY instances, the SMS part of the second SMS_AUTHORITY instance is incorrectly concatenated to the site code during DDR processing. Therefore, the site code becomes seven characters. For example, site code information such as SMS:XXX becomes the site code SMS:XXX.
  3. The SQL INSERT statement fails when it tries to insert the seven-character site code into the four-character field.
To determine whether the WMI property on the SMS client contains two site codes, follow these steps:
  1. Locate the DDR of the computer that is blocking the ddm.box queue. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Open the drive:\SMS\Logs\ddm.log file.
    2. Locate the DDR entry that contains the error entry that is described in the "Symptoms" section.

      Note A typical DDR processing entry starts with information that resembles the following:

      file <fileName>.DDR          SMS_DISCOVERY_DATA_MANAGER
Processing NEW <System>...   SMS_DISCOVERY_DATA_MANAGER
Name = <ComputerName>        SMS_DISCOVERY_DATA_MANAGER

      Note the name of the DDR file together with the computer name that is associated with the DDR file.
  2. In the drive:\SMS\ddm.box folder, open the fileName.DDR file to verify the NetBIOS name of the computer. In the following example, the NetBIOS name of the computer is Computer-1:

    BEGIN_PROPERTY
<8><NetBIOS Name><11><64><Computer-1>
END_PROPERTY

  3. On the particular client computer, start the Windows Management Instrumentation Tester program. This program is also known as WBEMTest. To do this, click Start, click Run, type wbemtest, and then click OK.
  4. Examine the content in the SMS_AUTHORITY class. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. In Windows Management Instrumentation Tester, click Connect.
    2. In the Connect dialog box, type root\ccm, and then click Connect.
    3. In the Windows Management Instrumentation Tester, click Open Class.
    4. In the Enter Target Class Name box, type sms_authority, and then click OK.
If two or more SMS_AUTHORITY instances are displayed, you may experience the problem that is described in the "Symptoms" section.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, follow these steps:
  1. Apply the hotfix that is mentioned in the "Hotfix information" section to the SMS site server.
  2. Remove the SMS agent from the affected client computer, and then reinstall the SMS agent on the client computer. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    826842 How to remove a Systems Management Server 2003 client

Hotfix information

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 Systems Management Server 2003 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.

Prerequisites

You must have Systems Management Server 2003 Service Pack 2 installed to apply this hotfix. For more information about how to obtain the latest Systems Management Server 2003 service pack , click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

885643 How to obtain the latest Systems Management Server 2003 service pack

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix 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 item in Control Panel.
File nameFile versionFile sizeDateTimePlatform
Ddm.dll2.50.4160.2109196,60801-Mar-200608:40x86

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a bug in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

MORE INFORMATION

In some environments, the Active Directory directory service discovery process may cause the generation of incorrect DDRs. You may experience this problem even when the hotfix from this article is applied. Therefore, if you enable Active Directory discovery, you may receive the same error entries that are mentioned in the "Symptoms" section.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to help you remove the incorrect record from the SMS database. For more information about how to contact Product Support Services, visit the following Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/

For more information about the terms that are used in this article, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

824684 Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:8/29/2006
Keywords:kbBug kbfix kbQFE kbhotfixserver kbpubtypekc KB918914 kbAudITPRO
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