SMS: PCM Service Job Does Not Log Failure If Not Mandatory

If the "Mandatory After" check box is not selected, System Background Jobs are never executed by Package Command Manager (PCM) Service and no failure events are logged in the Pacman.log file or the Windows NT Application Event log. Package Command Manager Service (Pcmsvc32.exe) should log a failure event for the job and also mark its execution as failed, when this condition occurs.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Systems Management Server version 1.2. This problem was corrected in the latest Microsoft Systems Management Server 1.2 U.S. Service Pack. For information on obtaining the service pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

If an Administrator selects "System Background Task" when creating the package but forgets to also select "Mandatory After", this job is never executed. A job must be marked "Mandatory After" and the package must have "System Background Task" selected if the Administrator needs Package Command Manager Service (PCMSVC32) instead of Package Command Manager Application (PCMWIN32) to execute it.

With Service Pack 3 version of Pcmsvc32 installed, jobs not marked as "Mandatory" will be executed by the PCM service if the following conditions are met:

1. "UserInputRequired=FALSE" is defined in the PDF for the packaged Command Line sent by the Job. (this can only be defined in the PDF)
2. The package Command Line sent by the Job has "System (Background) Task" checked. This can also be set in the PDF with "SystemTask=TRUE".
3. The Job's Offer Time has been reached.