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An SMS primary site processes discovery and inventory data very slowly

Article ID: 816051 - View products that this article applies to.

SYMPTOMS

A Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0, Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003, or Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 primary site experiences a significant slowdown in data discovery record (DDR) processing or in hardware inventory (Management Information Format [MIF] file) processing. As a result, a backlog of DDR and MIF files occurs.

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CAUSE

This problem may occur if you have duplicate Media Access Control (MAC) addresses in the site database. The MAC address for a particular resource is a key field that is used to validate and cross-reference discovery or hardware inventory data. When a duplicate MAC address exists, specifically in the System_MAC_Addres_ARR table, each duplicate record must be verified against many other fields, such as a computer's NetBIOS name. In a large environment in which many duplicate MAC addresses are present, this verification process may result in a significant slowdown in the processing of each data file.

To determine whether you are experiencing this problem, open in any text editor a .ddr file or an .mif file that appears to be processing very slowly. Find the MAC address in the file, and then use it in the following SQL query against the site database:

select count(*) from System_MAC_Addres_ARR where MAC_Addresses0 = 'MAC Address from DDR or MIF file'

If this query returns any large value (that is, a value greater than 10), you may be experiencing this problem.

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RESOLUTION

Hotfix Information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

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

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

Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

You must be running Systems Management Server 2.0 Service Pack 4 (SP4) or later to apply this hotfix. For additional information about how to obtain the latest Systems Management Server 2.0 service pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

288239

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/288239/ )

How to Obtain the Latest Systems Management Server 2.0 Service Pack

Restart Requirement

You do not have to restart your 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) 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.

Systems Management Server 2.0 SP4

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File Name	Version	Size	Date	Time
Baseobj.dll	2.0.1493.4217	966,752	05-Sep-2003	21:08
Ddm.dll	2.0.1493.4217	174,480	05-Sep-2003	21:09

Systems Management Server 2.0 Service Pack 5 (SP5)

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File Name	Version	Size	Date	Time
Baseobj.dll	2.0.1493.5154	968,288	29-Aug-2003	19:39
Ddm.dll	2.0.1493.5154	175,504	29-Aug-2003	19:39

The German version of this hotfix has the file attributes that are listed in the following table (or later file attributed) . The dates and the 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.

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File Name	Version	Size	Date	Time
Baseobj.dll	2.0.1493.5154	968,288	25-Feb-2003	10:45
Ddm.dll	2.0.1493.5154	175,504	25-Feb-2003	10:45

Systems Management Server 2003

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File Name	Version	Size	Date	Time
Baseobj.dll	2.50.2726.105	974,848	04-Dec-2003	19:22
Ddm.dll	2.50.2726.105	180,224	04-Dec-2003	19:22

The German version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) 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.

System Center Configuration Manager 2007

System Center Configuration Manager 2007 already contains the changes included in hotfixes documented earlier in this article, and as such does not require a hotfix. Please review the information below regarding the registry changes required to exclude MAC addresses

After you install this hotfix or are running System Center Configuration Manager 2007, the following new registry key and value are added. You can enter data in this value to exclude certain MAC addresses from being duplicated in Systems Management Server or System Center Configuration Manager 2007:

Note This registry key and value must be added to all primary sites in the hierarchy that are running Systems Management Sever or System Center Configuration Manager 2007.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SMS\Components \SMS_DISCOVERY_DATA_MANAGER

Value name:

ExcludeMACAddress

Value type: REG_MULTI_SZ (multi-string)
Value data: list of MAC addresses

The placeholder list of MAC addresses represents the list of MAC addresses to be filtered. Type this list in the following format, with one MAC address to a line:

00:00:00:00:00:00

All letters in each MAC address must be typed as uppercase letters to match the MAC address that is submitted in a DDR.

Note A DDR that contains a MAC address that is specified in this key is still processed. However, the MAC address is not duplicated in the System_MAC_Addres_ARR table.

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

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MORE INFORMATION

The duplication of MAC addresses may occur when you run some third-party virtual private network (VPN) programs. In this scenario, a remote client may be assigned a predefined MAC address by the program when a connection is made to the network. For example, some versions of the Nortel VPN Client program assign the following MAC address:

44:45:53:54:42:00

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

The hotfix and the registry entry prevent additional data from being duplicated in the System_MAC_Addres_ARR but do not remove any data already present. To remove the pre-existing duplicate data, run a SQL query that is similar to the following at any primary site that is impacted by this problem. Back up the SMS Site Database before you make any direct modification.

set rowcount 100000 while exists (select * from system_mac_addres_ARR where MAC_Addresses0 = '44:45:53:54:42:00') begin delete from system_mac_addres_ARR where MAC_Addresses0 = '44:45:53:54:42:00' end

Entries that are similar to the following will also be seen and repeated in the Dataldr.log file if SQL tracing is enabled. The ItemKey value, representing a different computer, will change as this pattern is repeated during processing of a single file.

SQL>>>select convert(varchar(255),IP_Addresses0) from System_IP_Address_ARR where ItemKey = 250148 
SQL>>>select convert(varchar(255),IP_Subnets0) from System_IP_Subnets_ARR where ItemKey = 250148 
SQL>>>select convert(varchar(255),IPX_Addresses0) from System_IPX_Addres_ARR where ItemKey = 250148 
SQL>>>select convert(varchar(255),IPX_Network_Numbers0) from System_IPX_Network_Numbers_ARR where ItemKey = 250148 
SQL>>>select convert(varchar(255),MAC_Addresses0) from System_MAC_Addres_ARR where ItemKey = 250148 
SQL>>>select convert(varchar(255),Resource_Names0) from System_Resource_N_ARR where ItemKey = 250148 
SQL>>>select convert(varchar(255),SMS_Assigned_Sites0) from System_SMS_Assign_ARR where ItemKey = 250148 
SQL>>>select convert(varchar(255),SMS_Installed_Sites0) from System_SMS_Instal_ARR where ItemKey = 250148 
SQL>>>select convert(varchar(255),System_Roles0) from System_System_Rol_ARR where ItemKey = 250148

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