Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering WMI provider does not correctly handle invalid characters in the private property names causing WMI queries to fail

Consider the following scenario:

• You install Failover Clustering on a Windows Server 2008-based computer.
• One or more private property names of the Cluster objects contain characters that are not supported by Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).

In this scenario, any WMI queries against the Failover Clustering WMI provider fail.

For example, you receive the following error message when you use WMI to enumerate all instances of the MSCluster_Resource type: Notes

• Valid characters include lowercase letters (a-z), uppercase letters (A-Z), numbers (0-9), and the underscore character (_) character.
• A property name ending with (_) is an invalid property name.
• Property names must start with a letter.
• This issue occurs only when the names of the private properties contain unsupported characters. This restriction does not apply to the values of the private properties. For example, resource and group names can have the hyphen (-) character and other characters.

Private properties on a cluster resource, group, or any other cluster object can be queried and set by using multiple methods. This includes the Cluster API and the Cluster WMI provider. Creating a private property on a cluster object by using the Cluster API does not have restrictions on the characters in the name. However, when you create a private property name that contains any unsupported characters on the object, any attempts to query the Cluster WMI provider fail.

A hotfix is available to resolve this issue. This hotfix also resolves the following issue:

The hosting process (Wmiprvse.exe) may exit unexpectedly (crash) when certain patterns of WMI queries are handled by the Cluster WMI provider under stress conditions. The hosting process then restarts, and any later calls to the Cluster WMI provider are performed.

Hotfix information

Important note This is an updated version of hotfix 958807. An earlier version of this hotfix was available briefly but was then removed from the site. If you have the earlier version of this hotfix installed, you may experience the following issue:

• Symptoms
  When you try to create a highly available virtual machine by using the Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) Admin console, you may receive the following error message even though available storage exists:
  There are no volumes available for placement. For clustered hosts, all shared storage is currently in use or not available. In addition, some of the volumes may be marked as unavailable for placement. Select a different host or add more storage and then try the operation again. ID: 11019
• Cause
  This issue may occur if the Hyper-V cluster nodes have the previously-release version of hotfix 955807 installed.
• Resolution
  To resolve this issue, install the updated version of 955807 on all cluster nodes.

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 the problem described in this article. 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: 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

To apply this hotfix, the computer must run Windows Server 2008 with the Failover Clustering feature. This hotfix applies to Windows Server 2008 SP1/RTM. The update in the hotfix is included in Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2.

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart the computer after you install or uninstall the hotfix package. You do not have to restart any services.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix replaces any previous version of 955807. The update in this hotfix is included in Windows Server 2008 SP2. If the previous version of 955807 was applied to a server, applying this hotfix or applying Windows Server 2008 SP2 will place the correct updates on the system.

Registry information

To use this hotfix, you do not have to make any changes to the registry.

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.

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 file information notes

The MANIFEST files (.manifest) and MUM files (.mum) installed for each environment are listed separately . MUM and MANIFEST files, and the associated security catalog (.cat) files, are critical to maintaining the state of the updated component. The security catalog files (attributes not listed) are signed with a Microsoft digital signature.

For all supported x86-based versions of Windows Server 2008

For all supported x64-based versions of Windows Server 2008

For all supported Itanium-based versions of Windows Server 2008

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods.

Method 1
Delete the cluster objects whose private property names contain invalid characters.

Method 2
Use the cluster API or cluster.exe to query the status and configuration of the cluster and cluster objects.

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

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

Additional file information for Windows Server 2008

Additional files for all supported x86-based versions of Windows Server 2008

Additional files for all supported x64-based versions of Windows Server 2008

Additional files for all supported Itanium-based versions of Windows Server 2008