Consider the following scenario. You create a package in Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003. Then, you assign multiple access accounts for the package. Additionally, you update this package multiple times. In this scenario, more than 20 percent of the access accounts that are added to the package may be missing on the child sites.

This problem occurs because the SMS Distribution Manager starts distributing a package to the child site before the SMS provider processes all the actions for the package.

In SMS 2003, when multiple actions are run on a package in quick succession, one notification for each action is entered in the PkgNotification table in the SMS Microsoft SQL Server database. For example, if you add 100 more distribution points to a package, 100 entries for the package are entered in the PkgNotification table. When the first notification is received, the SMS SQL Monitor service notifies the Distribution Manager to process the action.

When the Distribution Manager starts, it queries for all package objects that have a pending action. Then, the Distribution Manager processes these actions in the order in which they were received. If these actions are not processed in the correct order, the child site may incorrectly process the actions that are specified by the parent site. Therefore, the child site will not be synchronized with the parent site.

Notifications for packages are generated when you perform any of the following actions:

• Add or remove a package
• Modify the properties of a package
• Update a package
• Add, remove, or update a distribution point
• Add, remove, or modify a program
• Add, remove, or modify an access account for the package

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.

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, submit a request to 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

Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 Service Pack 3 (SP3) must be installed on the computer before you apply this hotfix. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Restart requirement

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

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace a previously released hotfix.

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.

Systems Management Server 2003 with Service Pack 2

Systems Management Server 2003 with Service Pack 3

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

The hotfix that is provided in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 810817 can also resolve this problem. However, hotfix 810817 applies some tuning to define the notification delay. This notification delay may slow down the Distribution Manager. Therefore, we recommend that you use hotfix 943457 instead of hotfix 810817. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: