Client/Server Synchronization issues

Good morning!

Now that you are all back from TechEd, I wanted to address an issue that a couple of folks contacted us about regarding some client/server synchronization issues they were experiencing in their WSUS environment.

 

Issue:

Computers that have Office 2003 or components of Office 2003 installed fail to run a detection against a WSUS server that has the latest Office updates. This prevents the computers from receiving any updates from the WSUS server.

 

Affected products:

·         WSUS 3.0 Server (RTM or SP1)

·         Computers with Office 2003 or components of Office 2003 installed.

 

Symptoms:

Automatic updates fails detection against the WSUS server.

 

1.       On the client side, the automatic updates log file (%windir%\WindowsUpdate.log) has an entry similar to below during the detection phase:

2008-06-13    19:59:53:383  788   ee4    PT     +++++++++++  PT: Synchronizing server updates  +++++++++++

2008-06-13    19:59:53:383  788   ee4    PT       + ServiceId = {3DA21691-E39D-4DA6-8A4B-B43877BCB1B7}, Server URL = http://<WSUS Server>/ClientWebService/client.asmx

2008-06-13    19:59:56:617  788   ee4    PT     WARNING: SyncUpdates failure, error = 0x8024400E, soap client error = 7, soap error code = 400, HTTP status code = 200

2008-06-13    19:59:56:617  788   ee4    PT     WARNING: SOAP Fault: 0x000190

2008-06-13    19:59:56:617  788   ee4    PT     WARNING:     faultstring:Fault occurred

2008-06-13    19:59:56:617  788   ee4    PT     WARNING:     ErrorCode:InternalServerError(5)

2008-06-13    19:59:56:617  788   ee4    PT     WARNING:     Message:(null)

2008-06-13    19:59:56:617  788   ee4    PT     WARNING:     Method:"http://www.microsoft.com/SoftwareDistribution/Server/ClientWebService/SyncUpdates"

2008-06-13    19:59:56:617  788   ee4    PT     WARNING:     ID:c0a7445f-b989-43fa-ac20-11f8ca65fa8c

 

2.       On the WSUS server, the WSUS log file (%Program Files%\Update Services\Log Files\SoftwareDistribution.log) has an entry similar to below, which one can find by searching on the ID obtained from the client log:

2008-06-14 02:59:57.642 UTC Error  w3wp.12       ClientImplementation.SyncUpdates       System.ArgumentException: Item has already been added. Key in dictionary: '8862'  Key being added: '8862'

   at System.Collections.Hashtable.Insert(Object key, Object nvalue, Boolean add)

   at System.Collections.Hashtable.Add(Object key, Object value)

   at Microsoft.UpdateServices.Internal.ClientImplementation.GetSyncInfo(DataAccess dataAccess, Hashtable stateTable, Hashtable deploymentTable, Boolean haveGroupsChanged, Boolean doChunking)

   at Microsoft.UpdateServices.Internal.ClientImplementation.SoftwareSync(DataAccess dataAccess, UnencryptedCookieData cookieData, Int32[] installedNonLeafUpdateIds, Int32[] leafUpdateIds, Boolean haveGroupsChanged, Boolean expressQuery)

   at Microsoft.UpdateServices.Internal.ClientImplementation.SyncUpdates(Cookie cookie, SyncUpdateParameters parameters)

   at Microsoft.UpdateServices.Internal.ClientImplementation.SyncUpdates(Cookie cookie, SyncUpdateParameters parameters)

   at Microsoft.UpdateServices.Internal.Client.SyncUpdates(Cookie cookie, SyncUpdateParameters parameters)

       <lines removed>

2008-06-14 02:59:57.642 UTC Warning       w3wp.12       SoapUtilities.CreateException     ThrowException: actor = http://wsusebc/ClientWebService/client.asmx, ID=c0a7445f-b989-43fa-ac20-11f8ca65fa8c, ErrorCode=InternalServerError, Message=, Client=?

 

Root Cause:

A recent revision to the ‘Office 2003 Service Pack 1’ update has resulted in some WSUS 3.0 servers syncing

the revised update to enter an inconsistent state with respect to the update’s approvals. When computers with products related to Office 2003 communicate with such a server, the Web service is unable to process the approvals resulting in the detection failure.

 

Workaround:

In order to reset the approvals to a consistent state on the WSUS server, follow these steps from the WSUS Administration Console:

1.       Find the Office 2003 Service Pack 1 update in the updates list, UpdateID: D359F493-0AAD-43FA-AF5C-6763326CD98F. This may involve changing the Status and Approval filters. Set Status to Any and Approval to Declined; if you still do not see the update, set Approval to Any Except Declined.

2.       Perform the following steps:

a.        Ensure the update is already declined.

                                                                                       i.      If the update is not already declined, right-click on the update and then click Decline in the shortcuts menu.

b.       Cause the update not to be declined.

                                                                                       i.            Right-click the update and then click Approve in the shortcuts menu.

                                                                                     ii.            In the Approve Updates dialog that opens, just click OK without making any changes to the approval settings.

c.        Decline the update.

                                                                                       i.       Right-click the update and then click Approve in the shortcuts menu.

                                                                                     ii.       In the Approve Updates dialog that opens, just click OK. Dismiss the Approval Progress dialog that appears.

 

The computers that were failing detection will now successfully complete detection against the server and receive any applicable updates.

 

Note: If you have a hierarchy of WSUS servers, these steps must be performed on each server, starting with the top-level server. If one of the servers is a replica child, one must first change it to be autonomous, then perform the steps above, then change it back to being a replica. This can be done from the Options/Update Source and Proxy Server dialog box.

 

Thank you.

 

Cecilia Cole

WSUS Program Manager