KNOWN ISSUE: Unable to load the target item for the client message errors in server logs

Article:TECH27709

Created: 2007-03-21

Updated: 2007-05-03

Article URL http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH27709

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Article Type
Technical Solution

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Problem

This problem has several symptoms.

Errors in the server log file that state, "Unhandled exception. Type=Altiris.NS.Exceptions.AeXItemNotFoundException Msg=Unable to load the target item for the client message. (Guid: "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx") Src=Altiris.NS.5xInterop StackTrace= at Altiris.NS.LegacyInterop.ItemMessageDispatcherService.Dispatch(String message, Boolean useFilename)"
NSEs filling the EvtQFast\Bad\ItemNotFoundException folder. These NSEs are SWDStatusEvent messages with <Type>Package Removed</Type> and Status>Package no longer required.</Status>
Agent log files may have error/warning/information entries, "GetNextQueuedProgram: SWD task has been disabled since being queued', 'Unable to delete package', 'Deleting inactive package', 'Download package sources failed."

Environment

Notification Server 6.0 SP3 (6.0.6074)
Software Delivery Solution 6.1 SP2 (6.1.1049)
Previous versions will most likely exhibit the same problem.

Cause

The immediate cause of the problem is that a Software Delivery Task and Package has been deleted on the Notification Server before it is removed on the clients. The following sequence of events highlights the problem.

A Software Delivery package is created and the associated task is scheduled to run "At Logon".
The task and package is received and downloaded on the client. This places information in the client config policy and the aexswdpolicy.xml file.
The user logon event never occurs.
The task and package is deleted on the Notification Server. This causes the task to be removed from the client config policy, but the entry remains in the aexswdpolicy.xml file.
The default seven day limit occurs and the client removes the package and sends an SWDStatusEvent.
A user logon event occurs. The task (which is in the aexswdpolicy file) is queued and the agent attempts to download the package.
Steps 5 and 6 are repeated multiple times.

Solution

Remove the task entry from the aexswdpolicy file.

One possible way to automate this is to run the following command script via a Software Delivery job. This script will stop the Altiris Agent, rename the aexswdpolicy.xml file, delete the client config policy file (this step is unnecessary, but useful), and restart the Altiris Agent. Because the information about the execution of this Software Delivery task is stored in the aexswdpolicy.xml file and since the file is renamed, the agent will run this job twice. The first time, it will create a new aexswdpolicy.xml file that does not have the task execution information in it. The agent will think it has not run the job and will execute it again. The second time it will not be able to perform the rename, since the .bak file already exists and so the task execution information will be retained.

@echo off
..\..\..\aexagentutil /stop
rename ..\..\aexswdpolicy.xml aexswdpolicy.xml.bak
del "..\..\..\Client Policies\*.xml"
..\..\..\aexagentutil /start

Important: Since all task execution information will be lost, the agent will run every task as configured in the client config policy file, whether it has previously run the task or not.

Supplemental Materials

Source	DEFECT
Value	LB 58146
Description	Logged in Littlebuggy (Altiris - Lindon, Plymouth) database

Legacy ID

33790