Altiris Agent installed, but there is no communication with the Notification Server

Products

• IT Management Suite

Issue/Introduction

The Altiris Agent is installed, but there is no communication between it and the Notification Server. (Update Configuration and Basic Inventory does not function.)

Cause

The causes vary. See the Resolution for more information.

Resolution

• In the Altiris Agent UI, check the options for Show scheduled tasks and packages, Show internal tasks and packages, and Show expired packages. Do any packages show up in the right-hand pane?
• Click the About icon along the product bar (near the top of the UI) and select the Altiris Agent Details tab. The valid server name should show up under Altiris Server, and you should have valid dates for Config Last Requested, Changed, and Basic Inventory last sent.
• Obtain the Altiris Agent log files as they will probably indicate where the problem is coming from. By default they are located at C:\Program files\Altiris Agent\Logs\.
• See the Reading Agent.log files guide for details on how to look for errors in the log files.
  1. Does the Notification Server client have a machine GUID in the registry?
  2. If it does have a GUID, does that GUID exist in the Notification Server database? From SQL Query analyzer (with the Notification Server database selected): select * from vcomputer where GUID = ‘ guid of computer’. For example: Select * from vcomputer where GUID = ‘C3155686-1F61-431B-ABC2-D13BA52DA235’
  3. If the GUID is in the database, does the info match the client you are looking at (name, domain, etc.)? If the info does not match, check to see if the customer is using operating-system images with the Notification Server client installed, or a RIP of an Notification Server client install. The problem could be caused by either one with the GUID not properly cleaned from the registry. (See the section on Imaging.)
  4. If no GUID exists, the client has never made contact with the server.
• You may see the following error in the agent.log file from the client. “Description: SendBasicInventory failed: Error saving event: The system cannot find the path specified. (-2147024893).” Also, you may see, after attempting to push a new agent to the client machine, a failed install for that computer in the agent push report. This can be caused the temporary file location references controlling the client computer TEMP environment variables being set to invalid or inaccessible locations. To resolve this issue, Set the temporary (TEMP) drive letters and path to a functional location (usually %windir%\TEMP), and restart the client machine.
• You can also make sure that the Altiris Notification Server is not paused.

Applies To
Notification Server 6.0