Getting a generic "Management Server" error when attempting to edit a target based on a computer list.

Products

• IT Management Suite

Issue/Introduction

When creating a new Software Update policy (this could likely happen with an Managed Software Delivery also), and specifying a Computer List as the target you get a generic Management Server error when attempting to edit the target after saving the policy.

"4/17/2015 4:36:20 PM","Failed to open the Resource Target
Object reference not set to an instance of an object."

"4/17/2015 4:36:20 PM","Unhandled exception.
Object reference not set to an instance of an object."

Cause

One of the resource GUIDs in the computer list was unable to be found in the CMDB.

Resolution

Compare the results of a Profiler trace to the number of clients specified in the Computer list in order to determine if the behavior is occurring, for example:

If the Profiler trace stops at the 14th instance of 'spItemExists' when checking the GUIDs against the Symantec_CMDB and there are more than 14 clients specified in the computer list, this indicates that the SMP was unable to find a particular GUID and the process was halted.

To resolve this behavior you will need to determine which machine was the culprit using the Altiris Profiler.

1. To run the Altiris Profiler and capture a trace of this issue for review log into the Notification Server with an admin level user or Application Identity account.
2. Locate the Altiris Profiler at 'Start>All Programs>Symantec>Diagnostics>Altiris Profiler'; launch the Profiler and accept any UAC (User Account Control) prompts.
3. Cancel the Profiler Wizard by clicking the 'Cancel' button.
4. Navigate in the Management Console to the policy where the error occurred when attempting to edit a target/filter. *In this use case it was a specific Software Update policy: Java7-80
5. Start the Profiler capture by clicking the "Start Full Profiling" button; immediately after starting the capture please recreate the issue.
6. Once the issue is recreated stop the Profiler capture by clicking the "Stop Profiling" button.
7. To export the trace capture for review select the 'File' menu within the Altiris Profiler; click 'Export...' to begin the Profiler Wizard.
8. Click the 'Next' button to continue.
9. Ensure all three check boxes are enabled to export all trace data; click the 'Browse' button to specify where to save the export.
10. Specify a relevant name for the capture, such as "ProfilerTrace - Case 12349876 "<Case Subject>"" and click the 'Save' button.
11. Click the 'Next' button to complete the export process. *This could take some time depending on the size of the trace captured.
12. Once the export is completed successfully click the 'OK' button to finalize the process.
13. Verify the exported Profiler Trace is present in the specified directory and review with Symantec Support if necessary.