Software Delivery Task, Job, or Managed Policy times out after 6 hours

Products

• Management Platform (Formerly known as Notification Server)
• Software Management Solution

Issue/Introduction

A Software Delivery job is pushed to a client computer, using a Managed Software Delivery Policy, Quick Delivery Task, or Package Delivery Task. The execution starts properly, but then fails to complete, and is terminated after six hours.

Resolution

The default setting for software installation is to time out/terminate after 6 hours, or 300 minutes.

• On a Managed Software Delivery policy, select the software under the Policy Rules section, then select the "Advanced Options" button, then select the "Results-based actions" tab. The default setting is "Terminate after" 6 hours.
• On a Quick Delivery or Package Delivery task, select the "Advanced..." button under the Software Settings portion, then select the "Task Options" tab. The default setting is "Stop task after" 300 minutes.

It is recommended to keep the terminate time enabled, although the time can be increased or decreased depending on the application. Most software installs should complete within the default six hour period. If a software deployment fails to complete within that time, a message was likely displayed and required interaction, and was not clicked. Check the following:

• For a Managed Software Delivery policy, go to Policy Rules section, "Advanced Options" button, "Run" tab. Verify the "Allow user to interact with installing software" option is enabled and the Display window is not "Hidden."
• For a Quick Delivery or Package Delivery task, go to the Software Settings section, "Advanced..." button, "Run Options" tab. Verify the "Allow user interaction" option is set, and the Display window is not "Hidden."

Test the installation with these settings enabled. If a popup appears, check the installation command line to determine if a silent switch or other setting is missing. Various applications have different ways to install software silently or unattended. This could be as simple as adding a /s switch on the command line, or /qn for an MSI installation. Check with the software vendor to see recommended ways to install software silently.