NAS scanning timeout configuration for NetApp - Symantec Protection Engine

Products

• Protection Engine for NAS

Issue/Introduction

On-demand or real-time antivirus scans fail with 'Maximum Timeout' errors. This typically occurs when the scan engine processes large or complex archive files (e.g., deep .zip or .tar files) that exceed the configured processing time limit.

Environment

• Symantec Protection Engine (SPE) 8.2.2 or later
• NetApp Filer using RPC protocol
• ONTAP 9.2 or later

Cause

The scan engine is unable to complete decompression and scanning of large files within the configured timeout period. This is often due to a mismatch between the storage system's request timeout and the Protection Engine's internal scan timeout.

Resolution

To ensure stability and prevent scan failures, follow the **2/3 rule**: The Protection Engine scan timeout must be set to approximately two-thirds of the NetApp 'Request Service Timeout'.

1. Verify NetApp Timeouts

Run the following command on the NetApp filer to view the current timeout settings:

vscan scanner-pool show -instance

Note the value for **Request Service Timeout** (Default is 30s).

2. Configure Protection Engine Timeout

1. Open a command prompt or terminal as an administrator.
2. Navigate to the SPE installation directory:

• Windows: `C:\Program Files\Symantec\Scan Engine`
• Linux: `/opt/SYMCScan/bin`

3. Use `xmlmodifier` to set the `ScanTimeoutInSeconds`. If the NetApp timeout is 120 seconds, set the SPE timeout to 80:

./xmlmodifier -s /configuration/ScanTimeoutInSeconds/@value 80 configuration.xml

4. Set `ByPassScanTimeoutError` to `true` if files that timeout should be passed as clean (logged as Generic 36):

./xmlmodifier -s /configuration/ByPassScanTimeoutError/@value true configuration.xml

5. Restart the Symantec Protection Engine service to apply changes.

Additional Information

• For further assistance, see Contact Broadcom Support
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