SMP Console Freezes when opening PMimport page

Products

• IT Management Suite

Issue/Introduction

When navigating to the MetaData Import Task page in the SMP Console, the browser freezes or displays a critical error.

The Notification Server (NS) logs show:

• Error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
• Source: Altiris.TaskManagement.UI.Controls.Grid.AltirisGridCallbackHandler.WriteHtmlResponse

Cause

This is caused by aggressive task scheduling (e.g., PMImport running every 1 minute) which leads to Task History bloat. The AltirisGridCallbackHandler fails to render the excessive volume of task instances during the XMLHttp callback, resulting in a NullReferenceException

Resolution

Step 1: Adjust Task Schedule

1. Navigate to Manage > Jobs and Tasks > System Jobs and Tasks > Software > Patch Management > Import Patch Data for Windows.
2. Change the schedule to a standard interval (e.g., Daily) to prevent future history accumulation.

Step 2: Configure Task Data Cleanup

To prune the existing history backlog:

1. Navigate to Settings > All Settings > Notification Server > Task Settings > Notification Server Settings.
2. Locate the Clean up task data section.
3. Set the Maximum time period to keep task instances to 3 days.
4. Click Save changes.
5. Ensure the Task Clean Up task runs to process these changes and remove the excess data from the database.

Once the history is reduced, the MetaData Import page will load correctly without freezing the browser.