Environment
Situation
This article
is a summary of the fixes included in Update Agent 6.3 P-1
(6.3.2.858).
Applies To:Update Server 6.3, Update Agent for
Windows
Patch
Name:Update Agent 6.3 P-1 (R2) (Windows)
Impact:Recommended
Description:There are multiple fixes included Update Agent 6.3 P-1 (R2) (Windows). They are:
- The agent does not register on non-English platforms.
- Non-Administrators will receive an access denied error message when opening the control panel or when viewing the current status of the agent in the control panel in most circumstances
- An error message appears in the event log concerning a missing assembly. PatchLink KB408
- The DWORD evaluation within the detection agent works for fingerprint evaluations.
- Detection agent would incorrectly read registry keys for file path locations if a semi-colon was contained within the value for the registry key.
- In some circumstances (like an agent going through a VPN and a proxy, or 2+ proxy servers, etc.) would report its IP address as 0.0.0.0 or 127.0.0.1.
- If an inventory item on WinXP SP2 contains an invalid XML character (&, <, >, etc.), an XML Parser error would be popped up to all logged on users. Log contains XMLDeltaParser error.
- The detection agent no longer uses the proxy registry keys if they exist from older versions of the agent when the agent was upgraded.
- The agent will resume communication to the server on its next communication interval when it has failed to communicate to its entire list of fast path servers.
- The Agent Installation Guide proxy section has been updated
- If remote registry or performance counters are disabled then the agent will attempt to get the system uptime value for 30 seconds instead of 300 seconds and if it is unable to obtain the value then it will clear the dirty-r and dirty-c state values. In this system configuration the agent will not be able to track if the system rebooted upon service startup.
- Caching enhancements have been implemented in to the agent to increase the ability of the agent and caching servers to cache packages from the 6.3 Update Servers.
- The detection agent will handle the condition when one of the system’s volumes are not accessible when trying to access the volume on Windows NT/9x.
Resolution
PatchLink Engineering has created 4 patches are are available as a deployment from your Update Server 6.3. Below is a table that summarizes the details of each patch and their purpose.
Patch
Name | Patch
Description |
C - Novell
ZENworks Patch Management Update Agent Upgrade for Windows 6.0 and
higher to 6.3.0.858 (SEE NOTES) | This patch is
designed to upgrade pre 6.3 Update Agent for Windows to 6.3 P-1
(6.3.2.858). |
C - Novell
ZENworks Patch Management Update Agent 6.3 P-1 for Windows (See
Notes) | This patch is
designed to upgrade existing 6.3 Windows Agents (6.3.2.669,
6.3.2.700, 6.3.2.849) to 6.3 P-1 (6.3.2.858). |
B - Novell
ZENworks Patch Management Update Agent 6.3 P-1 Windows Server
Patch | This patch is
designed to be installed on the Update Server 6.3 or 6.3 R2. The
patch will replace the existing x86/x64 Update Agent for Windows
installers (6.3.2.858). |
After the deployment of PatchLink Update Agent 6.3 P-1 for Windows, PatchLink Administrators managing 64-bit operating systems (Windows XP x64, Windows Server 2003 x64) should apply an additional hotfix called PatchLink Update Agent 6.3 P-1 (x64) for Windows Hotfix to resolve a known issue with missing 32-bit libraries while the Windows Detection Agent is performing a vulnerability analysis. Without this hotfix, PatchLink Administrators will receive the following errors in the Windows Application Log on 64-bit operating systems:
Event Type: Error
Event Source: SideBySide
Event Category: None
Event ID: 0
Date: 2/10/2007
Time: 6:33:25 PM
User: N/A
Computer: COMPUTERNAME
Description:
Generate Activation Contex Failed for c:\Windows\WinSXS\amd64\_Microsoft.VC80.MFC_1fc8b3b9a1e183b_8.0.50272.42_xx-www_10d0c3b2\mfc80.dll. The referenced assembly is not installed on your system.
Revision History
- Revision 2: Fixed a problem by changing the deployment instructions that was causing the agent upgrade to fail in a small number of cases. Agent version not changed. Installer was not changed. More Information
- Revision 3: Fixes a problem that affects 64-bit Windows by replacing missing Update Agent libraries.
FAQ
How does one determine
if the patch is installed or not (Update Server)?
A registry key will exist:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{B082C782-8E53-4B29-B579-381BBF359176}
How does one determine
if the patch is applicable?
The above registry key does not exist but the following Update
Server 6.3 registry key does:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{FFAE44E7-4A47-468A-B6CB-77329A7EBC0D}\DisplayVersion
6.3.0.669, 6.3.2.669, 6.3.0.700, or 6.3.2.700
How do I upgrade my existing Update Agents for Windows?
How does one determine
if a small-update needs to be executed?
Following file will have the listed versions:
C:\Program Files\PatchLink\Update
Agent\GravitixAgentEngine30.dll
- (RTM)6.3.0.669, 6.3.2.669
- (R2)6.3.0.700, 6.3.2.700
Additional Notes
The installer attached (and available via deployment) is a replacement for the existing installers for the Windows Agent MSIs (x86 and x64) located on the Update Server.
The new Windows Update Agent installers will perform all the features of the RTM installer (i.e. fresh install, 6.x upgrade, 6.3 Beta 1 & Beta 2 upgrade).
When executing this install against a 6.3.0.669 or 6.3.0.700 install it will need to be executed as a Windows Installer Small-Update. The install will need to run from the command-line with the following options:
- REINSTALLMODE=vmous
- REINSTALL=ALL
(e.g. msiexec /i updateagent.msi REINSTALLMODE=vmous REINSTALL=ALL)