Environment
Novell ZENworks 10 Configuration Management with Support Pack 2 - 10.2
Situation
Random crashes in ZENworksWindowsService deserialization requests during login/logout or startup when DOT3svc is running in manual mode with 802.1 authentication driver.
Resolution
If 802.1 switch authentication is used, set the DOT3svc to automatic mode. Additionally it may be necessary to ensure that the DOT3svc is started prior to the ZENworks Agent Service by setting a Group Policy if necessary.
If 802.1 switch authentication is not used, then try disabling DOT3svc and turn 802.1x off on the network setup on the managed agent device.
Additionally, if using the Novell NetWare client, see KB 7003570 https://support.microfocus.com/kb/doc.php?id=7003570
Additional Information
DOT3svc is the 802.1 driver used in Windows XP sp3 and later. By default it is set to manual rather than automatic.
A symptom of the problem would be crash occuring around a lot of 802.1 authentication retries in the Application Event log, for example:
Dot3Svc Information None 15505 N/A EM176-27 Wired 802.1X Authentication succeeded.