We finally got this one solved. Here is what happened.
We use Nomad Branch in our environment. On the properties of a task sequence
1E adds a tab that allows you to set the Nomad settings for all packages
directly referenced by that task sequence. At each outage someone (that would
be me) was working on new task sequences and made sure that Nomad was enabled
through that tab on the task sequence properties.
This is what set an avalanche into motion.
In the SMS_Distribution_Manager log you will see a flurry of 2300
("Distribution Manager is beginning to process package..."), 2311 (Distribution
Manager successfully created or updated package...") and 2301 ("Distribution
Manager successfully processed package...") entries. One for every package
referenced by the task sequence. In our case that was about 112 packages.
Soon we begin to see in the SMS_Policy_Povider log 5101 messages ("Policy
Provider successfully updated the policy and the policy assignment that were
created from package..."). One for every package referenced by the task
sequence and (here is where things start to get bad) every advertisement that
references that task sequence. So, if we have 100 packages in the TS and the
TS is deployed to 10 collections that's 1000 policy updates.
Wait, there's more. Things are about to go from bad to worse.....
If you have a package that is also referenced in another task sequence, all of
the deployments of that task sequences get policy updates. So, let's say you
have a prior version of the build with those same 100 packages that is also
advertised to 10 collections. That's another 1000 policy updates.
Now we use task sequences for our nightly maintenance routines. Some packages
are shared between our build and maintenance sequences (scripts to install
printers for example). Each shared package then triggers a policy update for
each and every nightly maintenance advertisement. We run them every half hour
at the end of business so that's another 16 deployments * 7 days a week (112) *
maybe 10 packages shared is another 1000+ policy updates.
So this all quickly spirals out of control as every single package referenced
in the first task sequence then goes out and triggers its own policy refresh
for every instance of any deployment of a task sequence that that also
references it.
All told that one little checkbox generated nearly 40,000 5101 policy updates
over the course of 5 hours and knocked out builds out of the water.
Learn something new every day.
Mike Marable
Application Programmer/Analyst Lead
Enterprise Device Engineering and Management
MCTS, MCITP, MCSA, MS
[Profile<https://www.mcpvirtualbusinesscard.com/VBCServer/MikeMarable/profile>]
[Blog<http://thesystemsmonkey.wordpress.com/>]
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"The difficult we do at once. The impossible takes a little longer."
-US Army Corps of Engineers
"It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand."
-Apache Proverb
I will rise when I have fallen.
"Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will
never grow."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
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