Q263419: Software Inventory on Encrypted Vol Degrades Performance

Article: Q263419
Product(s): Microsoft Systems Management Server
Version(s): 2.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbsms200 kbsms200preSP3
Last Modified: 07-FEB-2002

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Systems Management Server version 2.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

When a disk volume or folder is encrypted and contains a substantial amount of
data, disk I/O may be excessive while the Software Inventory process reads the
file information.


While the Software Inventory process is running, the disk subsystem is very busy,
which may cause other application tasks to be delayed. On a workstation with
large amounts of encrypted data, the computer will appear sluggish or
unresponsive to the user for an extended period of time. On a server with large
volumes of data, this behavior could result in noticeable performance
degradation.

CAUSE
=====

The Software Inventory process reads header information from each file that is
inventoried. When files are encrypted, the header information in the file is
also encrypted. In order for Software Inventory to obtain header information
from a file, the file must be decrypted.

WORKAROUND
==========

Disable the Software Inventory Client Agent for the site containing the
encrypted data.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products that are
listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION
================

The ability to selectively exclude disk volumes or folders from Software
Inventory is proposed for future versions of Systems Management Server (SMS).

Additional query words: prodsms kbreadme

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Keywords          : kbsms200 kbsms200preSP3 
Technology        : kbSMSSearch kbSMS200
Version           : :2.0
Issue type        : kbprb
Solution Type     : kbnofix

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