Apparent timeout problem with large MSI packages
My deepest apologies if this has been covered elsewhere in these forums, but several searches turned up nothing.
I am deploying (per machine) several large-ish MSI packages (560MB and 1.6GB) to labs within a school. I've been using MSI via Group Policy for about a year now, and I haven't run into this problem before with large instals.
The problem: Some-- sometimes a majority, sometimes a minority-- of my client machines won't install the new software. Instead, there appears to be no error, but only a fraction of the files are copied to the client. The event log doesn't reveal anything of use except when another install is initiated, in which case an error crops up that says the previous install was suspended.
Removing the machine from the domain and then rejoining it fixes the problem (although that may be because it's just one machine vs 25-50 grabbing the app at the same time)
I am wondering if there is a timeout for Windows Installer? If so, is there a way of changing the timeout time? Or have I got a bigger problem.
Apologies if I've missed something obivous.
Aziraphale out.
I am deploying (per machine) several large-ish MSI packages (560MB and 1.6GB) to labs within a school. I've been using MSI via Group Policy for about a year now, and I haven't run into this problem before with large instals.
The problem: Some-- sometimes a majority, sometimes a minority-- of my client machines won't install the new software. Instead, there appears to be no error, but only a fraction of the files are copied to the client. The event log doesn't reveal anything of use except when another install is initiated, in which case an error crops up that says the previous install was suspended.
Removing the machine from the domain and then rejoining it fixes the problem (although that may be because it's just one machine vs 25-50 grabbing the app at the same time)
I am wondering if there is a timeout for Windows Installer? If so, is there a way of changing the timeout time? Or have I got a bigger problem.
Apologies if I've missed something obivous.
Aziraphale out.
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Answers (3)
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Posted by:
oofemioo
18 years ago
Are u deploying these large-ish packages all at the same time to the clients?
I'd rather do them in batches of 5 -10 instead of the 25-30 u are deploying to at the same time.
You may want to ask your network team to use sniffers and investigate this development.
I'd rather do them in batches of 5 -10 instead of the 25-30 u are deploying to at the same time.
You may want to ask your network team to use sniffers and investigate this development.
Posted by:
Aziraphale
18 years ago
Oofemioo,
Thanks for replying. You answer is logical and is, in effect, what I am doing now. As far as networking goes, the network is actually faster now than when I started deploying software last year (we upgraded from a 10-base-T network to a 100-base-T switched environment last summer). The labs that I'm having trouble with have actually improved in terms of throughput since the last time I reimaged and deployed software to them five months ago (I can tell because a multicast Ghost session runs about three times as fast as it did then).
However, looking to the long term, doesn't it partly defeat the purpose of rolling out software to have to do it in batches of 5 or 10? Which brings me back to the original question: is this a timeout issue with Windows Installer and is there some way to remedy it?
Thanks again,
Aziraphale
Thanks for replying. You answer is logical and is, in effect, what I am doing now. As far as networking goes, the network is actually faster now than when I started deploying software last year (we upgraded from a 10-base-T network to a 100-base-T switched environment last summer). The labs that I'm having trouble with have actually improved in terms of throughput since the last time I reimaged and deployed software to them five months ago (I can tell because a multicast Ghost session runs about three times as fast as it did then).
However, looking to the long term, doesn't it partly defeat the purpose of rolling out software to have to do it in batches of 5 or 10? Which brings me back to the original question: is this a timeout issue with Windows Installer and is there some way to remedy it?
Thanks again,
Aziraphale
Posted by:
brenthunter2005
18 years ago
Check one of the computers Application Event Log to determine what is causing the 'timeout'. If nothing can be found there, then the next step would be to enable netlogon debug logging. There is a registry key you need to modify to enable this and this logs everything to a file in the C:\windows\Debug\UserMode folder.
I have a small memory that tells me that MSI packages can timeout after 10 minutes if they are hung, or is that scripts...?
Anyways, try the above troubleshooting, and good luck.
[8D]
I have a small memory that tells me that MSI packages can timeout after 10 minutes if they are hung, or is that scripts...?
Anyways, try the above troubleshooting, and good luck.
[8D]
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