Distribution Manager does not decompress files with long file names in Systems Management Server 2003 (886040)

SYMPTOMS

When you update the distribution points for a Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 package, you may receive status messages that indicate that the update of the distribution points is successful. However, when you examine the distribution points, you may not be able to locate a file that was added to the source folder. This symptom may occur when the following conditions are true:

You add a file that has a long file name to the source files for the package.
The SMS 2003 package uses a compressed copy of the source files on the site server.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because the Distribution Manager service that is running on a distribution point does not decompress a file that has a long file name. Although the Distribution Manager service cannot decompress a file with a long file name, it may still send a success status message to the site server.

Note A long file name may occur if the name of the file is long, or if the file is located in a deep hierarchy of folders.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, change the package properties so that SMS 2003 always obtains files from the source folder, and then update the distribution points. To do this, follow these steps:

Expand Site Database (SiteCode - SiteName), and then expand Packages.
Right-click the package that contains a file with a long file name, and then click Properties.
In the Data Source box, click Always obtain files from source directory, and then click OK.
Right-click the package that you just changed the properties for, point to All Tasks, and then click Update Distribution Points.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

MORE INFORMATION

When a package is successfully processed, the distribution manager sends a status message to the site server with a message ID of 2301. Status messages for a package with a message ID of 2301 indicate that the package has been processed successfully.