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Which hotfixes should I apply?

Which hotfixes should I apply?

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This is updated as of 8-11-2014 

In general - you should evaluate all hotfixes available, and only apply those applicable to your environment.  However, some of these below I have seen impact almost every environment, and should be heavily considered.

This list is nothing official.... this is just a general list of the recommended hotfixes I end up proactively applying to most environments.... it is not a complete list of ALL hotfixes, and you may be affected by other issues.

 

Common OpsMgr 2012 R2 updates:

This list ABSOLUTELY assumes you are at OpsMgr 2012 R2 level as a base.

Hotfix Update Files Resolves
Applies to: Comments
2965445 

UR3 for 2012 R2
OpsMgr 2012 R2 Update Rollup 3          
           
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2965445

http://blogs.technet.com/b/kevinholman/archive/2014/08/07/ur3-for-scom-2012-r2-step-by-step.aspx
Many updates. See KB article for all.         
         
MS
GW
Agents
Console
WebConsole
MP Import 
SQL scripts
See the KB and blog article

 

Common OpsMgr 2012 SP1 updates:

This list ABSOLUTELY assumes you are at OpsMgr 2012 SP1 level as a base (7.0.9538.0).

Hotfix Update Files Resolves
Applies to: Comments
2965420 

UR7 for 2012 SP1
OpsMgr 2012 SP1 Update Rollup 7        
           
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2965420
           
      
Many updates. See KB article for all.         
         
MS
GW            
Agents
Console
WebConsole
MP Import 
ACS
SQL script  
This should be applied after installing SP1, as it has some critical fixes.  See the KB article – do not apply it immediately after installing SP1.

 

Common OpsMgr 2007 R2 hotfixes:

This list ABSOLUTELY assumes you are at OpsMgr R2-RTM level as a base (6.1.7221.0).   

Hotfix Update Files Resolves
Applies to: Comments
MP Update

Microsoft.SystemCenter.2007.mp
6.1.7695.0

Microsoft.SystemCenter.OperationsManager.2007.mp
6.1.7695.0

Microsoft.SystemCenter.OperationsManager.AM.DR.2007.mp
6.1.7695.0

Microsoft.SystemCenter.OperationsManager.Reports.2007.mp
6.1.7695.0

ODR.mp
6.1.7695.0

New reports, knowledge, monitors, rules.  See MP Guide.
MP import only I recommend this update for ALL OpsMgr R2 environments.
2783850

R2 CU7
OpsMgr 2007 R2 CU7 Cumulative Update

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2783850/en-us

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36379
           
Multiple.  See KB Article.  Note this is a DLL update, MP updates, and SQL scripts update.
Many updates.  See KB
RMS
MS
GW 
Agents
AuditCollector
Console
WebConsole
MP Import
TSQL Script



This hotfix includes a SQL script, which you execute on the database in a query window.
971233 none The console shows customized subscriptions SMTP{GUID} after you upgrade to OpsMgr R2 from OpsMgr SP1 Operations Database (TSQL only) I recommend this hotfix only if you are impacted with this issue.

 

Common related Windows Operating System Hotfixes:

This list is not sorted by OS or anything special – just a collection of OS related hotfixes that SCOM might require, or might fix an issue with the OS that impacts OpsMgr.  These can apply to OpsMgr 2012, 2007R2, or 2007SP1 environments.  

Hotfix Resolves
Applies to: Comments
2954185 Memory leak in WMIPRVSE.exe caused by monitoring DNS.  Agent role
Server 2012 R2
I recommend this hotfix on all Windows Server 2012 R2 DNS servers that are monitored using the DNS management pack, or any type of monitoring which leverages the DNS PowerShell providers.  The leak is caused by accessing the DNS PowerShell providers, which scripts will often call.
2923126 Agents on Windows 2012 R2 Domain Controllers can stop responding or heart-beating Agent role
Server 2012 R2
Windows 8.1
I recommend this hotfix on all Windows Server 2012 R2 servers that are experiencing this issue, or proactively on any WS2012R2 domain controller.
2790831 Handle leak in WmiPrvSE.exe process on Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012 Agent role
Management Server

Server 2012
Windows 8
I recommend this hotfix to stop the handle leak that WILL occur without it.
2692929 "0x80041001" error when the Win32_Environment WMI class is queried by multiple requestors in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2 Agent role
Server 2008R2
I recommend this hotfix for Server 2008 R2 machines that also host a ConfigMgr 2007 role, and you are using the ConfigMgr 2006 MP.  This fixes an annoying issue
2618982
Memory leak occurs when monitoring IIS.  The IIS MP discovery modules leverage the same function called out in the KB.  This causes a memory leak in Monitoringhost.exe over time on IIS servers, especially when using APM in OpsMgr 2012. Any OpsMgr Agent Managed or Server role running IIS on Windows 2008 R2 SP1 I recommend this hotfix to be applied to any Server 2008R2 SP1 OS, if it is agent managed and has IIS installed.
2547244 The WMI service and the WMI providers stop responding when you use WMI performance classes to monitor performance on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 Agent role
Management Server
Windows 2008 R2
Windows 2008 R2 SP1
Windows 7
I recommend this hotfix if you are experiencing WMI failures, service crashes, or failures to collect data from WMI performance counters via script.  If impacted, it would be applied to any Server 2008R2 or Win7 machine, if it is agent managed or holds a SCOM server role.
2470949 The RegQueryValueEx function returns a very large incorrect value for the "Avg. Disk sec/Transfer" performance counter in Windows Server 2008 R2 or in Windows 7 Agent role
Management Server
Windows 2008 R2
Windows 2008 R2 SP1
Windows 7
I recommend this hotfix to be applied to any Server 2008R2 or Win7 machine, if it is agent managed or holds a SCOM server role.
2495300

(see notes)
Invalid "Avg. Disk sec/Transfer" value returned by the RegQueryValueEx function in Windows Server 2008 or in Windows Vista Agent role
Management server
Windows 2008
Vista
I recommend this hotfix to be applied to any Server 2008 or Vista machine, if it is agent managed or holds a SCOM server role.

Due to an issue in this KB hotfix breaking teamed network adapters, I recommend deploying http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2710558/en-us in order to address this issue, which supersedes 2495300
981314 The "Win32_Service" WMI class leaks memory in Windows Server 2008 R2 and in Windows 7 Agent role
Management Server
Windows 2008 R2
Windows 7
I recommend this hotfix to be applied to any Server 2008R2 or Win7 machine, if it is agent managed or holds a SCOM server role.


This hotfix is already included in Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1
981263 Management servers or assigned agents unexpectedly appear as unavailable in the Operations Manager console in Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008
(ESE jet database corruption)
Agent Role
Management Server
Server 2003 SP2
Server 2008 SP2

I recommend this hotfix for all RMS, MS, and GW roles running Windows Server 2003 SP2, or Windows Server 2008 SP2.

Apply to agent machines if you feel you are impacted by this issue.
932370 The number of physical hyperthreading-enabled processors or the number of physical multicore processors is incorrectly reported in Windows Server 2003 Agent role 
Server 2003
Server 2003 SP1
Server 2003 SP2
I recommend this hotfix for all agent managed computers running Windows Server 2003, SP1 or SP2, x86 or x64 (If managed using SCOM 2012)
933061 WMI Stability in Server 2003 Agent role 
Server 2003
Server 2003 SP1
Server 2003 SP2
I recommend this hotfix for all agent managed computers running Windows Server 2003, SP1 or SP2, x86 or x64
955360 Cscript 5.7 update for Server 2003 Agent role 
Server 2003
Server 2003 SP1
Server 2003 SP2
I recommend this hotfix for all agent managed computers running Windows Server 2003, SP1 or SP2, x86 or x64
968760 High handle count on the RMS

A managed application has a high number of thread handles and of event handles in the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
SCOM 2007 RMS I recommend this hotfix if you are experiencing high handle count on the RMS. 

This hotfix requires SP2 for the OS and .NET 2.0 SP2.
968967 The CPU usage of an application or a service that uses MSXML 6.0 to handle XML requests reaches 100% in Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows XP Service Pack 3, or other systems that have MSXML 6.0 installed
(Spinlock)
RMS
MS
GW
Agent
I recommend this hotfix if you are impacted with this issue, which is very common.

You might find a MonitoringHost.exe process randomly stuck at 100% CPU.  If so – this hotfix might be applicable.
951327 The System Center Operations Manager 2007 console may crash in Windows Server 2008 or in Windows Vista when you open the Health Explorer window Any Vista or Server 2008 computer with a SCOM console installed I recommend this hotfix only if you run the console on Server 2008 or Vista. 


This hotfix is already included in Server 2008 SP2.
952664 The Event Log service may stop responding because of a deadlock on a Windows Server 2008-based or Windows Vista-based computer RMS
MS
GW
Agent
I recommend this hotfix only if you host an OpsMgr server or agent role on Vista or Server 2008. 

This hotfix is already included in Server 2008 SP2.
953290 An application may crash when it uses legacy methods to query performance counter values in Windows Vista or in Windows Server 2008 RMS
MS
GW
Agent
I recommend this hotfix only if you host an OpsMgr server or agent role on Vista or Server 2008. 

This hotfix is already included in Server 2008 SP2.
958661 FIX: Small memory leaks may occur when you use RSCA to query runtime statistics in IIS 7.0 Any OpsMgr Agent/Server role with IIS 7.0 installed I recommend this hotfix in all cases where you are monitoring servers with IIS 7.0 installed, and use the IIS Management pack.

This hotfix is already included in Server 2008 SP2.
958807 Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering WMI provider does not correctly handle invalid characters in the private property names causing WMI queries to fail Any Server 2008 agent managed cluster node I recommend this hotfix only if you are impacted with this issue, and use the current Cluster MP.

This hotfix is already included in Server 2008 SP2.

Some general guidance on hotfixes to make you more successful:

ALWAYS - on Server 2008 OS and later, run the hotfix MSI from an elevated command prompt window. This will launch the install of the hotfix, and then launch the boot-strapper window in an elevated process – which is required. Do this regardless of the UAC configuration of the 2008 (and later) OS.

ALWAYS - make sure you read the instructions to understand if the hotfix is a SQL update, installed to the RMS, MS, and/or Gateway, AND/OR applies to agents as well.

ALWAYS - make sure you double-check the DLL version of the updated files to make sure the hotfix successfully applied after installing.

ALWAYS - make sure you double-check the \AgentManagement directory of the management servers and gateways, to make sure if there is an agent update, the x86 and x64 MSP was copied over correctly.

ALWAYS check the language version of the hotfix, and make sure it is the same language version as your SCOM base install. For instance – if you have a English base SCOM install – do not download a localized German version of a hotfix and apply it – or it can break the English SCOM base install.

ALWAYS log on to your OpsMgr role servers using a domain user account that meets the following requirements:

  • SCOM administrator role
  • Member of the Local Administrators group on all SCOM role servers (RMS, MS, GW, Reporting)
  • SA privileges on the SQL server instances hosting the Operations DB and the Warehouse DB.

These rights (especially the user account having SA priv on the DB instances) are often overlooked. These are the same rights required to install SCOM, and must be granted to apply major hotfixes and upgrades (like RTM>SP1, SP1>R2, etc…) Most of the time the issue I run into is that the SCOM admin logs on with his account which is a SCOM Administrator role on the SCOM servers, but his DBA’s do not allow him to have SA priv over the DB instances. This must be granted temporarily to his user account while performing the updates, then can be removed, just like for the initial installation of SCOM as documented HERE. At NO time do your service accounts for MSAA or SDK need SA priv to the DB instances…. unless you decide to log in as those accounts to perform an update (which I do not recommend).

Comments
  • @Sunion - good catch - I updated the table.

    As to patching clusters - you patch a SCOM RMS cluster just like any other cluster.  During ANY patch/update, there is always a short period where one node is patched and the other isnt.... thats just how it is.  I'd rock on, personally.

  • Hi Kevin,

    I have updated our OpsMgr2007 SP1 based on the recommended updates. Thank you.

    We are now in phase of deploying the agents to the servers. Do you have known issues

    when approving the updates to Exchange, Database, Print and other servers?

    Thank you.

  • @Odnap -

    There arent any major known issues when approving/applying an update to agent machines.  Recently - we have a newly reported issue on R2 CU3 - where the CU3 package is restarting other services other than SCOM service itself in order to try and supress a reboot from being necessary.  I am not sure quite why or what the root cause is yet - but generally approving/applying updates to the agents is very benign.

  • Hi Kevin,

    During update of the agent to one of our server. It reset the alerts back to high-critical, so after the agent was updated it fires-up alert. Question, should i put the server into maintenance mode before i update the agent? Thanks.

  • KB2734909 looks a like a new one related to OpsMgr.

  • Hi kevin,

    Regarding your post : 18 Oct 2010 7:24 AM.

    I have," The Operations Manager agent processes are using too much processor time". issue with only 5 servers and was amazed to see that all the 5 servers has only one CPU. its been over 3 years and your post is still doing the magic. i overrided these server as it is not needed.

    Thank you for your post.

    Greatly appreciated!! :)

  • the work you've done is commendable but my point is this: It is so sad, to see that we are in 2014 and (many decades after Bill Gates set off to become a millionaire at OUR expense) Microsoft is still unable to produce a stable, secure, easy to manage/maintain OS, yet, still has a very large hold on the market. I really can't find another word to describe it: It is sad and I sincerely can't wait for the day when this will be over. Sorry for the negative comments, but you have to admit, it is unfortunately so very true. Regards, to the author of this blog, again you have done some great work here, nevertheless.

  • update rollup 2 is now out

  • Hi all,
    We are often facing this issue in our environment
    The Health service ---- on host ------ and serving management group with id ------ is not healthy. Some system rules failed to load.
    Once we flush the cache and Restart SCOM issue is fixed . What is the permanent fix for this ? windows server 2008 r2 enterprise

  • To anonymous - it may be that your agents are reaching the handle count or private bytes threshold and restarting themselves causing the system rules failed to load issue/alert to occur. Verify if that is happening. If it is, you may want to look into this:
    http://blogs.msdn.com/b/rslaten/archive/2014/04/22/operations-manager-health-service-restarts-due-to-exceeding-handle-count-threshold.aspx

  • scom 2012 R2 UR2.

    KB2790831 says it's not applicable to my windows 2012 R2 management server/ACS server that has the high handle count problem. there are zero agents reporting to this 'management server,' it's only a management server because ACS requires that role. I overrode the handle count monitor to 20000, no good (thanks for the absence of a built-in performance collection rule for that counter, MS). I've overridden the handle count monitor to 50,000, which was the workaround for this issue back in early scom 2007. is there a new hotfix for high MS handle count for server 2012 R2 MS?

  • @Curtiss -

    High handle count is not necessarily a sign of a problem. It *might* be evidence of a leak, or it might mean that it is normal for that process on that OS version to consume a large number of handles. In the latest SCOM update UR3 - we included a management pack which changed the default threshold for management servers handle count to 30,000. I recommend you update to UR3, or if that is not possible, set a very high override for your management servers, such as 30,000 handles or more. Then - monitor them, if they just hit a high point and don't necessarily show a linear leak, having a high threshold is just fine.

  • ALWAYS log on to your OpsMgr role servers using a domain user account that meets the following requirements <--- what does this do?

  • @steven - the reason for that is explained in great detail just below the statement.

  • Hi Kevin,
    Please suggest if any patch is available there to fix high memory utilization issue by monitoringhost.exe process in SCOM 2012 SP1 server.

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