ZENworks Icon empty or invalid times for "Next Contact with Server"

  • Document ID:7004649
  • Creation Date:20-Apr-2012
  • Modified Date:05-Jul-2012
    • Micro Focus Products:
      ZENworks Configuration Management

Environment

Novell ZENworks 11 Configuration Management Support Pack 2 - ZCM 11 SP2
Novell ZENworks 10 Configuration Management with Support Pack 3 - 10.3

Situation

On the Zicon properties, the "Next Contact With Server" time may be invalid or empty.

Prior to 11.2 this error is present in the zmd-messages.log (but even with 11.2 the time may be invalid)
Type: System.ArgumentException
Message: '-1792967296' is not a valid value for 'Interval'.

Resolution

For ZCM 11.x: This is fixed in version 11.2.1 - see KB 7010042 "ZENworks Configuration Management 11.21 - update information and list of fixes" which can be found at https://support.microfocus.com/kb/doc.php?id=7010042

For 10.3.x:  A fix for this issue is intended to be included in a future update to the product: however, in the interim, Novell has made a Patch available for testing, in the form of a Field Test File (FTF): it can be obtained at https://download.novell.com/Download?buildid=7s3IsZXu6C8~ as "ZCM 10.3.4 - fixes for ZENworks Icon empty or invalid times for "Next Contact with Server" see KB 7004649 and Inventory agent colw32 endlessly looping since schedule change see TID 7006946". This Patch should only be applied if the symptoms above are being experienced, and are causing problems.

This Patch has had limited testing, and should not be used in a production system without first being checked in a test environment. Some Patches have specific requirements for deployment, it is very important to follow any instructions in the readme at the download site. Please report any problems encountered when using this Patch, by using the feedback link on this TID.

Cause

This is due to unusually large refresh interval settings.  For example 999 days.  On Windows, the maximum number of days that will be able to be shown correctly will be 25.  This is a limitation of the .net API used to display the setting.
The fix only fixes the crash, not the view.