SMS 2003 - Log Files - The CAS.log Revealed - Part 2
To read the first article on the CAS.log, you can view it here: http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/mlucero/archive/2007/05/16/sms-2003-log-files-the-cas-log-revealed-part-1.aspx
(To review) The CAS.log (Content Access Service) is typically used to find the status of the local package cache. It shows the success, or lack thereof, of the client's attempts at accessing content on its Distribution Point. Containing valuable distribution information, the CAS.log can be an asset to SMS administrators attempting to deduce various software distribution problems. The following CAS.log containing the successful access of a software package which has been advertised to a client. In Part 1, the advertisement was set to run from the distribution point. In this instance, the advertisement is set to download and distribute. I have again omitted time stamp information from the log displayed here to save space.
Requesting content CEN0005E.2, size(KB) 21857, under context System
Submitted CTM job {CAE5F0E2-A9E8-449E-A86F-2DFDB9D44EF2} to download Content CEN0005E.2 under context System
Successfully created download request {75A40935-5FD4-4D8E-AF29-8C772E1209FE} for content CEN0005E.2
Location update from CTM for content CEN0005E.2 and request {75A40935-5FD4-4D8E-AF29-8C772E1209FE}
Download request only, ignoring location update
Download started for content CEN0005E.2
Raising event:
[SMS_CodePage(437), SMS_LocaleID(1033)]
instance of SoftDistDownloadStartedEvent
{
ClientID = "GUID:F5EC9167-62AB-43BB-870E-4F40A720AB52";
DateTime = "20071026163549.724000+000";
MachineName = "AST-TRAINING1";
PackageId = "CEN0005E";
PackageName = "CEN0005E";
PackageVersion = "2";
ProcessID = 5496;
SiteCode = "AST";
ThreadID = 5348;
};
Download completed for content CEN0005E.2 under context System
Hash verification succeeded for content CEN0005E.2 downloaded under context System
Download succeeded for download request {75A40935-5FD4-4D8E-AF29-8C772E1209FE}
Raising event:
[SMS_CodePage(437), SMS_LocaleID(1033)]
instance of SoftDistDownloadCompletedEvent
{
ClientID = "GUID:F5EC9167-62AB-43BB-870E-4F40A720AB52";
DateTime = "20071026163624.726000+000";
MachineName = "AST-TRAINING1";
PackageId = "CEN0005E";
PackageName = "CEN0005E";
PackageVersion = "2";
ProcessID = 5496;
SiteCode = "AST";
ThreadID = 6280;
};
Releasing content request {75A40935-5FD4-4D8E-AF29-8C772E1209FE}
All references to Content CEN0005E.2 in cache have been removed. Content will be Tombstoned.
If we step through the process, we can see the download request being created and started. It is very evident where the download process actually starts and here is where we can determine how long a package takes to download by comparing the before and after timestamps. (Had I left them intact.) Once the download is complete, the hash is verified and the request is released.
Now let’s look at the log of a package which failed. In this particular case, the failure was due to a hash mismatch (during the hash verification if you’ll remember from the above logs.) The resolution in this case was to refresh the package on the DP.
Requesting content CEN0005F.1, size(KB) 4805, under context System
Submitted CTM job {A10AD9DB-0306-4127-B0A9-1182A532F5FB} to download Content CEN0005F.1 under context System
Successfully created download request {0D2FF4EA-7DA1-442C-98A3-63FC82EF3CF3} for content CEN0005F.1
Location update from CTM for content CEN0005F.1 and request {0D2FF4EA-7DA1-442C-98A3-63FC82EF3CF3}
Download request only, ignoring location update
Download started for content CEN0005F.1
Raising event:
[SMS_CodePage(437), SMS_LocaleID(1033)]
instance of SoftDistDownloadStartedEvent
{
ClientID = "GUID:F5EC9167-62AB-43BB-870E-4F40A720AB52";
DateTime = "20071025213120.279000+000";
MachineName = "AST-TRAINING1";
PackageId = "CEN0005F";
PackageName = "CEN0005F";
PackageVersion = "1";
ProcessID = 5496;
SiteCode = "AST";
ThreadID = 2904;
};
Download completed for content CEN0005F.1 under context System
Hash does not match expected C0AF9CA9EE8EA440E6E1B498B944286E2147562D, actual 1FC839BC858A9CC7936C17208FDC772501666DD2
Download failed for content CEN0005F.1 under context System, error 0x80091007
Download failed for download request {0D2FF4EA-7DA1-442C-98A3-63FC82EF3CF3}
Raising event:
[SMS_CodePage(437), SMS_LocaleID(1033)]
instance of SoftDistHashMismatchEvent
{
ClientID = "GUID:F5EC9167-62AB-43BB-870E-4F40A720AB52";
DateTime = "20071025213122.404000+000";
MachineName = "AST-TRAINING1";
PackageId = "CEN0005F";
PackageName = "CEN0005F";
PackageVersion = "1";
ProcessID = 5496;
SiteCode = "AST";
ThreadID = 1016;
};
Successfully raised SoftDistHashMismatchEvent event.
Releasing content request {0D2FF4EA-7DA1-442C-98A3-63FC82EF3CF3}
Essentially, the logs are the same until the error occurs, at which time a failure event is raised and the request is released. Again, the cure for this particular error was to refresh the package content on the DP and re-run the advertisement. Remember that errors can be found while using SMS Trace by the utilization of filter strings.
Here is the log from a successful run of a package which was re-run and the content was available in the client cache.
Requesting content CEN0005F.1, size(KB) 4805, under context System
Content for CEN0005F.1 was found in cache
Releasing content request {03AFA3C0-4B4B-49E8-9E19-B8F9507FBA38}
All references to Content CEN0005F.1 in cache have been removed.
This one is pretty straight-forward and there isn’t much to see. With the additional information provided in this article, I hope SMS administrators have a little better understanding of how the CAS.log works and how it can be used to track down distribution problems.