Troubleshooting Publish Issues

  • Article

This section contains information to help troubleshoot issues that might occur when publishing software updates in System Center Updates Publisher. It also includes the publishing and security requirements that must be met before software updates can be published, describes the log file used to help diagnose issues, and lists troubleshooting solutions for common issues.

Publishing Requirements

Publishing software updates to an update server will be successful only after meeting the following requirements:

Updates Publisher 3.0

  • The Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) 3.0 that will be configured as the update server must be installed on a local or remote computer and accessible from the computer running Updates Publisher.

  • The computer running WSUS 3.0 must be specified as the update server in the Settings dialog box. The port settings and digital certificate must also be configured from the dialog box. For more information, see How to Configure the Update Server.

  • When the update server is configured for a remote computer running WSUS 3.0, the WSUS 3.0 Administration console must be installed on the computer running Updates Publisher.

  • At least one software update must be flagged for publishing. For more information, see How to Set the Publish Flag for Software Updates.

Updates Publisher 4.0

  • The WSUS 3.0 Service Pack 1 (SP1) that will be configured as the update server must be installed on a local or remote computer and accessible from the computer running Updates Publisher.

  • The computer running WSUS 3.0 SP1 must be specified as the update server in the Settings dialog box. The port settings and digital certificate must also be configured from the dialog box. For more information, see How to Configure the Update Server.

  • When the update server is configured for a remote computer running WSUS 3.0 SP1, the WSUS 3.0 SP1 Administration console must be installed on the computer running Updates Publisher.

  • At least one software update must be flagged for publishing. For more information, see How to Set the Publish Flag for Software Updates.

Security Requirements

The following security rights are required before software updates can be published to the update server:

  • The user initiating the publish action must have administrative rights on the update server.

  • The port used when connecting to the update server must be specified on the Update Server tab of the Settings dialog box.

  • A digital certificate used to sign published software updates must be specified on the Update Server tab of the Settings dialog box.

For more information about the security requirements for Updates Publisher, see Security Considerations for Updates Publisher.

Log File

Updates Publisher writes information to the UpdatesPublisher.log file to help diagnose issues that might occur when opening and using the console. The log file is created in the temporary folder for the user opening the console, located by default at %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp.

Important

The Updates Publisher log files must be opened with a simple text editor, such as Notepad. Opening the log files in a full text editor might not display the contents of the log file correctly.

UpdatesPublisher.log

When Updates Publisher successfully publishes software updates to a local update server, the following entries are written to UpdatesPublisher.log:

Initialized Publish Wizard

Connecting to update server

Connecting to a local update server with locally detected settings

Publishing update: 'Update GUID'

SDP XML file for publishing created at %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp\tmprandom number.tmp

Temporary SDP XML file %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp\tmprandom number.tmp created for publishing…

Retrieving content for update 'Update GUID' from 'Download URL

Content will be saved to %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp \random folder name\notepad.exe.

Downloaded content for update 'Update GUID' to local file: %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp \random folder name\notepad.exe.

Using default return codes for update…

Calling update server API for update 'Update GUID'

Calling update server API for publishing update 'Update GUID'

Removing temporary files…

Completed publishing for update 'Update GUID'

Publishing software updates to a remote update server contains similar log entries. When the publishing process fails, review UpdatesPublisher.log for error messages that might indicate what caused the failure.

Common Publishing Issues

The following sections list common issues that may occur when publishing software updates to the update server, possible causes for the issues, and a list of possible solutions.

Failed to Publish Update Because of a Missing Dependency

The information in this section applies only to System Center Updates Publisher 4.0.

When the publishing process initiates for an update with one or more dependencies, the update and all of its dependencies must be published to the update server or the publishing process fails for the update. Updates Publisher first checks for the dependencies in the Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) database, and if they exist, the update is published to the update server. If one or more dependencies are not in the update server database, Updates Publisher will check whether the missing dependencies are in the Updates Publisher database, and if so, the dependencies are downloaded from the source and then published to the update server. If one or more dependencies are not in either location, the publishing process fails for the update. The publish process will continue for other updates that have been flagged for publish.

One or More Updates Are Not Able to Be Published by The Tool

When trying to flag for publishing a software update, the following error messages displays on the Confirmation page of the Publish Wizard:

One or more updates are not able to be published by the tool.

The following log entries are written to UpdatesPublisher.log:

Flag For Publish : Update with package id packageID is not updates publisher compliant or this update cannot be found in the database

Flag For Publish : Software update does not contain IsInstalled rules.

When troubleshooting this error, verify the following:

  • The software update definition was created with at least one Installed verification rule. Create at least one Installed verification rule for the definition and then republish the software update.

  • The MSI-based update has an Applicability rule that was configured incorrectly. Revise the Applicability rule and republish the software update.

  • There are one or more deprecated rules in the software update definition. Remove the deprecated rules from the software update definition and then set the publish flag for the software update. For more information, see the Deprecated Rules section in Upgrading to Updates Publisher.

An Error Occurred While Attempting to Publish Updates

When publishing software updates, the following error messages displays on the Confirmation page of the Publish Wizard:

An error occurred while attempting to publish updates.

Error 1: Update server '' does not appear to be configured with a certificate for publishing, publishing aborted.

The following log entries are written to UpdatesPublisher.log:

Publish: : Update server '' does not appear to be configured with a certificate for publishing, publishing aborted.

When troubleshooting this error, verify the following:

  • The digital certificate specified on the Update Server tab of the Settings dialog box is not valid. For information about configuring the certificate, see How to Configure the Update Server.

Updates Were Not Published Due to an Error During Publishing to the Update Server

When publishing software updates, the following error messages displays on the Confirmation page of the Publish Wizard:

The following X update(s) were not published due to an error during publishing to the update server:

This error message can be displayed for more than one issue. Each issue is identified by reading the UpdatesPublisher.log.

Verification of File Signature Failed for File

The following log entries are written to UpdatesPublisher.log:

Publish: : Exception occurred during publishing: Verification of file signature failed for file: path to file and file name

When troubleshooting this error, verify the following:

  • The update server certificate, specified the Update Server tab of the Settings dialog box, must be copied to the Trusted Publishers certificate store, and Trusted Root Certification Authorities certificate store if a self-signed certificate is used, on the update server computer. The certificate must also be copied to the certificate store on the Updates Publisher computer if it is remote from the update server.

CreateDirectory Failed

The following log entries are written to UpdatesPublisher.log:

  • Publish: : Exception occurred during publishing: CreateDirectory failed

When troubleshooting this error, verify the following:

  • The user does not have permissions to the UpdateServicesPackages shared folder on the update server.

Updates Were Not Published Due to an Error During Content Retrieval

When publishing software updates, the following error messages displays on the Confirmation page of the Publish Wizard:

The following X update(s) were not published due to an error during content retrieval:

Error 1: product name

The following log entries are written to UpdatesPublisher.log:

Publish: : Failed to download update content to local file, error: "The remote name could not be resolved: 'server name'

Publish: : Update UpdateID will not be published

When troubleshooting this error, verify the following:

  • The Download URL specified in the software update definition is not valid. Verify the Download URL setting and republish the software update.

See Also

Tasks

How to Configure the Update Server
How to Publish Software Updates to an Update Server
How to Set the Publish Flag for Software Updates

Concepts

About the Publish Wizard
Log Files for Updates Publisher
Security Considerations for Updates Publisher
Upgrading to Updates Publisher

Other Resources

Publish Wizard
Troubleshooting Updates Publisher