Status Messages Defined

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A status message is similar to a Windows event or a message written to a log file. SMS components generate status messages while they carry out their tasks. If you think of SMS as a configuration management business, server components are the workers. Client components also generate status messages. Server components report many more status messages than client components for the following reasons:

  • SMS servers perform significantly more work than clients.

  • If something malfunctions at an SMS client, it has little effect on the rest of the organization.

  • If an SMS server malfunctions, the effect on the organization might be quite large.

Similar to a Windows event or a message written to a log file, a status message is a text message generated at a particular time by a particular component. Some status messages are meaningful by themselves.

Other status messages are meaningful only within a sequence of status messages, as in the example below.

Beginning installation of server RED1.

Could not copy file C:\SMS\Red1.dat to \\Red1\D$\SMS\Red1.dat. 
The operating system reported error 5: access is denied.

Failed to complete installation of server RED1.

While components carry out their tasks, they report status by creating status messages periodically and adding them to the SMS status system. They are then stored in the SMS site database. The Status Message Viewer accesses the site database to display individual status messages.

There are two broad categories of status messages.

Flow-of-activity messages Components generate flow-of-activity messages to illustrate the tasks a component is carrying out. These messages:

  • Educate the administrator about the tasks the component performs.

  • Facilitate complex problem debugging.

  • Facilitate SMS activity auditing.

  • Provide reports and summaries showing the overall health or progress of a specific SMS feature.

Error messages Components generate error messages when they encounter a problem performing a task. These messages warn you about a problem that might require your attention.

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