Symptoms

Engineering introduced a new parameter, page_fail_times_to_timeout_wo, in the following configuration file: /usr/local/avamar/var/mc/server_data/prefs/mcserver.xml This parameter controls how the Management Console Server (MCS) handles Work Order (WO) timeouts when attempting to page a client. Behavior When generating a Work Order, the MCS attempts to page the client, provided that the Avamar server has sufficient available capacity.If the number of paging failures exceeds the value defined by page_fail_times_to_timeout_wo, the client is considered offline. In this situation, MCS immediately times out the Work Order without performing additional retry attempts. Recommended Setting The recommended value for page_fail_times_to_timeout_wo is 10.This value provides optimal behavior by balancing retry attempts and timely failure detection. Impact of Incorrect ConfigurationSetting this parameter to a very high value (for example, 9999) can negatively affect backup operations: Jobs may only time out at the end of their scheduled windowWindows client backups may remain in a Waiting-Client statusThese backups typically complete after approximately 6 minutes with a status of Timed Out - Start Additional Observations On-demand group backups are not affected and continue to complete successfullyThis behavior has been observed in environments containing only Linux and Windows client backups SummaryProper configuration of page_fail_times_to_timeout_wo is critical to ensure timely detection of offline clients and prevent unnecessary delays in scheduled backup jobs.

Cause

Since applying the hotfixes listed earlier, MCS now handles pageable clients differently during backup job processing. MCS creates a backup Work Order for the client.If the server has enough resources, the job enters the Waiting-Client status.If the client is pageable, MCS sends a wake-up message to initiate the backup.If the client does not respond, MCS retries after about 30 s.By default, MCS attempts paging twice before marking the job as Timed Out - Start NOTE: For more information about pageable clients, see the Avamar Administration Guide. NOTE: The change is made to recycle offline clients faster so that MCS would not allocate resource for those "offline" clients.

Resolution

There are two solutions: Solution 1: Disable automatic paging for the clients that are off the network or offline for extended periods of time such as Desktop Laptop clients. Solution 2: Increase MCS wake up tries before setting the job as time-out start. Solution 1: Dell Avamar Administration Guide > Client Management > Client paging > Add or modify client paging settings. Solution 2: Ensure to apply the latest MCS cumulative update. If the problem persists, perform following steps: Log in Avamar server as admin Back up the mcserver.xml cp -p /usr/local/avamar/var/mc/server_data/prefs/mcserver.xml /usr/local/avamar/var/mc/server_data/prefs/x-mcserver.xml.`date -I` Edit the file /usr/local/avamar/var/mc/server_data/prefs/mcserver.xml code and search for <node name="wo">.Add the following line in the end of this form: <entry key="page_fail_times_to_timeout_wo" value="10" /> Save the file and restart MCS. mcserver.sh --restart dpnctl start sched Check if the next schedule backup works correctly. Note: Contact Dell Avamar Technical Support if you are not comfortable to perform this change which requires a restart of MCS service.

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