Immediate Alerts Timer Job failed on one of two front end servers
I have tried everything suggested in blogs, that I know of: restarted the time job, restarted the services, IIS restart, rebooting all servers including SQL, cleared the Immed Subscription table in SQL, etc. --- multiple times to no avail.Why is it working on one and not on the other server? What can I do to troubleshoot on the one? What info do I need to tell you to help me pinpoint the prob? I've requested help from MS, but the wheels around here turn so slowly that I too impatient to wait.
December 8th, 2009 9:05pm

Hi, Please review the ULS log for some related clues.Have you try to restart the timer job with the command line below?1.stsadm -o setproperty -propertyname alerts-enabled -propertyvalue false -url yourURL2.stsadm -o setproperty -propertyname alerts-enabled -propertyvalue true -url yourURL3.stsadm -o setproperty -propertyname job-immediate-alerts -propertyvalue "every 2 minutes" -url yourURL4.stsadm -o execadmsvcjobs For details about these command line, please refer to:http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc288384.aspxhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262783.aspx Hope it can help. Lily Wu
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December 11th, 2009 9:53am

Thanks Lily,I did all those things with no success (though I did them via SCA, server services, etc.). However, it is now fixed. I can't say for sure what did it but I'll share anyway just in case it's helpful to someone else.1. Purge/Delete records in ImmedSubscriptions table on SQL server for each DB (other than search and admin ones)2. Check and re-enter all username/passwords for all services via SCA that are on each front end server3. Check and re-enter all username/passwords for timer service via the Services on each front endserver. This is what I think ended up doing it for me since we are in a situation where passwords are changed, without my knowledge, on a semi-regular basis.4. Stop and disable the timer service via the Services on the on each front end server. Wait 15-30 minutes...go to a meeting, have lunch.5. Restart timer service on each front end server.6. Do IIS reset on all front end servers.7. Reboot all servers8. Run SharePoint Tech Wizard on all front end serversAnd, here's the important part: after each of these things, check to see if the time job status is 'succeeded' via SCA before doing the next. I am not sure if all these things are necessary or in what order since I had to do them so many times and, one time, for some reason, it decide to work.I also consulted MS on this (after I'd fixed it of course!) and I learned from them how to determine which server is responsible for the alerts for each web app. This was helpful because one timer status for one FE server said "succeeded" but the the time stamp never changed so I wasn't sure it they were really working or not. Also, I learned that at any given time the server managing the alerts time job can switch to another one primarily because the first/original was already 'busy'. So, if you suspect that your alerts aren't working, it's hard to reallyknow which server is managing it to know which server to investigate. This pinpoints that for you. (Assumption: you've check the timer status and noticed that one or more FE server show that the Immediate alerts timer job is Failed or 'stuck' on one date/time stamp.1. Log on to your SQL server2. Open the management tool3. Select/Click on New Query4. Type "Select * from timerlock.5. To the left of the "Execute" button, click the drop down arrow to select the web app you want to check.6. Click on Execute7. In the results, look to see which server is listed. This is the server that is managing the alerts for that web app at the moment. Is it the one that the timer job showed failed or stuck? Then you know the alerts for that web app are not working. And, of course, if it's a working server, you know that this web app is OK.8. Repeat steps 5-7for all web apps you're curious about.In my case, I learned that ALL my web apps' alerts were being managed by one FE server and that's why the other server appeared to be stuck. It wasn't stuck; it just wasn't doing any alert checks every 5 minutes or so. Go figure. Never expected all would be management via one server. And, this is not likely to be the case in most situations. It's probably just because I had just reset everything and all alerts switched to the 'working' server at the same time.Then, of course, the best test is to create a new Task list, create an alert for it (taking all the default settings), create a task and assign it to yourself, edit the task to make a change to it, and watch to see if all the emails come to you. I think there's 4 altogether. If it works yet an existing list's alerts don't, you'll may have to delete all alerts, turn off the automatic email setting for assignments and then reinstate them to get them to start working again.Hope this helps someone out there. I've spent an inordinate amount of time on this so thought it worth sharing. If nothing else, I now have my own stuff documented so when it happens again I have a place to look it up! :) LOLHere are some links passed on to me from the MS rep. I haven't looked at all of these yet but I'm told they're all related to Alerts and some troubleshooting related to them.Troubleshooting alerts http://blogs.technet.com/harikumh/archive/2008/05/25/troubleshooting-alerts.aspx Managing alerts http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointtechnology/ha011612821033.aspx Alerts in windows SharePoint services http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb897925.aspx Controlling timer jobs in SharePoint http://grounding.co.za/blogs/neil/archive/2008/07/27/controlling-timer-jobs-in-sharepoint.aspx Creating custom timer jobs for wss3.0 http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc406686.aspx Testing SMTP Connection http://support.microsoft.com/kb/153119
December 16th, 2009 7:40pm

Hi Lisajo10,Glad to hear that your issue had been resolved.Thanks very much for your detailed input. It really help.Have a nice day!Best Regards. Lily Wu
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December 17th, 2009 12:31pm

For anyone who might be listening... it happened again to me. :( I walked through my own steps just on the server for which the alerts failed and found that disabling and stopping the timer service and its profile AND LEAVING IT DISABLED FOR A HALF HOUR OR MORE did the trick this time.Next time I'm going to START with that! :)
January 5th, 2010 9:29pm

Lisa - did you stop the timer service on the machine that was listed in "select * from timerlock" only, or all timers on all sharepoint servers in farm (for 1/2 an hour)?
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December 9th, 2010 10:31am

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