I'm part of a small IT team at our company, and we're facing a tricky issue with our Windows file server that I can't seem to resolve on my own. We primarily deal with general IT tasks but this specific problem seems to require deeper expertise in Windows file servers.
Here's what's been going on: whenever we try to update a certain program that relies on server-based file sharing, the installer runs into an error. This program stores its files on a shared location that multiple users access, but it doesn't actually run any processes directly on the server.
The main symptom is that three specific files on the server are consistently being held open, preventing the installer from overwriting them during the update. We've ruled out anti-virus issues and checked with the software's development team, who believe the problems lie elsewhere. I suspect we need to monitor file handles and SMB traffic to determine who or what is locking those files.
Our environment includes Dell hosts with ESXi 8, Windows Server and some workstation OSes, connected through Aruba core switches and Pure and Tintri SAN devices via iSCSI. Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Happy to answer any questions you might have!
2 Answers
What exactly does the error message say when the installer fails?
Thanks for asking! The error message isn't very specific; it just says 'I can't update this file... installation failed.' So it's vague at best.