Installation guide

Column Names Include Spaces
Running the schtasks command without any options displays a column name of Next Run Time.
Because this name includes spaces, you cannot use it as an attribute name in an XML document. Running
the schtasks command verbosely generates other column names that include spaces. Although you
cannot use these invalid names as attribute names, you can preserve the names by using VCM encoding
standards.
To preserve these column names in the form that schtasks returns and allow for XML handling, VCM
encodes the column names with the ToCMBase64String function. To create a valid XML form of an
element name or attribute name, this function uses Unicode Base64 encoding and character substitution,
such as using a dash instead of an equal sign, as shown in the following example.
function ToCMBase64String([string]$input_string)
{
return [string]("cmbase64-" +
[System.Convert]::ToBase64String([System.Text.Encoding]::
UNICODE.GetBytes($input_string))).replace("=","-")
}
Using this function corrects the invalid column name data.
VCM prefaces the string with cmbase64- so that the VCM inserter can decode the data and load the
decoded data into the VCM database.
The valid XML appears as follows.
<cmbase64-TgBlAHgAdAAgAFIAdQBuACAAVABpAG0AZQA->
12:32:00, 5/26/2010
</cmbase64-TgBlAHgAdAAgAFIAdQBuACAAVABpAG0AZQA->
Invalid XML omits the encoding function as follows.
<Next Run Time>
12:32:00, 5/26/2010
</Next Run Time>
Task Entries Do Not Include a Unique and Repeatable Identifier
Use repeatable identifiers to prevent false indications of changes at the Collector. If your element labels
(identifiers) are not the same for every collection of the same item, you will see false additions, changes,
and deletions in the VCM change log.
The Windows schtasks command does not include a unique and repeatable identifier for specific task
entries. Because unique element names are a requirement for valid VCM XML and repeatable identifiers
help prevent false indications of changes at the VCM Collector, you must code the task names correctly in
your script.
To create unique and repeatable element names, create a task entry name based on a hash of the data in
the row. You can use this method for data that does not have a name-type attribute, where the task name
exists but is not guaranteed to be unique. When the task name is user-friendly and useful, you must
attempt to preserve the name and use it in the collection script.
vCenter Configuration Manager Administration Guide
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VMware, Inc.