After an update, a PDServer or PDAgent is not showing the correct version in Resource Manager

After executing a PDUpdate file, you may find that one or more PDServers or PDAgents are not reflecting the update. In most cases, this is because the PDServer or PDAgent did not receive the command from Resource Manager to Refresh. This can happen due to firewalls blocking the UDP packet that is sent from Resource Manager to force the refresh.

After the normal refresh interval (10 minutes by default), you may find that the PDServer or PDAgent in question succeeds in executing the update. If however, the PDServer or PDAgent now shows as ‘offline’ in Resource Manager it may indicate a problem with executing the update patch file.

This may be caused by antivirus software, or because a process is using files that need to be overwritten by the patch. Either way, we’ll need to manually force the update to execute.

PDServer status is ‘offline’ and Version still reflects the previous version

Here are the steps to manually force the update to execute:

Stop the PDServer service if it is still running

  • Open the service manager (Server Manager > Tools > Services).
  • Double click PDServer.
  • Change the Startup type dropdown to Disabled.
  • Click Apply.
  • Click Stop.

Kill any interfering processes

  • Open the Task Manager (right click the taskbar, choose Task Manager).
  • Click the Details tab (might need to click More details first).
  • Click the Name column header so it sorts alphabetically.
  • Look for the exe process. If it is there, select it and then click End task.
  • Look for the EXE process. If it is there, select it and then click End task.

Run the PDServerUpdate patch file.

Once we are sure that there are no interfering processes running, we can manually run the patch file.

  • Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the following path C:\Program Files (x86)\Blue Swift Technologies\Print Director 2\PDServer\
    • Note: The above path may be different if the default installation path was not accepted during the initial installation.
  • You should find the patch file in this folder. Double click PDServerUpdate.EXE.
  • You will be prompted for elevation (UAC), click Yes to allow.
  • The patch will execute and the files will be overwritten.

Start the PDServer service

  • Open the service manager (Server Manager > Tools > Services).
  • Double click PDServer.
  • Change the Startup type dropdown to Automatic.
  • Click Apply.
  • Click Start.

Confirm that the Version is now updated

  • Open Resource Manager.
  • On the left, click the PDServers node.
  • Scroll to the right and confirm that all servers have updated to the version of the update file.

PDAgent status is ‘offline’ and Version still reflects the previous version

Here are the steps to manually force the update to execute:

Stop the PDAgent service if it is still running

  • Open the service manager (Server Manager > Tools > Services).
  • Double click PDAgent.
  • Change the Startup type dropdown to Disabled.
  • Click Apply.
  • Click Stop.

Kill any interfering processes

  • Open the Task Manager (right click the taskbar, choose Task Manager).
  • Click the Details tab (might need to click More details first).
  • Click the Name column header so it sorts alphabetically.
  • Look for the exe process. If it is there, select it and then click End task.
  • Look for the exe process. If it is there, select it and then click End task. Note that there may be more than one.
  • Look for the EXE. If it is there, select it and then click End task.

Run the PDAgentUpdate patch file.

Once we are sure that there are no interfering processes running, we can manually run the patch file.

  • Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the following path C:\Program Files (x86)\Blue Swift Technologies\Print Director 2\PDAgent\
    • Note: The above path may be different if the default installation path was not accepted during the initial installation.
  • You should find the patch file in this folder. Double click PDAgentUpdate.EXE.
  • You will be prompted for elevation (UAC), click Yes to allow.
  • The patch will execute and the files will be overwritten.

Start the PDAgentClient application

This is only necessary if the popup client is used for client billing or Rule notifications.

While you still have the following folder open (C:\Program Files (x86)\Blue Swift Technologies\Print Director 2\PDAgent\), double click PDAgentClient.exe.

Start the PDAgent service

  • Open the service manager (Server Manager > Tools > Services).
  • Double click PDAgent.
  • Change the Startup type dropdown to Automatic.
  • Click Apply.
  • Click Start.

Confirm that the Version is now updated

  • Open Resource Manager.
  • On the left, click the PDAgents node.
  • Scroll to the right and confirm that all servers have updated to the version of the update file.