Issue With Update Rollups& OMS Based Agents

Issue
When applying any SCOM 2012 R2 Update Rollup (UR), you might bump into an issue where you can’t update some Microsoft Monitoring Agents (MMA).

When trying to apply the related UR locally on the server, this error message will be shown: The upgrade patch cannot be installed by the Windows Installer service because the program to be upgraded may be missing, or the upgrade patch may update a different version of the program:

Cause
As it turns out, this may happen on servers where the OMS based MMA is installed AND is configured not only to communicate with the OMS Workspace but also with an on-prem SCOM 2012x MG. MMAs like these can’t be updated with any UR for SCOM 2012x.

Solution 01 – Maintaining the OMS Connection
The most recent version of the OMS based MMA is 7.2.10375.0. So check the version of that OMS MMA on that server:

1. On that server: Go to the folder C:\Program Files\Microsoft Monitoring Agent\Agent and check the file version of the HealthService.exe file. When it’s version 7.2.10375.0, no additional actions are required.
2. When it’s older, download the latest OMS MMA by using the OMS portal > Sign in > select your workspace (upper right corner) > click it with the settings icon > Connected Sources.
3. Download the OMS MMA for the correct architecture (x64 or x86) and install it by choosing the Upgrade option when the installer is run.

Solution 02 – Breaking the OMS Connection
This ‘solution’ breaks the OMS connection, so think twice before continuing!

1. On that server: Remove the OMS based MMA through the Programs and Features control panel applet;
2. From the SCOM 2012x Console: Start a push installation and the SCOM Agent will be installed with the latest UR as well.