SharePoint Server Troubleshooting: Event ID 6398 - Execute method of job definition SPSqmTimerJobDefinition threw an exception

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Applies to: SharePoint Server 2010.

Issue: While doing the normal service health checks we spotted an error message with the event ID: 6398.

Error message: The Execute method of job definition Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPSqmTimerJobDefinition (ID c222b735-5733-4940-aaee-f6c1e8e7833c) threw an exception. More information is included below.

Detailed error message:

Data is Null. This method or property cannot be called on Null values.

Event Xml:

<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
 
  <System>
 
    <Provider Name="Microsoft-SharePoint Products-SharePoint Foundation" Guid="{6FB7E0CD-52E7-47DD-997A-241563931FC2}" />
 
    <EventID>6398</EventID>
 
    <Version>14</Version>
 
    <Level>1</Level>
 
    <Task>12</Task>
 
    <Opcode>0</Opcode>
 
    <Keywords>0x4000000000000000</Keywords>
 
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2014-08-26T03:31:17.176764600Z" />
 
    <EventRecordID>34202</EventRecordID>
 
    <Correlation ActivityID="{F89B88AE-6A1F-4AF2-A2D9-2AFB5BB3BEFC}" />
 
    <Execution ProcessID="5304" ThreadID="1780" />
 
    <Channel>Application</Channel>
 
    <Computer>SPPLGVIRTUAL02F.Global.Lloydstsb.Com</Computer>
 
    <Security UserID="S-1-5-21-1285278-2735368383-2968457176-1299034" />
 
  </System>
 
  <EventData>
 
    <Data Name="string0">Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPSqmTimerJobDefinition</Data>
 
    <Data Name="string1">c222b735-5733-4940-aaee-f6c1e8e7833c</Data>
 
    <Data Name="string2">Data is Null. This method or property cannot be called on Null values.</Data>
 
  </EventData>
 
</Event>

Background: with the daily health checks of our environment spotted the above error message in the Event viewer and it was related it was related to timer services. So carried out the troubleshooting.

Troubleshooting:

Checked the timer job status and it was working fine.

Checked the event viewer for any similar issues and alerts.

SharePoint health analyzer was good.

Checked the timer job status from job history panel and it shows the error there. Data is null. This method or property cannot be called.

Resolution:

Looking further in it and from the timer job status we found that it’s an issue with the “CEIP Data Collection” timer job (the GUID in the error should match the GUID of the timer job). 

CEIP is Microsoft’s “Customer Experience Improvement Program.

”.   

The detailed resolution steps are given in the MS KB here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2616940

We have not executed these steps as we don’t want to send any updates to MS about our suggestions as of now.

This error message doesn’t have any impacts on the service so it’s your own discretion if you wanted to implement the steps outlined in the KB.

Read at my Blog: http://mossnwss.blogspot.in/2014/08/event-id-6398-execute-method-of-job.html