Dell Client Manager 3.0 Release Notes

Dell Client Manager is the most powerful Dell hardware management solution available for Dell Precision* workstations, OptiPlex* desktops, and Latitude* notebooks. The unprecedented integration of Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation with the Symantec Management Platform has resulted in a single, remote console—the Dell Client Management Console.

Using Dell Client Manager, you can do the following:

Identify every Dell client computer in your environment.
Automatically deploy the Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation (OMCI agent) to client computers.
Obtain detailed inventory client computer data, including hardware information and BIOS settings.
Update the BIOS on client computers to the latest version.
Configure BIOS settings on client computers.
Employ hardware monitoring on client computers that can trigger alerts.
Generate a wide range of reports that help you manage client computers.
Configure Dell display settings and turn off Dell displays.

Supported Systems

Dell Computer Models that are supported

Dell Client Manager supports all Dell Precision workstations, OptiPlex desktops, and Latitude notebooks.

Dell Dimension desktops, Dell Inspiron notebooks, and Dell Vostro notebooks are not supported.

Dell Computer Models that Support Alert Standard Format (ASF)

Some Dell models are ASF 2.0 capable. To be ASF 2.0 capable, a computer must have a network adapter and computer BIOS that supports ASF 2.0. Some Dell computers have Broadcom network adapters that support ASF 2.0 while the computer BIOS does not.

Dell Computer Models that Support Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT)

Some Dell models support Intel AMT 2.0 and later.

Other information about Alert Standard Format (ASF)

Supported ASF computers can be identified through the "Supported ASF 2.0 capable Dell client computers" filter.

Dell Client Manager may recognize other models that have ASF-capable network adapters but do not have ASF 2.0 support in the computer BIOS. In these cases, these computers will be listed as capable in the “All Broadcom ASF capable computers” collection. They may also have the Out of Band Task Agent installed on them along with fully supported models. ASF 2.0 functionality will not be available on these computers, and it will not cause any problems to have the agent installed on computers that are not fully supported.

Other information about Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT)

For details on discovering, configuring, and managing Intel AMT capable computers, see the Out of Band Management Component Implementation Guide.

Features in this Release

The following are features of this release:

Dell OMCI version updated

The Dell OMCI version that is included in this release is 7.6.0.735. The existing Dell OMCI installation will be automatically upgraded when you run either the Dell Client Manager Agent Install or Upgrade task on the Dell client computers.

Integration with Task Server

Dell Client Manager integrates with Task Server infrastructure which lets you combine Dell management tasks into jobs like the following: Run BIOS update > Restart computer > Verify BIOS update.

New Supported Models list logic

The Supported Models list logic is changed from including supported models to excluding unsupported models. This way all new models of Dell Precision* workstations, OptiPlex* desktops, and Latitude* notebooks produced after the release of Dell Client Manager 3.0 automatically become supported.

Ability to inventory and manage Dell displays

With Dell Client Manager you can detect displays, manufactured by Dell, inventory, configure, or power them off.

Stand-alone package creation functionality has moved to Dell Client Configuration Utility

Now you can create stand-alone BIOS inventory, configuration, and upgrade packages using the Dell Client Configuration Utility software, which does not require the Notification Server. You can install and run this utility on any Windows 2000 SP4 or later computer with .NET Framework 2.0 installed.

Support for Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption

Dell Client Manager lets you disable BitLocker before updating the BIOS or changing BIOS settings.

Known Issues in this Release

The following are unresolved issues in this release. For additional information regarding an issue, click the Article ID link.

Known Issue	Article ID
Dell Client Manager upgrade issues
Collected inventory data not transferred during upgrade When you upgrade Dell Client Manager from version 2.2 (Notification Server 6.x based) to 3.0, some hardware and BIOS inventory is not transferred to the new database. This is because of the changes to the database structure in this release. After you install Dell Client Manager 3.0, simply run the inventory tasks and re-collect all inventory. If you still want to see the inventory data you collected using the previous version of Dell Client Manager (for example, you want to see the inventory you collected from the computers that are not available any more and whose inventory you cannot re-collect), you can use the Altiris Notification Store Browser to view the Store.adb file that you exported.
Issue when upgrading to a different location If you install Symantec Installation Manager 7.0 to a location, other than where the previous version of Dell Client Manager and the Notification Server 6.0 is installed, the Dell Client Manager exporters are not available in the Migration Wizard. To resolve this issue, do the following before clicking Next in the Migration Wizard: On the Notification Server computer, open to the Notification Server 6.0 installation folder, and find the Upgrade folder. Copy all files from this Upgrade folder into the Upgrade folder, that is located at the new Symantec Installation Manager installation directory. In the Migration Wizard, click Next, and continue with the migration.
Client upgrade issues
Upgrading the client computer from OMCI 5.x and 6.x Upgrade from OMCI versions earlier than 7.x is not supported. You must manually uninstall OMCI, and then use the Dell Client Manager Agent Install policy to install the current version.
Upgrading the client computer from OMCI 7.x If you update OMCI from an earlier version of 7.x, a restart may be necessary. You can configure the upgrade task to restart the computer after upgrade, or you can run the restart task on the Supported Dell Client Computers Awaiting Reboot to Finish Installation filter later.
User rights and OMCI upgrade on client computer If a computer has OMCI 7.1, and the current logged on user does not have administrator rights, an automatic upgrade to a newer version of OMCI will fail. To upgrade, manually uninstall OMCI 7.1, then use the Dell Client Manager Agent Install policy to reinstall OMCI. Dell Client Manager includes a collection named “All supported Dell Client Computers with Dell OMCI 7.1 Software installed” to help you identify these computers.
Do not perform a shutdown operation after a BIOS version update After performing a BIOS update, the computer must be restarted rather than shut down. If a computer is shut down, the BIOS upgrade will not take effect and you may cause the computer to not start properly. BIOS Update Task—We recommend that you do not run the BIOS Update Task alone without a follow-up restart task. Combine the BIOS Update Task and the Restart by Power Control task into a job, or use the sample BIOS Update Job included with Dell Client Manager. BIOS Update Job—The BIOS Update Job includes the Restart by Power Control task. We recommend that you use the BIOS Update Job to update a BIOS. BIOS Update Stand-alone Package—When you run the BIOS Update stand-alone package, the computer will be restarted in 2 minutes by default.
BIOS password restrictions BIOS Passwords set in a BIOS policy have the following restrictions: Only alphanumeric passwords are supported. Spaces may not be used. Using spaces will result in incorrect passwords. Example: If you specified a BIOS password as "qwe 123", the password will be set as "qwe". The maximum length is dependent on the computer model. For example, on Dell Latitude notebooks, the maximum is eight characters. When using the real-time view to provide a password with more than the maximum characters, the password will be truncated to the first number of characters allowed. For example, if the maximum is eight characters, and you provide a 12-character password, only the first eight characters are used. You will need to use that truncated password to use or clear the BIOS password. These restrictions apply to both setting passwords and password verification.
BIOS password numeric values When using a computer's BIOS configuration utility (after a start or restart), a BIOS password entered from the numeric keypad on a keyboard (below NumLock) doesn't match a similar password entered from numeric keys under the F1...F10 keys. Dell Client Manager does not recognize the format from the numeric keypad in the BIOS. If you use the numeric keypad in the BIOS, you cannot match the password using Dell Client Manager. Scenario 1: In the BIOS, you turned on NumLock and provide a password from the numeric part of the keyboard (below NumLock). Using a policy, stand-alone package, or real-time view, attempt to modify this password (or apply some BIOS Settings on the computer where you need to provide a password to change them). Your password (the same as you entered in the BIOS) will not be accepted. It doesn't matter which kind of number keys you use in Dell Client Manager; it won't match. Scenario 2: Using a Dell Client Manager policy, stand-alone package, or real-time view, set the BIOS password using numbers (either form of numbers). Enter BIOS and attempt to enter the same password using numeric keypad keys—it will not match. It will work only if you enter this from the numeric keys (under F1...F10 keys). Solution: When using a computer's BIOS configuration utility (after a start or restart), to enter a BIOS password, always use the numeric keys under the F1...F10 keys.
Extracting .hdr file from non-packaged BIOS upgrade .exe file When using DOS-based BIOS upgrade files, you must extract the .hdr file from the downloaded .exe file. You can do this by running filename.exe –writehdrfile. Some files may not extract correctly. This occurs because the extraction process requires more memory than it's allocated by default. If this occurs, right-click the .exe, click the Memory tab of the .exe file properties, and modify memory allocation values to maximum values for all settings. Then close the properties dialog and re-execute the extraction process.
Asset tag length limitations If setting the Asset Tag value in the BIOS Settings Task, there is a 10-character limit. If you have more than 10 characters, this will cause the changing of an Asset Tag (of more than 10 characters) to fail. Example: If you use a %systemname% macro as a value for the Asset Tag, and if %systemname% is more than 10 characters, the set operation will fail.
Asset tag macro limitations When you use a %username% macro as a value for the Asset Tag when no user is currently logged on the target computer, the set operation will fail.
Boot order limitations
Drive type limitations The current boot order functionality cannot distinguish between different hard drive types (IDE, SATA, SCSI) and multiple hard drives of the same. If you have multiple hard drives, you cannot configure a specific hard drive to boot from.
RAID volumes not recognized for boot order RAID volumes are not recognized for boot order configuration. RAID volumes are also ignored if boot order configuration is imported using the Import feature of BIOS Profile Editor.
BIOS upgrade not automatically performed with password-locked screen saver If using an Upgrade BIOS Job for a client computer that has a password-locked screen saver, by default it will prevent the computer from automatically restarting and flashing the BIOS. (If the computer is manually rebooted, it will then flash the BIOS). In the Upgrade BIOS policy, there is the Force applications to close without prompting option that is cleared by default. If you select this option, the computer will restart and flash the BIOS.
Hyperthreading settings management not possible on some models Hyperthreading status on Dell OptiPlex 745 and 745C computers is displayed as Disabled or Enabled, but in fact, the settings are not supported by the BIOS and cannot be changed. On Dell Latitude D420, D520, D620, D820, Dell Precision Workstation M65, and M90 notebooks, changing Hyperthreading settings (using a BIOS Profile or Real-Time tab) changes MultiCore settings instead.
Upgrade BIOS on Dell Latitude 131L before managing the computer Hardware inventory collection, monitoring policies, and stand-alone packages fail to run on Dell Latitude 131L computers with BIOS version 1.7 or earlier. To manage the computers, manually upgrade the BIOS to version 2.1 or later by running Dell's BIOS upgrade package on the client computer. The BIOS upgrade package can be obtained from the Dell Web site (http://support.dell.com/).
BIOS cannot be upgraded on Dell Latitude 131L You cannot upgrade the BIOS to versions 2.1 or earlier on Dell Latitude 131L remotely, using a BIOS Update Task. You have to upgrade the BIOS manually by running Dell's BIOS upgrade package on the client computer. Dell is currently working on resolving the issue. Check the Dell Web site if a newer version of BIOS is available (http://support.dell.com/).
BIOS settings cannot be changed on Dell Latitude 131L BIOS settings on Dell Latitude 131L cannot be changed, either by using a BIOS Settings Task or Real-Time view.
BIOS cannot be upgraded on Dell OptiPlex 740 You cannot upgrade the BIOS to versions 1.0.5 or earlier on Dell OptiPlex 740 remotely, using the BIOS Update Task. Dell is currently working on resolving the issue. Check the Dell Web site if a newer version of BIOS is available (http://support.dell.com/).
ASF out-of-band power management limitation Dell Latitude D531, D630, D631, and D830 notebooks with ASF 2.0 capability do not support Reboot/Reset power management command using ASF technology—only Power On and Power Off power actions are supported.
ASF Configuration takes an excessive amount of time to complete or times out on Vista x64 ASF Configuration/Inventory tasks take a long time to complete or times out completely.
Not possible to create dynamic filters Currently it is not possible to create dynamic custom filters.
Dell Client Monitoring Policy issue If you turn on the policy by right-clicking Dell Client Monitoring Policy in the left pane and then clicking Enable, the automated action that is defined in the policy (By default: Email Automated Action for Dell Client Manager Alert) will not work. Instead, turn on the policy using the On/Off button on the upper-right of the Dell Client Monitoring Policy page and then click Save changes.
Dell Client Monitoring Policy automated action issue When you click Edit input parameters on the Dell Client Monitoring Policy page, the Edit Job/Task Input Parameters virtual window appears. If you click Cancel or close this virtual window, the pre-populated Data Source fields can be lost. Instead, click OK, even if you did not change anything in the virtual window. If you did click Cancel, then navigate away from the Dell Client Monitoring Policy page without saving anything. Then come back to the page - the lost Data Source fields should be now restored.
Power Scheme Tasks conflict with Dell Control Point software When you run a power scheme task on a Dell computer with the Dell Control Point software installed, the power scheme settings take effect, but the values in the Power Options Properties dialog box on the Dell client computer do not change.
Where to look for the WSMAN event descriptions WSMAN event messages in the Event Console do not contain a description of the event. To understand the event, you must refer to the Standard Message Registry. This registry is not provided in the Help documentation. The registry is attached to the article #43656.	43656

Legacy ID

43304

Article URL http://www.symantec.com/docs/DOC1644

Dell Client Manager 3.0 Release Notes

Description