How to Install Altiris Notification 6 in a Lab

This guide is intended for first time Altiris Notification 6 users who are attempting to build their first Notification Server 6 lab in order to learn basic product functionality. The use and configuration of Clustered SQL Servers, SAN configurations, RAID configurations and other details are not covered in this guide. At the end of this guide, a basic Altiris architecture will be configured that includes the following components:

• Notification Server 6
• Altiris Deployment Server
• Altiris Package Server
• Altiris Task Server
• Windows XP machine running the Altiris agents

The decision to virtualize or use physical equipment for your lab is up to you. Officially Symantec recommends production environments use physical equipment but we do provide technical support for VMWare. For this guide, it does not matter. In an effort to keep things simple, this guide will assume 4 computing devices as follows:

• 2 Servers running Windows Server 2003 with Sp2 (R1 or R2 is okay here) & Microsoft SQL Server 2005 with Sp3
• 1 Server running Windows Server 2003 with SP2 (R1 or R2 is okay here) & Microsoft IIS
• 1 computer running Windows XP Professional with SP3 - Vista is also an option here.

Microsoft Active Directory (AD) is also an optional component for the lab. If you need to test NS user authentication, NS user groups, NS security membership and such, it would be a good idea to have an Active Directory environment configured but it is not a requirement. The benefit is that your lab will be closer to a real-world scenario if you include AD, but the drawback is the added complexity and additional hardware/virtualization resources. If you choose to use AD, start your lab by building a Windows Server 2003 (R1 or R2) with SP2 running AD, DNS, and DHCP. Once this Domain Controller is setup, you can proceed with the rest of this guide.

To begin, we will start with the Notification Server environment.

On Server A - The Notification Server:

1. Install the Microsoft Server 2003 with Sp2 - do not run Windows Update after the installation is complete.
2. From the Server Role Configuration screen, turn the server into an Application Server and make sure you check the option to install ASP.NET. This will install IIS on the server and prep the machine for the NS installation.
3. Install Microsoft SQL Server 2005 using a default instance.
   • Note - the SQL installation will install .NET 2.0 on the server.
4. Install Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3
5. Run Microsoft Windows Update
   • Choose Custom
   • To save time and unnecessary downloads, un-check ALL of the critical updates that will be automatically selected. Scroll down the Critical Updates and choose IE 7 and let this installation proceed alone. When this is complete, reboot the server.
   • Re-launch Windows update and choose Custom again. This time select all of the updates you wish to install but make sure you do NOT install any updates, service packs or hot fixes that are related to Microsoft .NET 3.0 or 3.5.
   • Reboot the server when the installation is complete.
   • Rerun Windows Update, choosing Custom and install any remaining updates (excluding the .NET 2.0 or .NET 3.0 related updates).
6. Login to Server A using an account that has Local Administrative rights. Domain users should use a service account, workgroup users can use the local admin account
7. Symantec has a variety of installation methods for Notification Server. One of the more puzzling aspects is that the software repository for the product sites in a website named SolutionSam. This name is a bit of an inside joke that originates from the early days of the Altiris Corporation, but it is the official source for the Altiris installation files. I have found that the most reliable method to complete the Notification Server installation works as follows:
   • Download a copy of wget.exe and place it on Server A. This tool allows you to download the entire contents of a website. In our case, we need the installation files from Symantec's Altiris website. From a Windows command prompt, run the command
     

     "wget.exe -r http://www.solutionsam.com/solutions/6_0/ "
     	
     

     The entire contents of the SolutionSam website will now download to your server in a subfolder under the directory where wget.exe was launched from.

8. When the download is complete inside the wget subdirectory, find the file "Altiris_ns_6_0.exe" and double-click on this to begin the Notification Server installation.
9. After the installation has completed, from the wget directory, find the file "Altiris_ns_6_0_sp3_kb39160.exe" and run this file. This will update the Notification Server to the most recent release, which at the time of this writing is 6.0 Sp3 R9.
10. The Notification Server is now installed and up to date.
11. From the server choose the Windows Start menu > All Programs > Altiris > Altiris Console
12. Click on the Configuration Tab
    • Select "Upgrade/Install Additional Solutions" from the left hand menu
    • On the right-hand menu, choose the Settings tab
    • Change the Solution Center location from the default "Altiris web site" to "Other Location" and type in the local directory that you used to download the file using wget. For example your path might read "c:\wget\www.solutionsam.com\Solutions\6_0\"
    • Scroll down on the right hand menu and choose Apply to save these settings.
    • Click on the "Available Solutions" tab
    • Under the "Suites" this is where the various Altiris products are installed from. Keep in mind suites are cumulative. For example "Client Management Suite - Level III" will include all of the products from Level 1 and Level 2. If you only need to install specific products, it is better to do this from the "A-Z Solutions" page. This is because each product has multiple installation files and using "A-Z Solutions" ensures the complete product is installed. Choose the appropriate suite or product and then click Begin installation. With the changes made to the solution center location, the install will now happen from the source files on the hard drive instead of going out to the internet to connect.
13. Assuming you picked Client Management Suite - Level III, the install should take between 30 - 60 minutes. While this is installing, prep the OS installations for the rest of the lab. Note that during the NS Solution installations IIS will be reset multiple times - it is best to leave the server alone while these installations are progressing.

On Server B - The Package Server / Task Server:

1. Install the Microsoft Server 2003 with Sp2 - do not run Windows Update after the installation is complete.
2. From the Server Role Configuration screen, turn the server into an Application Server and make sure you check the option to install ASP.NET. This will install IIS on the server and prep the machine for the Package Server / Task Server installation.
3. Run Microsoft Windows Update
   • Choose Custom
   • To save time and unnecessary downloads, un-check ALL of the critical updates that will be automatically selected. Scroll down the Critical Updates and choose IE 7 and let this installation proceed alone. When this is complete, reboot the server.
   • Re-launch Windows update and choose Custom again. This time select all of the updates you wish to install but make sure you do NOT install any updates, service packs or hot fixes that are related to Microsoft .NET 3.0 or 3.5.
   • Reboot the server when the installation is complete.
   • Rerun Windows Update, choosing Custom and install any remaining updates.
4. Login to Server B using an account that has Local Administrative rights. Domain users should use a service account, workgroup users can use the local admin account
5. Run nslookup to ensure Server A is accessible.

On Computer 1 - The XP or Vista Computer:

1. Install Microsoft Windows XP with SP3 or Windows Vista with SP1.
2. If using XP, turn off Simple File Sharing
   
   1. Open My Computer > Choose Tools > Folder Options > View > under Advanced Settings, scroll down the very bottom and uncheck the option "Use simple file sharing (Recommended).
3. Run nslookup to ensure Server A is accessible

On Server A - The Notification Server:

1. At this point the installation of all of the products or suites should be complete and the Altiris Console 6.5 should now be installed. We will use the Altiris Console 6.5 for the remainder of this guide. If you have any First Time Setup Wizards or Welcome Screens, close those for now and you can walk through them later. The next step is to rollout the Altiris Agent and also to enable a Package Server and Task Server
2. Two of the simplest options for rolling out the Altiris agent are the "Push" install, or the "Pull" install. Here a "Push" install will be used for Server B and a "Pull" install will be used for the XP/Vista computer.
3. Perform a Push installation of the Altiris Agent to Server B
   
   1. Click Start > All Programs > Altiris > Altiris Console 6.5
   2. From the top menu bar choose View > Configuration
   3. On the left hand menu scroll down to Configuration > Server Settings > Discovery Methods > Resource Discovery
   4. If you are in a Domain, add the name of the domain and click the Blue + Sign. Choose the Option "Domain Membership"
   5. If you are in a Workgroup add the name of your workgroup and click the Blue + Sign. Chose the Option "Domain Browse List"
   6. Scroll down and click on "Apply Now" to save these settings
   7. Click on the "Discovery Now button." This process should take less than a minute.
   8. From the NS 6.5 console top menu bar choose Configure > Agents > Agent Push >
   9. Click on the "Select Computers" option and choose "Server B" from the options. It will now be added to the list.
   10. Click on the Option "Install Altiris Agent" to begin the installation
   11. Make a note of the "URL of download page for Win32 users. It will be used for the "Pull installation"

On Computer 1 - The XP or Vista Computer:

1. Perform a Pull installation of the Altiris Agent
   
   1. Open Internet Explorer. Note that IE is the only supported browser as the NS uses ActiveX controls to complete the installation.
   2. Type in the URL that you made note of in step K of the previous step.
   3. Follow the prompts to install the Altiris Agent.
   4. Once you have started the installation, open Windows Task Manager and confirm that AEXSWDINSTSVC is one of the running processes. As long as this has started, the installation is progressing normally.

On Server A - The Notification Server:

1. With the NS Agents now installed on both Server B and the XP/Vista machine, the next step is to rollout a Package Server and a Task Server.
2. Open the Altiris 6.5 console > Choose Configure > Package Servers > Package Servers Setup
3. Click on the + Sign to add the Package Server
   
   1. In the "Filter using computer name" - type in the name of SERVERB and click Find.
   2. Once it has been found, highlight the name, then click OK.
   3. Scroll down to the bottom of the Package Servers Status page and click the Apply button.
   4. The NS Server will now send the Package Server Agent Installation Policy to Server B and Server B will become a Package Server
4. Next Turn Server B into an Altiris Task Server
5. From the Altiris Console 6.5 > Choose Mange > Jobs > Expand Task Management > Task Server Configuration > Select "Approved Task Servers"
6. Click on the Pencil icon to add Server B to the "Approved Task Servers" collection
7. Four options up on the menu is a folder named "Task Server Rollout."
   
   1. Expand this and choose "Task Servers"
   2. Click on the Pencil icon to add Server B to the Task Servers
8. Two options up on the menu is a policy named "Task Server Install"
   
   1. Right-click on this policy and choose Enable
   2. The Task Server Installation will now begin on Server B

Altiris Deployment Solution:

The next step is to install the Altiris Deployment Solution. The names can be quite confusing because Symantec has two products that fall under the umbrella name of "Deployment Solution." There is a standalone 32-bit console called the Deployment Server and there is also a management piece called Deployment Solution. Deployment Solution allows the Notification Server to manage multiple Deployment Servers using the NS web based console.

Symantec recommends Deployment Servers be stand-alone servers but in very small environments like this lab we are building, having Notification Server and Deployment Server on the same computer is acceptable. Additional details about the various configuration options for Deployment Server are available in the official Product guide. For this lab Deployment Server will be installed on the same server as Notification Server.

On Server A - The Notification Server:

1. If you watched the installation of the Client Management Suite Level 3, you have noticed that Altiris Deployment Solution is already installed on the Notification Server. To confirm it was installed, open the NS Console 6.5 > Choose Manage > Deploy and Migration and you'll see that Deployment Solution is installed. However without a Deployment Server, the Deployment Solution does not provide any benefit.
2. First - download the required installation files for Deployment Server. This is a bit more complicated than the NS installation.
   
   1. Create a directory on the root of C:\ named DSInstallFiles.
   2. Download Deployment Solution for Clients 6.9 SP1 from http://www.altiris.com/Download.aspx

      You will need to download 3 files from this site:

      • "Deployment Solution for Clients 6.9 SP1" (547MB)
      • "Linux and Free DOS Automation Environment for Deployment Solution 6.9 SP1" (43MB)
      • WinPE Automation Environments for Deployment Solution 6.9 SP1 for 32-bit (x86) (340MB)
   3. Next download the DS 6.9 SP1 Maintenance Pack 1 install file from here: https://kb.altiris.com/article.asp?article=44867&p=1
   4. If you wish to use Microsoft DOS for the PXE boot environment, you'll need to have a copy of a "Windows 98 SE" install CD. Symantec can not supply you with either of these. If using FreeDOS is acceptable, you will have just downloaded this.
   5. From the CD used to install Windows XP Pro with Sp3, browse to the Support directory on this CD and copy the Deploy.cab file to the server. This file contains the Microsoft Sysprep utilities. The most recent version of sysprep is included on the Windows XP Sp3 CD. If you do not have a XP SP3 CD, use the Deploy.cab from a CD.
3. Begin the Deployment Server Installation
   
   1. Run the "Deployment Solution for Clients 6.9 Sp1" file.
   2. Choose to "Extract and Execute" and it will extract a new directory on the server named DSSetup where the setup.exe will then be launched.
4. Choose Simple Installation which will install a PXE server locally.
5. Follow the prompts and supply the appropriate files as requested during the installation.
6. When the install is complete, run the Maintenance Pack 1 installation file to update Deployment Server to the latest version.
7. At the end of the installation, push the Altiris Deployment Agent (dagent) to the Windows XP/Vista machine.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed an Altiris Notification Server lab. For additional details on specific solutions, refer to the product release notes found at http://www.Altiris.com/support/documentation