This morning I was refining an image I have been working on in my test environment. I noticed that my AClient silent install file needed to be udpated. Then it dawned on me that I needed to update my Deployment Solution from 6.8 to 6.9. I have read some good things about 6.9, so I decided that I would go ahead and upgrade my Deployment Solution. This update is a pretty simple process. It is always nice to have a reference though. If you think it is about time to get your Deployment Solution up-to-date, take a gander at this article.
Upgrade Steps:
When I first installed Deployment Solution 6.8 I submitted the following article: Installing Deployment Solution for Clients 6.8 using MSSQL 2005. This article went through each step to preparing the server for Deployment Solution 6.8. This article is the base for the upgrade. You will need to make sure that you actually have Deployment Solution installed and running before you proceed with an upgrade to 6.9.
First, you will need to download the install files. Here is how you do it:
- Go to www.altiris.com
- In the upper right hand corner there is a "Download" button, click it.
- In the "Select a product to download" drop down, select "Deployment Solutions for Clients 6.9". Click the submit button
- A screen with load with all of the "Terms and Conditions". Once you have carefully read all of these terms, click the "I AGREE" button to continue
- The next screen will ask you to log in, once you have logged in you will see the following screen:
- Click on the "DOWNLOAD NOW" button next to "Deployment Solution for Clients 6.9"
- I also downloaded the "Linux and DOS Automation Environment for Deployment Solution 6.9" and "WinPE Automation Environments for Deployment Solution 6.9"
Once your files are downloaded you will need to extract the file titled: "Altiris_DeploymentSolutionWin_6_9_client.zip" to a known location. I decided to do it on my Desktop.
Now that your files are downloaded, you will need to make sure you have your license file. Here is how you can find it:
- Navigate to the "License Management Portal"
- Log in to the site
- Once you have logged in you will see a list of products that you have purchased. Find "Deployment Solution for Clients" and click on it
- Up above, you will see information about this product, including a "download license" link
- Click on that link to obtain your license
Alternatively, you can also find your "eXpress.exe" file and rename it to "eXpress.lic". That should contain your license file inside of it.
We have done all of the prep work, now we can upgrade to Deployment Solution 6.9. Here is what you do:
Now that we are done (and we decided to check the "Remotely install Deployment Agent") we need to configure this setting. Here is how:
Conclusion:
The upgrade was pretty straight foward, but it is a necessary diversion. You will want to make sure that all of your clients are checking in and that all of your jobs are there. It may take a few minutes for everything to sync up again.
Now that we are upgraded, we are of couse up-to-date. But, there are other new features that are compelling. For instance, you can use UltraVNC for Remote Controlling. This is an essential step towards the Notifiacation Server 7 release this fall. Most of the Deployment Solution will be incorporated into Notification Server (over time all features will be rolled into Notification Server. At ManageFusion they suggested you keep your Deployment Solution up and running until everything can be moved over. I was also told that there will be regular patches and hotfixes for Deployment Console, so it is worth the time to keep it running well.