Deployment Solution

We have been using NS 6 with CMS and DS 6.9 for years and are planning to upgrade our server hardware in stages. We have 29 Deployment servers that also serve as Package servers. Our thought was to build a new NS first and over time we would build new DS servers. We are not sure if we want to make the move to DS 7.1 at this time. Does NS 7.1 work with DS 6.9?

Thanks!

Yes, DS 6.9 can happily co-exist next to CMS 7.1. Both the DS agent and the SMA can happily coincide on the same managed computer, as well.

Yes the co-exist happily, Alot of people currently use them in tandum. I would recommend testing the deployment functions in DS7.1 as for alot of people DS6.9 still works better out for the deployment aspect.

We currently run 1 DS6.9 Server and 1 CMS 7.1 Server with about 20 CMS Site Servers (serving Task, Package and Monitor Services). On some of those site servers we are also running the PXE Services for DS6.9 so that we can build across sites. It definately works fine but for me currently DS7.1 isn't ready to replace 6.9.

I'm not sure if by Deployment servers you are talking about PXE Servers or full DS Servers, but if you are talking DS Servers it may be worth reading the below, its a guide to running 1 DS Server and multiple PXE servers: https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/articles/leveraging-pxe-servers-transparent-image-and-software-delivery-deployment-server-6x

So yes, you can run both, but no, you can't use them to talk to each other.  There's no connection between the two.  CMS 6.x had a snap-in for DS 6.9, but there is no such snap-in for the CMS 7.x suite.  CMS 7.x will run 100% independantly of DS 6.9

I was going to move from 6.9 to 7.1 until I started using 7.1. I must say that after some time using 7.1 I realized replacing one with the other would be impossible at first so we decided to use both eviroments. 

It's been working great and I feel liking 7.1 better everyday. 

So yes, you can have both and their agents will not conflict with each other whatsoever. I believe you'd have to only use one PXE server as that would conflict with the the other.

Can anyone explain to me how you got the 6.9 DS and 7.1 NS agents working together?  When I try to install the 7.1 agent on top of 6.9 it installs but the machine starts having AeXAuditPls.exe application errors.

If you uninstall the 6.9 agent, the errors go away.  If you try to reinstall the 6.9 agent you get a message saying "Installed agent's version is the same or newer.  Install will be aborted."

What you need to do is check the installation path. As far as I know they should be in two different folders. 7.1 is not replacing 6.9 but is installed as another software so beside, even though 7.1 will see that 6.9 is install and might put some info in the plugin DLL properties.