Client Management Suite

What is the best way to manually assign agent to a task server? My core preproduction environment consists of the SMP server, a robust site server running task and package services at the same site and another robust server running task and package services. Additionally, I have about 30 site servers running package services.

If I just go ahead and rollout the agent I believe that the task server will be automatically assigned and one will be randomly chosen. But I want to remove the SMP from the task equation all together and then load balance clients across the two core task servers with failover in the event one goes down.

Any advice for the best way to accomplish this?

In the NS console go to: Settings  > Notification Server > Site Server Settings > Site Management > Site Servers

Expand the Site Server you want to configure and you'll see the "Manually Assigned Agents" option. From there you can build a target which will tie the computers in the target to that Site Server.

Thanks for the input, PeeGee. But if I go about assigning them that way won't they also attempt to pull their packages from that server as well even if there is a closer package server?

I suppose if I rephrase the question my objective may be clearer... I really just want to make sure a client never attempts to contact the NS directly for tasks so how can I make sure that when an agent is installed it goes for one of the Task / Package servers instead?

Hi,

put the NS in his own site. In this site he should stay alone with no clients. He only will be contacted if a client founds no task server in his site, i.e. every site needs a task server so your NS won't be contacted.

If you have a site with no task server, you have to use PeeGee's answer to manually assign the agents.

Just to clarify, it's only a design question no functional!

Regards

Hi borluk,

The answer from md investigate points out, how you can "isolate" you NS.

Another option we are using sometimes is the option of "Download packages from NS" which is by default set to 1. If set to 0, only site servers can download packages from the NS. As this only works correctly, if you have sites defined, you need to enable the option manually via the NS Configurator (\Altiris\Notification Server\Bin\Tools): http://www.symantec.com/docs/HOWTO4651

Only use that tool, if you know what you are doing ;)