Endpoint Protection

I performed an upgrade from SEP 11.0.4000.2295 to SEP 11.0.4202.75 (MR4 MP2) on 32-bit clients running Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. The upgrade went fine except a momentary loss of network connection that occurs during the upgrade. This caused a few test users to note that Outlook disconnects for a few seconds which caused Outlook to display a pop-up ballon with a connectivity status message. Additionally, I had a user who was doing some work on a SQL server loose connection to his database.

Is this normal behavior? I am only installing the Antivirus (with internet email protection) and Antispyware components. The other components are not installed, particularly the firewall. This short network outage caused several people to report the problem and complain. I am hesitant to perform the upgrade on any of our servers as the short network outage might cause problems with the applications running on those servers.

Upgrading the Symantec Endpoint Protection clients
The easiest way to migrate the Symantec Endpoint Protection clients is by using the auto-upgrade feature. All other client software deployment methods are supported, but the auto-upgrade approach is the best method. The client migration installation can take up to 30 minutes. Therefore, you should migrate when most users are not logged on to their computers.

http://service1.symantec.com/support/ent-security.nsf/docid/2007122711551348

That doesn't work for laptop users or servers. Servers in particular are a problem. Some applications don't handle a loss of connectivity well and this upgrade could cause a wider outage, regardless of when the upgrade is performed. A few of our production servers support systems that are monitored 24/7.

I should have noted that this install was performed on a small test group of approximately 30 workstations and laptops.

I take it from the response that the temporary loss of network connectivity is normal. Has anyone else experienced this problem? I have not seen it mentioned anywhere here or in the documentation.

Yes, the temporary loss of network connectivity is normal. The cause is the TCP/IP stack is being restarted so that the Teefer2 mini port can be put into place.

I'm about to follow this upgrade path so if you don't mind I wanted to confirm this.
Upgrading from 11.0.4000 to 4202 will cause a network outage? A temporary one but an outage nonetheless? Will this be changed to a pending reboot in the next  MP?
In order to save money/environment all of our clients get shut down at the end of the day so we can't do this upgrade after hours. We are also a 24/7 operation so having servers temporarily lose connectivity is not an option either.

Are there plans to remedy this?

thx

If you require a pending reboot, could you not simply "push" the install package as an MSI via GPO?
This should satisfy all your needs.  Simply assign the package to the GPO/OU for groups at a time, and have the users reboot their machines at lunch, start fo shift, end of shift?  Would that be a more viable solution, where "end users in productivitty" will not lose their network connections and ultimately not lose their work?

Just a thought.

Why should I have to re-invent the wheel and go through the hassle of creating the package/mst/gpo/testing etc, when I can use the built in upgrade feature that I paid for?
If it will be addressed then I'll wait for the next MP. If not then that's another story.

mc