The Deployment Solution for Clients 7.0 (DS7.0) is a solution that ships with Client Management Solution 7 (CMS7) and offers native integration with the Symantec Management Platform and other CMS7 solutions. The key added benefit is the ability for Deployment Solution servers to share jobs and tasks, images, and security roles in the Symantec Management Console. Your management of image distribution can also take advantage of the platform's hierarchy and replication capabilities.
Deployment Solution for Clients 7.0 allows to automate jobs and images on the client managed by the Notification Server 7. The target computer OS type managed by DS7.0 is Windows XP and Vista. The overall platform is called the Symantec Manage Platform of which the Notification Server 7 (NS) is a component. The Symantec Management Platform provides job scheduling and status reporting. It also incorporates Task Server, which provides scheduling and scripting capabilities.
The Deployment Agent integrates with the Altiris Agent and its capabilities. The Symantec Management Platform's database is called the CMDB. The CMDB now stores the deployment jobs and tasks, inventory information, results, and all core data. The Symantec Management Console provides browser-based management features, and the platform's hierarchy and replication features can be integrated into the image and other deployment-related package distribution.
DS 7.0 adds much of the DS 6.X features and functions to the Symantec Management Platform and allows administrator to manage the imaging jobs and tasks on the Notification Server. DS 7.0 tasks are typically individual management functions such as creating an image of a computer or capturing a computer's settings and files (its personality). Jobs are a combination of tasks, which can be assigned to computers, and control the order the tasks.
DS7.0 key benefit is that core Imaging and deployment tasks are now natively available on the Symantec Management Platform. DS 7.0 includes the following predefined Deployment tasks for Windows XP and Vista computers:
- Capture Disk Images
- Deploy Disk Image
- Backup Disk Image
- Restore Backup Image
- Capture Personality
- Distribute Personality
- Apply System Configuration
- Reboot To
- Boot Media Deployments
DS 7.0 does not include the following features that are in DS 6.9:
- Zero Touch initial Deployment (PXE Support)
- Scripted OS Installs
- Server Deployments
- Linux and MAC Pre-Boot Support
- VMWare Integration
- Migration path from previous DS versions
- Push out unique PCT packages to multiple computers
Important: DS 7.1 is scheduled to include all of these features. DS 7.0 is intended to be used by new customers and NS6 customers, for these customers DS7 will be a very strong tool as it adds functionality to the Symantec Management Platform. DS 6.x customers who utilize PXE, Scripted OS install or other missing features will find DS 7.0 lacking and are encouraged to run DS 7.0 and 6.9 side by side until DS 7.1 is released.
Deployment Solution 7.0 Installation
The installation and operation of DS7 requires the following servers and solutions are previously installed and configured before Installation of Deployment Solution 7.0
- Notification Server 7
- Client Management Solution 7 (Deployment Solution for Clients 7.0 installs with the installation of Client Management Solution 7)
- Altiris Agent for each computer are installed and connected to NS
- Domain, DNS and DHCP server or services needed for DS 7.0 automation to work, your network must include DHCP and DNS.
- All computers in your network must also be able to perform an NSLookup (Name Server Lookup).
- Firewall on the Notification Server and Agents must be disabled.
Since the DS7.0 is installed with CMS7 the rest of this document is focus on installation of the Altiris Agent plug-in for DS7.0.
Deployment Solution 7.0 Agent Plug-in
To manage computers with DS7.0, you must install the Altiris Deployment Agent plug-in into the Altiris Agent. A managed computer is one that has the Altiris Agent installed and is active communicating with the Notification Server. The Deployment Agent plug-in takes the place of the traditional Deployment Solution agents, such as AClient, DAgent or ADLAgent.
Note: If needed, AClient and DAgent can coexist with the Altiris Agent with the Altiris Deployment Agent plug-in. When a Deployment task is assigned to a managed computer, task services are used to instruct an applicable Deployment agent task handler to load and perform the task.
The Deployment Agent for DS7.0 consists of the following task handlers:
- ClientConfiguration.dll
- ClientImageing.dll
- ClientImagingPrep.dll
- ClientPCT.dll
- ClientRebootTo.dll
- Config.dll
By default, these handlers are installed on the managed computer in the following location:
C:\Program Files\Altiris\Altiris Agent\Agents\ Deployment\Agent
Installation Steps for the Deployment Agent Plug-in
- When DS7.0 is installed, default policies to install, upgrade, and uninstall the Deployment Agent plug-in are installed as well into the Symantec Management console. These policies are accessed using the console by selecting the following:
Actions -> Agents/Plug-ins -> Rollout Agents Plug-ins
- Open the Deployment and Migration folder and select Deployment Agent Install policy.
- Enable the policy by changing Off to On. When enabled, the Deployment Agent Install policy automatically installs the Deployment Agent plug-in on all managed computers where the Altiris Agent has not previously been installed. This installation process will take some time based on agent check in or update interval.
- If you do not want to install the agent on all computers, you can either select specific computers or targets.
Figure 1: Install Deployment Agent by enabling the Deployment Agent Install policy
Figure 2: Verify that the Deployment Agent Plug-in was installed by right-clicking on the Altiris Agent -> Setting on the client machine Install Deployment Agent
To install the Deployment Agent plug-in manually:
In the Deployment Agent Install policy, complete the following:
- Select a target or add the computers needing the plug-in to the Applied to frame.
- Configure the schedule.
- Turn on the policy.
- Click Save changes.
Figure 3: Manual installation of the Deployment Agent Plug-in by choosing a specific computer object
Uninstall of the Deployment Agent Plug-in
If needed, the Deployment Agent can be removed.
- Turn on or enable the policy Deployment Agent Uninstall . This policy is turned off by default.
- When this policy is turned on, the Deployment Agent will be uninstalled from all computers meeting the criteria of the Computers with Deployment Agent installed filter.
- You can manually change the Applied to frame to Computers as needed. Changing to Computers lets you select which computers will have the agent removed.
Caution:
When using the Deployment Agent Uninstall policy, you should turn off the Deployment Agent Install policy, otherwise the agent will be reinstalled as soon as it is removed.
Once the DS7.0 agent plug-in is installed you can now run deployment jobs and tasks to manage the computers.