Symantec ALTIRIS 7.0 SP2 - MANAGEMENT SOLUTION, SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION 7.0 SP2 - V1.0 User Manual
Altiris™ Software
Management Solution from
Symantec Users Guide
Version 7.0 SP2
Altiris™ Software Management Solution from Symantec
Users Guide
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Technical Support . ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... .. 4
Chapter 1 Introducing Software Management Solution . ..... ......... . 13
About Software Management Solution . ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... . 13
Components of Software Management Solution ... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... . 14
What you can do with Software Management Solution .... ......... ..... ..... . 15
How 6.x features compare to Software Management Solution
7.0 ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... 17
Comparison of software agents and settings in versions 6.x and
7.0 ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... .... 18
Comparison of software delivery in versions 6.x and 7.0 .... ..... ..... .. 19
Comparison of Software Portal features in versions 6.x and
7.0 ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... .... 23
Comparison of application management in versions 6.x and
7.0 ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... .... 25
Comparison of virtualized software delivery in versions 6.x and
7.0 ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... .... 27
Comparison of the Wise Toolkit in versions 6.x and 7.0 ... ......... ..... 29
Where to get more information .... ......... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ... 29
Section 1 Setting up Software Management
Solution .. ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... . 31
Chapter 2 Implementing Software Management Solution ........ .... 33
Implementing Software Management Solution . ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... .... 34
About the Software Management Solution installation ..... ..... ......... ..... 36
About the agents and plug-ins that Software Management Solution
uses . ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... .. 37
Installing the Software Management Solution agent .. ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... 38
Extra schedule options section . ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... . 40
Installing theSoftware ManagementSolution plug-in for UNIX, Linux,
and Mac ... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... .... 41
Recommended security privileges for Software Management
Solution ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... .. 43
Contents
Options for installing the Software Portal agent .. ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... . 45
Installing the Software Portal agent . ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... .... 46
Installing the Software Virtualization agent ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... .... 47
Web parts for Software Management Solution .. .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... 48
About Wise Toolkit . ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ... 49
Installing the Wise Toolkit tools ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... 50
Chapter 3 Configuring Software Management Solution
settings . ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .. 53
About Software Management Solution settings .... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... . 54
Configuring the default settings for Managed Software Delivery .. ......... 54
Schedule settings for Managed Software Delivery ... ..... ..... ......... ..... ... 55
About recurring software deliveries ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... . 57
About the Wake-on-LAN setting ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... .... 57
Download settings in Software Management Solution .. ..... ..... ..... ..... ... 58
About the alternate download location for packages . ..... ..... ..... ......... .. 60
Run settings in Software Management Solution ... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... . 61
Run As settings in Software Management Solution ..... ..... ..... ..... ... 62
User run conditions settings in Software Management
Solution ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... 63
Results-based actions settings in Software Management
Solution ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... 67
Reporting settings in Software Management Solution .. ..... ..... ..... .. 69
Advanced options in Managed Software Delivery policies . .... ..... ..... ..... 69
Advanced options for tasks in Software Management Solution ... ..... ..... 70
Task Options settings in Software Management Solution tasks .. ..... ..... . 72
Options for purging Software Management Solution data ... ..... ..... ..... .. 72
About replicating Software Management Solution data ..... ..... ......... .... 73
Chapter 4 Performing common tasks in Software Management
Solution ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... .. 77
About the Software Management worker view ........ ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ... 77
Sources of status information in Software Management
Solution ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... .. 79
About Software Management Solution event files . ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... 81
About Software Management Solution reports ...... ..... ..... ..... ..... ........ 82
Running a Software Management Solution report . ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... 83
Contents8
Section 2 Delivering software ... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... 85
Chapter 5 Introducing software delivery . ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ........ 87
About software delivery .... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... .. 87
Methods for delivering software ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... 88
Methods for uninstalling software ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ... 91
How Software Management Solution integrates with the Software
Catalog and Software Library ... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ......... 93
Chapter 6 Performing advanced software deliveries ..... ..... ..... ..... . 95
About advanced software deliveries . ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... 96
Advanced delivery actions that Managed Software Delivery can
perform .... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ........ 97
About the execution of Managed Software Delivery policies ..... ......... ... 99
About policy applicability, compliance, and remediation . ..... ..... ......... 102
Performing an advanced software delivery ...... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ... 104
Creating a Managed Software Delivery policy with the Managed
Software Delivery wizard ... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... .... 106
Select software resource page .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .. 108
Creating a Managed Software Delivery policy .... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... . 110
About editing a Managed Software Delivery policy . ..... ..... ..... ..... ...... 112
Editing a Managed Software Delivery policy . ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ...... 113
Select Software dialog box ... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ........ 114
About the destinations for a Managed Software Delivery policy . .... ..... 114
Policy Rules/Actions section ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... .... 115
Policy Rules/Actions: Software tab . ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ... 115
Policy Rules/Actions: Policy settings tab ... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ... 119
Software Publishing tab . ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... .... 120
Select Task dialog box .. ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... 122
About software delivery deferral options for the user ... ..... ..... ......... .. 122
About deferring the execution of software remediation ......... ..... ..... .. 124
About installing software that replaces other software ..... ......... ..... ... 124
About delivering multiple software resources and tasks ........ ..... ..... ... 125
Delivering multiple software resources and tasks sequentially . ..... ..... . 126
About the status of Managed Software Delivery policies .... ..... ..... ...... 128
Chapter 7 Performing quick software deliveries .... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... 131
About quick delivery of a single software resource ..... ..... ..... ..... ........ 131
Performing a quick delivery of a single software resource . ..... ..... ..... .. 132
About the Quick Delivery wizard .. ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... 133
Creating a Quick Delivery task with the Quick Delivery wizard ..... ....... 134
9Contents
Software settings for Quick Delivery tasks .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... 135
Chapter 8 Delivering packages .... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... . 137
About Package Delivery .... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... . 137
Delivering a package without defining a software resource ... ..... ..... ... 138
Package settings for Package Delivery tasks ....... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... 139
Chapter 9 Creating and managing Software Management
tasks . ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... . 141
Types of tasks in Software Management Solution .... ..... ..... ......... ..... . 141
Creating a task in Software Management Solution .... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... 142
Editing a task in Software Management Solution . ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... 143
Scheduling a task and selecting computers in Software Management
Solution .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... . 144
Chapter 10 Delivering 6.x software packages ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... 147
About the delivery of Altiris 6.x software packages . ..... .... ..... ..... ..... .. 147
About Legacy Software Delivery .. ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ...... 149
Accessing a Legacy Software Delivery policy . ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... 150
Delivering software packages with the same configurations as 6.x
Software Delivery tasks ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... .... 150
How Legacy Software Delivery policies differ from 6.x Software
Delivery tasks ... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... 151
About assigning 6.x software packages to software resources .... ..... .... 152
Assigning an Altiris 6.x software package to a software resource . ..... ... 153
Assigning multiple Altiris 6.x software packages to software
resources ... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... . 154
Adding 6.x software packages to a package assignment task ... ..... ..... .. 156
Editing 6.x software packages .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .. 157
Section 3 Delivering software from user
requests .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... .. 159
Chapter 11 Introducing the Software Portal . ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... .. 161
About the Software Portal ... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... .... 161
About Software Portal user roles . ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... .. 162
About the software in the Software Portal ... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... .. 163
Contents10
Chapter 12 Introducing software requests ... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... .. 165
About the approval of software requests ... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... .... 165
Software request work flow .... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... . 167
Methods for delivering software from approved software
requests .... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... .. 169
Statuses of software requests in the Software Portal . ......... ..... ..... ..... 170
About request status notifications ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... 172
Chapter 13 Setting up the Software Portal . ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... .... 173
Implementing the Software Portal ........ ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... .. 173
Recommended security settings for the Software Portal .... ..... ..... ..... . 175
Methods for adding software to the Software Portal . ..... ..... ..... ......... . 176
Adding a software resource to the Software Portal . ......... ..... ..... ..... ... 177
About deleting a published software resource ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... 178
Adding a Managed Software Delivery policy to the Software
Portal . ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ... 179
Add User dialog box .... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... . 180
Configuring the Software Portal settings ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ...... 181
Chapter 14 Reviewing and approving software requests ..... ..... ..... 183
Administrator Portal page .... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ... 183
Finding and filtering software requests .... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... 184
Processing a software request on the Administrator Portal page ..... .... 185
Section 4 Managing applications on client
computers ... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ... 189
Chapter 15 Managing Windows Installer applications ..... ..... .... ..... 191
About managing Windows Installer applications ... ..... ..... ..... ......... ... 192
About Windows Installer repair ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ... 193
Types of Windows Installer repairs . ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ... 193
Repairing Windows Installer applications ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... 194
Configuring a Windows Installer Repair policy ... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... 195
Windows Installer Repair settings .. ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... .... 196
About source path updates for Windows Installer applications . ..... ..... 198
Updating the source paths of Windows Installer applications ....... ..... . 199
Configuring a Source Path Update policy .. ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... .... 200
Configuration settings for Source Path Update tasks ..... ..... ..... ......... . 201
About the Application Management agent .. ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... .. 203
Creating customized Windows Installer policies and tasks .... ......... .... 204
11Contents
Command-line options for the Application Management agent ... ..... ... 205
Chapter 16 Managing virtual applications . ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... 211
About managing virtual applications .. ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... 211
About software virtualization . .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... . 212
About the applications that you can virtualize ... ..... ......... ..... ..... 213
About virtual software archive files .... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ... 214
About preventing the loss of virtual application data . ..... ......... ... 215
About exclude entries for virtual software layers ..... ..... ......... ..... 215
About data layers .... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ... 217
Managing virtual applications ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... . 217
Methods for virtualizing software .. ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... .... 219
Virtualizing software during installation .. ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... 220
Methods for installing and managing virtual software . ......... ..... ..... ... 221
Actions that you can perform on a virtual software layer .. ......... ..... ... 223
Installing and managing a virtual software layer with a Software
Virtualization task ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... . 225
Software Virtualization settings ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ... 226
Installing andmanaging a virtual software layer with a Quick Delivery
or Package Delivery task ... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... 228
Installing and managing a virtual software layer with a Managed
Software Delivery policy ... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... 230
Index . ......... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ... 233
Contents12
Introducing Software
Management Solution
This chapter includes the following topics:
■ About Software Management Solution
■ Components of Software Management Solution
■ What you can do with Software Management Solution
■ How 6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0
■ Where to get more information
About Software Management Solution
Software Management Solution provides intelligent and bandwidth-sensitive
distribution and management of software from a central Web console. It
significantly reduces desktop visits and lets you easily support your mobile work
force.
Software Management Solution also lets users directly download and install
approved software or request other software.
Software Management Solution integrates with the Software Catalog and the
Software Library that are part of the Symantec Management Platform. By
leveraging this information, Software Management Solution ensures that the
correct software gets installed, remains installed, and runs without interference
from othersoftware. This integration lets your administrators focuson delivering
the correct software instead of redefining the packages, command lines, and so
on for each delivery.
1
Chapter
For more information,see thetopics about the Software Catalog and the Software
Library in the Symantec Management Platform Help.
Software Management Solution combines the functionality of earlier versions of
Software DeliverySolution andApplication Management Solution. It also supports
the software virtualization technology that was available in Altiris Software
Virtualization Solution.
See “How6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0” on page17.
Software ManagementSolution supportspackages for the Windows, UNIX, Linux,
and Mac operating systems. With few exceptions, all the functions in Software
Management Solution work the same for all platforms. For example, you use the
same method to create a delivery task for a Windows, UNIX, Linux, or Mac OS
package.
For acomplete list of the platforms that Software ManagementSolution supports,
see the Software Management Solution Release Notes.
See “How Software Management Solution integrates with the Software Catalog
and Software Library” on page 93.
See “Components of Software Management Solution” on page 14.
See “What you can do with Software Management Solution” on page 15.
Components of Software Management Solution
The components of Software Management Solution let you deliver and manage
software on client computers.
Table 1-1
Components of Software Management Solution
DescriptionComponent
You can use any of several methods to deliver software to client
computers. The method that you use to create the task or policy
depends on your delivery requirements.
See “Methods for delivering software” on page 88.
Software delivery tasks
and policies
The Software Portal is a Web-based interface that is installed
on the client computers. With the Software Portal, users can
request and install software with little or no administrator
involvement.
See “About the Software Portal” on page 161.
Software Portal
Introducing Software Management Solution
Components of Software Management Solution
14
Table 1-1
Components of Software Management Solution (continued)
DescriptionComponent
You can manage Windows Installer applications as follows:
■ Repair broken Windows Installer applications.
■ Update the source paths for Windows Installer applications.
See “Aboutmanaging Windows Installer applications” on page 192.
Tasks and policies for
managing Windows
Installer applications
You canuse softwarevirtualization to facilitate the management
of most Windows-based software on managed computers.
Software virtualization lets you avoid conflicts between
applications. Italso letsyou quicklyrestore abroken application
to its original installed state.
See “Managing virtual applications” on page 217.
Tasks for managing
virtual applications
Predefined reportslet youeasily viewand analyze your software
management data.You canalso create your own custom reports.
See “About Software Management Solution reports” on page 82.
Reports
Wise Toolkit provides the tools that let administrators create,
customize, and manage installations.
Wise Toolkit consists of the following tools:
■ Wise InstallTailor
■ WiseScript for NS
See “About Wise Toolkit” on page 49.
Wise Toolkit
See “What you can do with Software Management Solution” on page 15.
What you can do with Software Management Solution
Software Management Solution lets you distribute and manage the software that
is used in your organization.
See “About Software Management Solution” on page 13.
15Introducing Software Management Solution
What you can do with Software Management Solution
Table 1-2
What you can do with Software Management Solution
DescriptionTask
Configuration settings control the behavior of Managed Software Delivery policies.
Rather thanconfiguring these settings individually for each policy, you can configure
the default settings that apply to all new Managed Software Delivery policies. Then
you can change the settings for a specific policy only when needed.
See “About Software Management Solution settings” on page 54.
See “Configuring the default settings for Managed Software Delivery” on page 54.
Configure the default
settings for Managed
Software Delivery policies.
Managed Software Delivery simplifies your advanced software deliveries by letting
you deliver software as a unit, which can include multiple software resources and
their dependencies. For example, you can create a single Managed Software Delivery
policy that installs an application and its associated patches and service packs.
Managed Software Delivery can also run any task at any stage of the delivery.
See “About advanced software deliveries” on page 96.
See “Performing an advanced software delivery” on page 104.
Perform an advanced
software delivery.
You can perform a quick delivery of a single software resource that runs with
minimum configuration.You canuse thetask-based QuickDelivery methodto specify
the softwareto deliver, the action to perform, and the computers to deliver to. Because
the softwareresources andthe deliverysettings are predefined, Quick Delivery makes
it easy for administrators and non-administrators to deliver software.
See “About quick delivery of a single software resource” on page 131.
See “Performing a quick delivery of a single software resource” on page 132.
Perform a quick delivery of
a single software resource.
Package Delivery lets you quickly push out any package regardless of whether it is
associated with a software resource.
See “About Package Delivery” on page 137.
See “Delivering a package without defining a software resource” on page 138.
Deliver a package without
defining asoftware resource.
When you upgrade from Notification Server 6.x to Symantec Management Platform
7.0, you can migrate your software-related tasks and packages.
See “How 6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0” on page 17.
For more information about 6.x data migration, see the Symantec Management
Platform Release Notes.
Deliver the tasks and
packages that were created
in Altiris Software Delivery
Solution 6.x.
By using the Software Portal, users can request and install software through a
Web-based interface with little or no administrator involvement.
See “About the Software Portal” on page 161.
Deliver software to fulfill
user requests.
Introducing Software Management Solution
What you can do with Software Management Solution
16
Table 1-2
What you can do with Software Management Solution (continued)
DescriptionTask
You can create policies and tasks to manage Windows Installer applications on
managed computers as follows:
■ Repair Windows Installer applications.
You canproactively identifyand repairbroken applicationson selectedcomputers.
If an application needs repair, a repair command is sent to the Windows Installer
service to initiate self-repair.
See “Repairing Windows Installer applications” on page 194.
■ Update the source paths for Windows Installer applications.
You can update the source paths of Windows Installer applications with resilient
source paths. The updated source paths point to the package servers that you
designate. If an application needs modification or repair, Windows Installer can
access the needed installation file from one of these servers.
See “Updating the source paths of Windows Installer applications” on page 199.
See “About managing Windows Installer applications” on page 192.
Manage Windows Installer
installations on client
computers.
You can use software virtualization to facilitate the management of most
Windows-based software on managed computers. Software virtualization lets you
avoid conflicts between applications and quickly restore a broken application to its
original installed state.
Software ManagementSolution letsyou performthe following virtualization actions:
■ Virtualize applications during a Managed Software Delivery installation.
■ Deliver andinstall virtuallayers withany SoftwareManagement Solutiondelivery
policy or task.
■ Manage the existing virtual layers on the client computers.
See “Managing virtual applications” on page 217.
Manage virtual applications.
How 6.x features compare to Software Management
Solution 7.0
Software Management Solution7.0 replacesthe 6.xversions ofSoftware Delivery
Solution and Application Management Solution as well as some features of
Software Virtualization Solution. Software Management Solution contains most
of thefunctionality of those solutions as wellas many new features and functions.
You can discover how to perform familiar 6.x tasks in Software Management
Solution 7.0 by reviewing the comparisons between the features of the different
versions.
Comparisons between the tasks in 6.x and the tasks in 7.0 are available as follows:
17Introducing Software Management Solution
How 6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0
■ Implementation
See “Comparison of software agents and settings in versions 6.x and 7.0”
on page 18.
■ Software delivery
See “Comparison of software delivery in versions 6.x and 7.0” on page 19.
■ Software Portal
See “Comparison of Software Portal features in versions 6.x and 7.0”
on page 23.
■ Application management
See “Comparison of application management in versions 6.x and 7.0”
on page 25.
■ Software virtualization
See “Comparison of virtualized software delivery in versions 6.x and 7.0”
on page 27.
■ Wise Toolkit
See “Comparison of the Wise Toolkit in versions 6.x and 7.0” on page 29.
Comparison of software agents and settings in versions 6.x and 7.0
Software Management Solution 7.0 contains many of the delivery settings that
were available in earlier versions of Software Delivery Solution. However, you
can configure those settings as global defaults instead of re-entering them for
each new software delivery policy or task. The global defaults save time during
the creation of policies and tasks, and they help provide consistency in how your
software deliveries run.
Software Management Solution 7.0 requires a different set of agents than earlier
versions of Software Delivery Solution and Application Management Solution.
See “Implementing Software Management Solution” on page 34.
Introducing Software Management Solution
How 6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0
18
Table 1-3
Comparison of Software Management Solution agents and settings
in versions 6.x and 7.0
Method in 7.0Method in 6.xTask
Agent and plug-in requirements are as follows:
■ Software Management Framework agent
This agent is installed with the Altiris Agent.
■ Software Management Solution agent for Windows
■ Software ManagementSolution plug-infor UNIX,Linux,
and Mac
■ Software Portal agent (Windows only)
■ Application Management agent (Windows only)
See “About the agents and plug-ins that Software
Management Solution uses” on page 37.
Agent requirements are as
follows:
■ Software Delivery agent
■ Task Synchronization
agent
■ Software Delivery Task
Server agent
■ State Management agent
■ Windows Installer agent
Install agents on the
client computer, in
addition to the Altiris
Agent.
You can configure Managed Software Delivery settings as
follows:
■ Configure the default settings that govern all new
Managed Software Delivery policies.
■ Override thedefault settingswhen youcreate aManaged
Software Deliverypolicy withoutthe ManagedSoftware
Delivery wizard.
■ Override the default settings when you edit an existing
Managed Software Delivery policy.
See “Configuringthe defaultsettings for Managed Software
Delivery” on page 54.
Each typeof taskin Software Management Solution contains
the default settings that control how it runs. You can
override the default settings for specific tasks.
See “Advanced options for tasks in Software Management
Solution” on page 70.
Configure the settings when
you create each policy or
task.
Configure settings for
Software Delivery
policies and tasks.
See “How6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0” on page17.
Comparison of software delivery in versions 6.x and 7.0
Software Management Solution 7.0 is completely new. With few exceptions, you
can performall the software delivery actions that wereavailable in earlier versions
of SoftwareDelivery Solution. However, Software Management Solution provides
the additional features and functions that provide more reliable management of
your software before, during, and after delivery.
See “About software delivery” on page 87.
19Introducing Software Management Solution
How 6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0
In versions earlier than 7.0, the delivery of non-Windows software required the
separate installation of Software Delivery Solution for UNIX, Linux, and Mac.
Software Management Solution 7.0 combines support for Windows software and
non-Windows software in one product.
Table 1-4
Comparison of software delivery in versions 6.x and 7.0
Method in 7.0Method in 6.xTask
Depending on the complexity of your requirements, create
a task or policy as follows:
■ Create a Quick Delivery task to deliver a single software
resource.
See “Performing a quick delivery of a single software
resource” on page 132.
■ Create a Managed Software Delivery policy to fulfill
advanced delivery requirements.
See “Advanced delivery actions that Managed Software
Delivery can perform” on page 97.
■ Create a Package Delivery task to push out a package
that is not associated with a software resource.
This feature replaces the functionality of the Software
Delivery Task Server plug-in.
See “Delivering a package without defining a software
resource” on page 138.
You can also migrate 6.x tasks to the following 7.0 policies
and tasks:
■ You can migrate Software Delivery tasks to Legacy
Software Delivery policies.
We recommend that you use these policies only if you
cannot deliverthe packageswith one of the new delivery
methods.
We recommend that you use Legacy Software Delivery
policies only for 6.x packages that you cannot deliver
with Quick Delivery or Managed Software Delivery.
See “About Legacy Software Delivery” on page 149.
■ You can migrate Software Delivery Task Server Plug-in
tasks to Package Delivery tasks.
Create a Software Delivery
task in Software Delivery
Solution or create a Deliver
Software task in Altiris Task
Server.
Deliver software or
push out a package.
Introducing Software Management Solution
How 6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0
20
Table 1-4
Comparison of software delivery in versions 6.x and 7.0 (continued)
Method in 7.0Method in 6.xTask
Create a Managed Software Delivery policy that contains
multiple software resources and tasks.
You canalso migrate6.x Sequential Software Delivery tasks
to Managed Delivery policies.
See “Delivering multiple software resources and tasks
sequentially” on page 126.
Create a sequential Software
Delivery task on the
Software Delivery Task
page.
Deliver multiple
software packages in
sequence.
Use QuickDelivery, ManagedSoftware Delivery,or Package
Delivery as appropriate. Software Management Solution
uses the same interfaces for these operating systems as for
Windows.
See “Methods for delivering software” on page 88.
You can also migrate 6.x Software Delivery tasks to Legacy
Software Delivery policies.
We recommend that you use Legacy Software Delivery
policies only for 6.x packages that you cannot deliver with
Quick Delivery or Managed Software Delivery.
See “About Legacy Software Delivery” on page 149.
Create a Software Delivery
task in Software Delivery
Solution for UNIX, Linux,
and Mac.
Deliver software to a
UNIX, Linux, or Mac
client computer.
Handheld devices are not supported in Software
Management Solution 7.0.
Create a Software Delivery
task in Software Delivery
Solution for Pocket PC.
Deliver software to a
handheld device.
The functions are similar to those in 6.x.
Depending on how the software was installed, uninstall it
as follows:
■ If the software to be uninstalled was installed with a
Software ManagementSolution taskor policy,clone the
original installation task or policy. Then edit the clone
to select an uninstall command line.
■ Create a new Software Management Solution task or
policy for the software resource and select an uninstall
command line. You can use any of the methods for
delivering software.
See “Methods for uninstalling software” on page 91.
Depending on how the
software was installed,
uninstall it as follows:
■ Clone a software delivery
task forthat softwareand
add the uninstall switch
to the command line.
■ Create a new task with a
package and program to
uninstall the software.
Uninstall softwarefrom
a client computer.
21Introducing Software Management Solution
How 6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0
Table 1-4
Comparison of software delivery in versions 6.x and 7.0 (continued)
Method in 7.0Method in 6.xTask
Create or edit a software resource in the Software Catalog,
associate it with one or more packages, and create one or
more command lines. The Command Line Builder can help
you create the command lines.
The Software Catalog is part of the Symantec Management
Platform.
For moreinformation, seethe topicsabout creatingsoftware
resources andcommand linesin theSymantec Management
Platform Help.
You can also migrate 6.x packages and command lines for
both Windows and non-Windows software to 7.0 packages
and command lines. Before you can deliver a migrated
package withManaged SoftwareDelivery orQuick Delivery,
assign the package to a software resource in the Software
Catalog.
For more information about 6.x data migration, see the
Symantec Management Platform Release Notes.
Define a package in one of
the following locations:
■ On the Software
Resources tab in the
Altiris Console
■ In the Software Delivery
wizard
Define a program (command
line) in the Software
Programs dialog box, on the
Programs tab.
Define thepackages and
command lines that
install software.
You canobtain statusand otherinformation aboutSoftware
Management Solutiontasks, policies,and otheractions from
several sources. Each source provides a different type or
format of information depending on your needs.
Many of the sources for Software Management status
information are the same as in earlier versions. The way
that you access those sources might be different.
See “Sourcesof statusinformation inSoftware Management
Solution” on page 79.
Status events are sent to the
server for server-side
reporting. Details are saved
locally on the computer,
where you can view them in
the Altiris Agent user
interface.
Verify that a task or
policy was successfully
delivered to a managed
computer.
Specify the retention period for specific data classes on the
Purging Maintenance page that appearsin the settings for
Notification Server.
See “Options for purging Software Management Solution
data” on page 72.
Configure settings on the
Software Delivery Data
Purging page.
Purge softwaredelivery
data.
See “How6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0” on page17.
Introducing Software Management Solution
How 6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0
22
Comparison of Software Portal features in versions 6.x and 7.0
Software Management Solution 7.0 contains the features that were available in
earlier versions of the Software Portal. The Software Portal is redesigned on
both the server side and the client side to increase its flexibility and ease of use.
See “About the Software Portal” on page 161.
Table 1-5
Comparison of Software Portal features in 6.x and 7.0
Method in 7.0Method in 6.xTask
Complete the Software Portal Settings page and the
Software Portal Agent Installation page.
See “Configuring the Software Portalsettings” on page181.
See “Installing the Software Portal agent” on page 46.
Complete the Software
Portal Settings page and the
User Preferences tab.
Categorize softwarerequests
by using the Publisher
option in the package
Properties.
Configure theSoftware
Portal.
Set the following types of permissions:
■ Configure security roles for the administrators and
managers who need to use the Software Portal.
See “Recommended security settings for the Software
Portal” on page 175.
■ When you publish each software resource to the
Software Portal, define the users who can request and
install that software.
See “Methodsfor addingsoftware tothe SoftwarePortal”
on page 176.
Options are as follows:
■ Set options on the
Software Portal tab on
the software package
resource page.
■ Use the Software Portal
Configuration page to
assign, remove, or
configure permissionson
one or more portal items
at a time.
■ For sequential tasks, set
options on the Software
Portal tab on the
Sequential Task page.
Configure permissions
for theSoftwarePortal.
23Introducing Software Management Solution
How 6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0
Table 1-5
Comparison of Software Portal features in 6.x and 7.0 (continued)
Method in 7.0Method in 6.xTask
Options for adding software to the Software Portal are as
follows:
■ Add (publish)a software resource to the SoftwarePortal
to deliver a single piece of software with minimum
configuration. When you publish a software resource, a
Quick Delivery task is created.
■ Publish a Managed Software Delivery policy to the
Software Portal to deliver one or more software
resources with complex delivery requirements.
See “Methods for adding software to the Software Portal”
on page 176.
Use the Software Portal tab
on the Software Package
page to manage the
availability of software that
a user can add manually.
You can also use the
Software Portal tab on the
Sequential Task page.
Add software to the
Software Portal.
The useropens theSoftware Portal from any of the following
shortcuts:
■ On the Desktop
■ On the Start menu
■ On the Altiris Agent’s context menu.
New functionality is also provided. For example, the user
can addcomments tosoftware requestsand cancelsoftware
requests.
The user opens the Software
Portal from any of the
following locations:
■ From a URL
■ On the Start menu
■ On the Altiris Agent’s
context menu.
Request software from
the Software Portal on
the client computer.
Approvers of software requests are as follows:
■ Administrator, Software Catalog
The Software Catalog administrator can pre-approve
software whenthe software is published to the Software
Portal from the Software Catalog.
■ Administrator, Software Portal
The SoftwarePortal administrator can approve requests
on the Administrator Portalpage, which appears in the
Symantec Management Console.
■ Manager
A manager can approve requests from the Manager
Portalpage, which appears in the Software Portal on
the client computer.
See “About the approval ofsoftware requests” on page 165.
Administrators canuse Alert
Manager or Helpdesk
Solution toretrieve software
requests, approvethem, deny
them, and send email
notifications.
The software requests that
require approval are added
to the Asset Management
queue. The administrator
uses the Software Portal
wizard to process the
requests.
Approve a user’s
software request.
See “How6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0” on page17.
Introducing Software Management Solution
How 6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0
24
Comparison of application management in versions 6.x and 7.0
(Windows only)
In Software Management Solution 7.0, you can use several of the application
management features that were available in earlier versions of Application
Management Solution.
See “About managing Windows Installer applications” on page 192.
Table 1-6
Comparison of application management in versions 6.x and 7.0
Method in 7.0Method in 6.xTask
Create aManaged Software Delivery policy forthe software
that you plan to check and define a recurring schedule.
The ManagedSoftware Deliverypolicy installsthe software
to a specific known state on the client computer. On a
recurring basis, the policy performs a compliance check to
verify that the state is maintained. If the state of the
software is out of compliance, Managed Software Delivery
performs a remediation to restore the correct state.
See “About policy applicability, compliance, and
remediation” on page 102.
See “Performingan advancedsoftware delivery” on page104.
Use package management
tasks and state management
tasks. The package
management tasks can be
created either automatically
with the Wise Integration
Component andpackage rule
templates, or manually.
Evaluate and maintain
the correct state of the
software on a client
computer.
Options forrepairing Windows Installer applications areas
follows:
■ Create a Managed Software Delivery policy with a
recurring schedule.
Managed Software Delivery gives you more controlover
the scanning and remediation than other methods. The
software resource’s detection rule lets you define how
to accurately identify the software on the client
computer. When you schedule the policy, you can select
when to perform the remediation.
See “Performing an advanced software delivery”
on page 104.
■ Create a Windows Installer Repair policy or task.
The policy or task scans the computer for broken
applications. If an application needs repair, the same
policy or task sends a repair command to the Windows
Installer service to initiate self-repair.
See “Repairing Windows Installer applications”
on page 194.
Scan a computer with a
Windows Installer scan
policy and repair broken
applications witha Windows
Installer repair policy.
Repair Windows
Installer applications.
25Introducing Software Management Solution
How 6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0
Table 1-6
Comparison of application management in versions 6.x and 7.0
(continued)
Method in 7.0Method in 6.xTask
Create inventory rules and associate them with specific
software resources in the SoftwareCatalog. Inventory rules
can determine whether a client computer has the correct
environment for an installation of the software or whether
it has specific software installed.
The Software Catalog is part of the Symantec Management
Platform.
For more information, see the topics about creating and
editing inventory rules in the Symantec Management
Platform Help.
See “About policy applicability, compliance, and
remediation” on page 102.
Create package rule
templates in Package Rule
Management.
Create the rules that
evaluate whether a
package is installed
properly ona collection
of computers.
Configure a Source Path Update policy or create a Source
Path Update task.
See “Updating the source paths of Windows Installer
applications” on page 199.
Scan computers with a
Windows Installer scan
policy. Use the Windows
InstallerSourcePath wizard
to create a program and
policy to change the
installation source path.
Manage source paths
for Windows Installer
applications.
The baselineinventory feature in Application Management
Solution 6.x is now part of Inventory Solution 7.0.
For more information, see the topics about baseline
inventory in the Inventory Solution Help.
Generate a baseline that
identifies the files or registry
settings on a computer and
then run compliance scans.
Compare files and
registry keys between
different client
computers and track
how computers change
over time.
The Application Management agent replaces the Windows
Installer agent.You customizethe ApplicationManagement
agent by opening its software resource in the Software
Catalog and modifying its command line.
The ability to edit a software resource is available in
Software Management Framework, which is part of the
Symantec Management Platform.
For more information, see the topics about command lines
in the Symantec Management Platform Help.
Change theconfiguration INI
file that the agent reads at
startup, or edit
command-line options for
the programs that run the
agent.
Customize how the
Windows Installer
agent runs.
Introducing Software Management Solution
How 6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0
26
Table 1-6
Comparison of application management in versions 6.x and 7.0
(continued)
Method in 7.0Method in 6.xTask
The Software Management Framework agent and the
Software Management Solution agent evaluate the state of
the managed computers. The agents use the rules that are
associated with a software resource.
See “About the agents and plug-ins that Software
Management Solution uses” on page 37.
The StateManagement agent
evaluates the state of
packages on managed
computers byusing therules
that are specified in state or
package management tasks.
Evaluate the state of
software on managed
computers.
See “How6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0” on page17.
Comparison of virtualized software delivery in versions 6.x and 7.0
(Windows only)
In Software Management Solution 7.0, you can use several of the software
virtualization features that were available in earlier versions of Software
Virtualization Solution.
See “Managing virtual applications” on page 217.
The managed computers on which you plan to use software virtualization must
have the Software Virtualization agent installed. The Software Catalog contains
a software resource for the Software Virtualization agent, which you can install
with any delivery method.
Table 1-7
Comparison of virtualized software delivery in versions 6.x and 7.0
Method in 7.0Method in 6.xTask
Create a Managed Software Delivery policy to deliver the
software. In the policy, select the option to install the
software into a virtual layer. This feature eliminates the
need to repackage the application into a VSA package. It
also lets you retain all the logicthat is built in to the original
MSI file.
See “Virtualizingsoftware during installation” on page220.
Capture an application and
its data into a virtual
software package by using
any of the capture tools in
Software Virtualization
Solution. Export the layer to
a virtual software archive
(VSA) file.
Virtualize software.
27Introducing Software Management Solution
How 6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0
Table 1-7
Comparison of virtualized software delivery in versions 6.x and 7.0
(continued)
Method in 7.0Method in 6.xTask
Deliver and install an existing VSA package as you would
any othersoftware package.Create aSoftware Virtualization
task, a Quick Delivery task, a Package Delivery task, or a
Managed Software Delivery policy and specify a VSA
software resource.
See “Methods for delivering software” on page 88.
You canalso migrate 6.x virtualization data to the following
7.0 tasks and packages:
■ You can migrate 6.x SVS Task Server Plug-in tasks to
Software Virtualization tasks.
See “Installing and managing a virtual software layer
with a Software Virtualization task” on page 225.
■ You can migrate 6.x virtual software packages to 7.0
packages.
Before youcan delivera migratedpackage withManaged
Software Delivery, assign the package to a software
resource in the Software Catalog.
For more information about 6.x data migration, see the
Symantec Management Platform Release Notes.
Options are as follows:
■ Create aVirtual Software
task and specify a VSA
package.
■ Create an SVS Command
task and use the Import
layer command.
Deliver anexisting VSA
file and import it into a
virtual software layer
on a client computer.
Create any of the following tasks or policies:
■ Software Virtualization task
Manages any virtual software layer regardless of how it
was created.
■ Quick Delivery task or Package Delivery task
Manages only the virtual software layers that were
created by importing a VSA file.
■ Managed Software Delivery policy
Manages multiple virtual software layers at the same
time.
See “Methodsfor installingand managing virtual software”
on page 221.
You can also migrate 6.x SVS Task Server Plug-in tasks to
Software Virtualization tasks.
Options are as follows:
■ Create aVirtual Software
task.
■ Create an SVS Command
task, which requires the
SVS Task Server plug-in.
■ Use the SVS User Admin
utility to trigger SVS
actions from user or
group logon and logoff
events.
Manage virtual
software layers on a
client computer.
See “How6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0” on page17.
Introducing Software Management Solution
How 6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0
28
Comparison of the Wise Toolkit in versions 6.x and 7.0
Software Management Solution 7.0 contains the Wise Toolkit tools that were
available in earlier versions of Software Delivery. The Wise Toolkit tools work
the same as before, except that you install and access them differently.
Table 1-8
Comparison of the Wise Toolkit in versions 6.x and 7.0
Method in 7.0Method in 6.xTask
Use any delivery method in
Software ManagementSolution to
install the appropriate software
resource.
See “Installing the Wise Toolkit
tools” on page 50.
Each tool is installed the first
time that you start it.
Install Wise Toolkit
On the computer where you
installed the tool, select it from
the Start menu.
On the computer where you
installed the tool, start the
tool from one of the
following locations:
■ On the Task view in the
Altiris Console
■ On the Start menu
Start the tools
See “How6.x features compare to Software Management Solution 7.0” on page17.
Where to get more information
Use the following documentation resources to learn and use this product.
Table 1-9
Documentation resources
LocationDescriptionDocument
http://kb.altiris.com/
You can search for the product name under
Release Notes.
Information about new features and
important issues.
This information is available asan article in
the Altiris knowledge base.
Release Notes
29Introducing Software Management Solution
Where to get more information
Table 1-9
Documentation resources (continued)
LocationDescriptionDocument
■ The Documentation Library, which is
available in the Symantec Management
Console on the Help menu.
■ The Product Support page, which is
available at the following URL:
http://www.symantec.com/business
/support/all_products.jsp
When you open your product’s support
page, look for the Documentation link
on the right side of the page.
Information about how to use this product,
including detailedtechnical informationand
instructions for performing common tasks.
This informationis available in PDF format.
User’s Guide
The Documentation Library, which is
available in the Symantec Management
Console on the Help menu.
Context-sensitive help is available for most
screens in the Symantec Management
Console.
You can open context-sensitive help in the
following ways:
■ The F1 key
■ The Contextcommand, whichis available
in the Symantec Management Console
on the Help menu.
Information about how to use this product,
including detailedtechnical informationand
instructions for performing common tasks.
Help is available at the solution level and at
the suite level.
This information is available in HTML help
format.
Help
In addition to the product documentation, you can use the following resources to
learn about Altiris products.
Table 1-10
Altiris information resources
LocationDescriptionResource
http://kb.altiris.com/Articles, incidents,and issuesabout Altiris
products.
Knowledge base
http://www.symantec.com/connect
/endpoint-management-virtualization
An online magazine that contains best
practices, tips, tricks, forums, and articles
for users of this product.
Symantec Connect
(formerly Altiris Juice)
Introducing Software Management Solution
Where to get more information
30
Setting up Software
Management Solution
■ Chapter 2. Implementing Software Management Solution
■ Chapter 3. Configuring Software Management Solution settings
■ Chapter 4. Performing common tasks in Software Management Solution
1
Section
32
Implementing Software
Management Solution
This chapter includes the following topics:
■ Implementing Software Management Solution
■ About the Software Management Solution installation
■ About the agents and plug-ins that Software Management Solution uses
■ Installing the Software Management Solution agent
■ Extra schedule options section
■ Installing the Software Management Solution plug-in for UNIX, Linux, and
Mac
■ Recommended security privileges for Software Management Solution
■ Options for installing the Software Portal agent
■ Installing the Software Portal agent
■ Installing the Software Virtualization agent
■ Web parts for Software Management Solution
■ About Wise Toolkit
■ Installing the Wise Toolkit tools
2
Chapter
Implementing Software Management Solution
Before you use Software Management Solution, you must set it up and prepare it
for use.
See “About Software Management Solution” on page 13.
The prerequisitesfor implementingSoftware Management Solution are as follows:
■ Symantec Management Platform and Software Management Solution must
be installed on the Notification Server computer.
For more information, see the Symantec Management Platform Installation
Guide.
■ The Altiris Agentmust be installed on the computers that you plan to manage.
Software Management Solution requires that target computers be managed.
A managed computer is one on which the Altiris Agent is installed.
For more information, see the topics about installing the Altiris Agent in the
Symantec Management Platform Help.
■ The Altiris Agent for UNIX, Linux, and Mac must be installed on the
non-Windows computers that you plan to manage.
For more information, see the topics about installing the Altiris Agent for
UNIX, Linux, and Mac in the Symantec Management Platform Help.
Implementing Software Management Solution
Implementing Software Management Solution
34
Table 2-1
Process for implementing Software Management Solution
DescriptionActionStep
The Software Management Solution agents and plug-ins are
required for you to deliver and manage software on client
computers.
Perform thisstep every time that you need to install the Software
Management Solution agent on the client computers that do not
have it.
The agent or plug-in that you install depends on the operating
systems that you support in your organization as follows:
■ Software Management Solution agent for Windows
See “Installing the Software Management Solution agent”
on page 38.
■ Software Management Solution plug-in for UNIX, Linux, and
Mac
This plug-in also provides support for the AIX, HP-UX, and
Solaris operating systems.
See “Installing the Software Management Solution plug-in
for UNIX, Linux, and Mac” on page 41.
You may have performed this step when you installed the
Symantec Management Platform or when you added new
computers to the network.
The installation of the Software Management Solution agent
contains theoptions thatlet youinstall the Software Portal agent
at the same time.
See “Optionsfor installing the Software Portal agent” on page 45.
Install the Software Management
Solution agents and plug-ins on
managed computers.
Step 1
Administrators need the appropriate privileges to deliver and
manage the software in your organization.
See “Recommendedsecurity privilegesfor Software Management
Solution” on page 43.
You or another administrator may have already performed this
step whenyou configuredsecurity for the Symantec Management
Platform.
For more information, see the topics about setting up security
and Software Management Solution settings in the Symantec
Management Platform Help.
Configure security privileges for
Software Management Solution.
Step 2
35Implementing Software Management Solution
Implementing Software Management Solution
Table 2-1
Process for implementing Software Management Solution
(continued)
DescriptionActionStep
You can configure the settings that control the behavior of
Managed Software Delivery policies. Rather than configuring
these settingsindividually foreach policy,you canconfigure the
default settingsthat apply to all new Managed Software Delivery
policies.
See “Configuring the default settings for Managed Software
Delivery” on page 54.
Configure default settings for
Managed Software Delivery.
Step 3
The Software Portal is installed on the Notification Server
computer when Software Management Solution is installed. If
you planto usethe SoftwarePortal, you must perform additional
implementation steps.
See “Implementing the Software Portal” on page 173.
(Optional) Implement the
Software Portal.
Step 4
If you plan to use software virtualization to manage
Windows-based softwareon clientcomputers, install the Software
Virtualization agent on those computers.
See “Installing the Software Virtualization agent” on page 47.
(Optional) Install the Software
Virtualization agent.
Step 5
Wise Toolkit provides the tools that let administrators create,
customize, and manage installations.
See “Installing the Wise Toolkit tools” on page 50.
(Optional) Install Wise Toolkit.Step 6
About the Software Management Solution installation
Software Management Solutionis installedfrom SymantecInstallation Manager.
The Symantec Installation Manager (SIM) handles the installation and initial
configuration ofthe SymantecManagement Platform.This easy-to-use installation
wizard verifies installation readiness and steps you through the product
installation and configuration.
If you need to install or uninstall Software Management Solution after the initial
platform installation,Symantec Installation Manager is available in the Symantec
Management Console.
For moreinformation, see the Symantec Management Platform Installation Guide.
Implementing Software Management Solution
About the Software Management Solution installation
36
About the agents and plug-ins that Software
Management Solution uses
Certain agents and plug-ins must be installed on the client computers to manage
and run the Software Management Solution functions.
Predefined tasksare provided to install these agents andplug-ins. Each predefined
task installsone or more software resources that comprise the agents.For example,
you can include the Software Portal agent with the installation of the Software
Management Solution agent. When you do so, the predefined task installs the
software resources for both agents.
Table 2-2
Agents and plug-ins that Software Management Solution uses
DescriptionAgent or plug-in
Manages all the software delivery functions in Software Management Solution.
Software deliveriesare closely integrated with the software resources in the Software
Catalog. TheSoftware Management Framework agent managesthe packagedownloads
and other aspects of software delivery.
The Software Management Framework agent is installed on the client computers
when the Altiris Agent is installed.
For more information, see the topics about the Software Management Framework
agent in the Symantec Management Platform Help.
Software Management
Framework agent
Helps to provide support for software delivery, software management, and software
virtualization on Windows computers. Optionally, this agent can also install the
Software Portal agent on client computers.
The software resource that comprises this agent is named Software Management
Solution Agent.
See “Installing the Software Management Solution agent” on page 38.
Software Management
Solution agent for Windows
37Implementing Software Management Solution
About the agents and plug-ins that Software Management Solution uses
Table 2-2
Agents and plug-ins that Software Management Solution uses
(continued)
DescriptionAgent or plug-in
Provides the ability to deliver software and manage software on non-Windows
computers and to support the Software Portal on Mac computers.
This plug-inalso provides support for the AIX, HP-UX, and Solaris operating systems.
The softeware resources that comprise this agent are as follows:
■ Software Management Solution Plug-in for AIX
■ Software Management Solution Plug-in for HP-UX
■ Software Management Solution Plug-in for Linux
■ Software Management Solution Plug-in for Mac
■ Software Management Solution Plug-in for Solaris
See “Installingthe SoftwareManagement Solution plug-in for UNIX, Linux, and Mac”
on page 41.
Software Management
Solution Plug-in for UNIX,
Linux, and Mac
Enables the Software Portal Web application on Windows-based client computers.
It configures the URL that the users use to access the Software Portal. The agent
also installs shortcuts to the Software Portal interface on the client computers.
The software resource that comprises this agent is named Software Portal Agent.
See “Installing the Software Portal agent” on page 46.
Software Portal agent
Manages the policies and the tasks that perform Windows Installer repairs or source
path updates on Windows computers.
The software resource that comprises this agent is named Application Management
Agent.
See “About the Application Management agent” on page 203.
Application Management
agent
Lets you use software virtualization to manage Windows-based software on client
computers.
The software resource that comprises this agent is named Software Virtualization
Agent.
See “Installing the Software Virtualization agent” on page 47.
Software Virtualization
agent
Installing the Software Management Solution agent
(Windows only)
Before you use Software Management Solution to deliver or manage software on
managed computers, you must install the Software Management Solution agent
on those computers.
Implementing Software Management Solution
Installing the Software Management Solution agent
38
See “About the agents and plug-ins that Software Management Solution uses”
on page 37.
This taskis a step in the process for implementing Software Management Solution.
See “Implementing Software Management Solution” on page 34.
If you plan to use the Software Portal too, you can install the Software Portal
when you install the Software Management Solution agent.
See “Options for installing the Software Portal agent” on page 45.
You can also install a Software Management Solution agent for non-Windows
computers.
See “Installing the Software Management Solution plug-in for UNIX, Linux, and
Mac” on page 41.
To install the Software Management Solution agent
1
In the Symantec Management Console, on the Settings menu, click
Agents/Plug-ins > All Agents/Plug-ins.
2
In the left pane, under Agents/Plug-ins, click Software > Software
Management > Windows > Software Management Solution Agent for
Windows - Install.
3
In the right pane, in the Programname drop-down list, select the command
line for the type of installation to perform.
To include the Software Portal agent in this installation, select one of the
command lines that installs the Software Portal.
4
Check oruncheck EnableVerboseReportingof Status Events as appropriate.
This option records the detailed events that are related to the installation
and posts them to the Notification Server computer.
5
Under Applied to, select where to install the agent.
For more information, see the topics about specifying the targets of a policy
or task in the Symantec Management Platform Help.
6
Under Schedule, set the schedule for the policy.
For more information, see the topics about specifying a policy schedule in
the Symantec Management Platform Help.
Alternatively, under Extra schedule options, you can check Runonce ASAP
to run the policy as soon as possible.
7
Under Extra schedule options, click any of the following options:
■ User can run
39Implementing Software Management Solution
Installing the Software Management Solution agent
■ Notify user when the task is available
■ Warn before running, can defer for
See “Extra schedule options section” on page 40.
8
Turn on the policy.
At the upper right of the page, click the colored circle and then click On.
9
Click Save changes.
Extra schedule options section
This section appears under the Schedule section on the Software Management
Solution agent page and in Legacy SoftwareDelivery policies. It might also appear
in other areas of the Symantec Management Console.
See “Installing the Software Management Solution agent” on page 38.
See “Delivering software packages with the same configurations as 6.x Software
Delivery tasks” on page 150.
Table 2-3
Options in the Extra schedule options section
DescriptionOption
Lets you run the policy as soon as possible.Run once ASAP
Lets theuser choose when to run the policy by clickingthe policy
in the Altiris Agent. The user can also choose not to run the
policy.
User can run
Displays a message to notify the user that new software is
available. When the user clicks the message, the New Software
is Available dialog box opens. The user can start, dismiss, or
defer thepolicy. If you do not choose to prompt the user, theNew
Software is Available dialog box does not appear.
The New Software is Available dialog box appears only if the
Show popup notifications check box is checked on the client
computer’s Altiris Agent.
Notify user when the
task is available
Implementing Software Management Solution
Extra schedule options section
40
Table 2-3
Options in the Extra schedule options section (continued)
DescriptionOption
Notifies theuser before the policy runs by displaying the Starting
Task dialog box. When you check this check box an additional
box appears, in which you type the number of minutes to let the
user defer the policy.
Unless you let the user defer the policy, the policy starts 60
seconds after the Starting Task dialog box appears. A progress
bar shows the amount oftime that remains.The user can dismiss
the StartingTask dialog box but cannot cancel the policy unless
you selected User can run.
The Starting Task dialog box appears only if the Show popup
notifications check box ischecked onthe clientcomputer’s Altiris
Agent.
Warn before running
Installing the Software Management Solution plug-in
for UNIX, Linux, and Mac
If you plan to deliver software to non-Windows client computers, install the
Software Management Solution Plug-in for UNIX, Linux, and Mac on those
computers.This plug-in also provides support for the AIX, HP-UX, and Solaris
operating systems.
See “About the agents and plug-ins that Software Management Solution uses”
on page 37.
The Software Management Solution Plug-in for UNIX, Linux, and Mac supports
the Software Portal on the Mac operating system. A separate Software Portal
agent or plug-in is not provided for non-Windows computers.
Note: If the Altiris Agent window is open on the client computer when this plug-in
is installed, the SoftwarePortal link does not appear. To prevent thisissue, restart
the Altiris Agent on the client computer after the plug-in is installed. After the
Altiris Agent restarts, the Software Portal link becomes available to the user.
This taskis a step in the process for implementing Software Management Solution.
See “Implementing Software Management Solution” on page 34.
You can also install a Software Management Solution agent for Windows
computers.
See “Installing the Software Management Solution agent” on page 38.
41Implementing Software Management Solution
Installing the Software Management Solution plug-in for UNIX, Linux, and Mac
To install the Software Management Solution Plug-in for UNIX, Linux, and Mac
1
In the Symantec Management Console, on the Settings menu, click
Agents/Plug-ins > All Agents/Plug-ins.
2
In the left pane, under Agents/Plug-ins, click Software > Software
Management > UNIX/Linux/Mac > Software Management Solution Plug-in
for UNIX/Linux/Mac Install.
3
In the right pane, in the Program name drop-down list, accept the default
option to install the plug-in.
4
Check oruncheck EnableVerboseReportingof Status Events as appropriate.
This option records the detailed events that are related to the installation
and posts them to the Notification Server computer.
5
Under the Applied to section, select where to install the agent and specify
whether to disable multicasting.
For more information, see the topics about specifying the targets of a policy
or task in the Symantec Management Platform Help.
6
Under the Schedule section, set the schedule for the policy.
For more information, see the topics about specifying a policy schedule in
the Symantec Management Platform Help.
Alternatively, under the Extra schedule options section, you can check Run
once ASAP to run the policy as soon as possible.
7
Under theExtra schedule options section, select any of the following options:
Lets the user run the policy by clicking the policy in the
Altiris Agent.The user can also choose not to run the policy.
User can run
This option does not apply to UNIX, Linux, or Mac OS.Notify user when the
task is available
This option does not apply to UNIX, Linux, or Mac OS.Warn before running
8
Turn on the policy.
At the upper right of the page, click the colored circle and then click On.
9
Click Save changes.
Implementing Software Management Solution
Installing the Software Management Solution plug-in for UNIX, Linux, and Mac
42
Recommended security privileges for Software
Management Solution
As part of the Software Management Solution implementation, you configure
security privileges for the users who need to deliver and manage software on
client computers.
See “Implementing Software Management Solution” on page 34.
You configure security for Software Management Solution in the Symantec
ManagementConsole, onthe SecurityRoles settings page, on the Privileges tab.
Most usersrequire otherprivileges in addition to the Software Management-related
privileges. For example, to run a Quick Delivery task, a user must have right-click
menu privileges for Quick Delivery and for scheduling a task.
For more information, see the topics on setting up security, security roles, and
security role privilege settings in the Symantec Management Platform Help.
We provide security recommendations for two levels of software administrators
and one level of non-administrators. You can adapt these recommendations to
the size of your software management team.
43Implementing Software Management Solution
Recommended security privileges for Software Management Solution
Table 2-4
Recommended security privileges for Software Management Solution
Recommended privilegesType of user
Senior administrators are responsible for the more critical software management tasks,
such asperforming complexdeliveries. Theymight alsomanage theSoftware Catalogand
the Software Library, which means that they can create and manage your organization’s
software resources and packages.
■ Right Click Menu - Actions
Software administratorsneed theprivileges thatare specificto SoftwareManagement
Solution as follows:
■ Configure Managed Delivery Options
■ Managed Software Delivery
■ Quick Delivery Task
■ Source Path Update
■ Right Click Menu - Actions
Senior administrators might need to create and edit software resources, even if they
are not responsible for managing the Software Catalog or the Software Library.
Therefore, theyneed someof theSoftware ManagementFramework-related privileges.
Examples are as follows:
■ Edit Command Line
■ Edit Software Resource
■ Edit Package
■ Import Package
For moreinformation, see the topics about right-click menu privileges in the Symantec
Management Platform Help.
■ Software Portal Privileges
See “Recommended security settings for the Software Portal” on page 175.
Senior software
administrators
These administrators perform the majority of the software delivery tasks in your
organization.
■ Right Click Menu - Actions
Software administratorsneed theprivileges thatare specificto SoftwareManagement
Solution as follows:
■ (Optional) Configure Managed Delivery Options
You might provide this privilege depending on the administrator’s level.
■ Managed Software Delivery
■ Quick Delivery Task
■ Source Path Update
■ Software Portal Privileges
See “Recommended security settings for the Software Portal” on page 175.
Software
administrators
Implementing Software Management Solution
Recommended security privileges for Software Management Solution
44
Table 2-4
Recommended security privileges for Software Management Solution
(continued)
Recommended privilegesType of user
You might let non-administrators perform single, routine software deliveries so you can
free your software administrators to focus on more complex delivery tasks. For example,
help desk employees can deliver a software update without escalating the requirement to
the administrators.
Right Click Menu - Actions
■ Managed Software Delivery
Typically, these employees do not need to create Managed Software Delivery policies,
but you might decide to let them run the policies to deliver software.
■ Quick Delivery Task
Non-administrators
who can deliver
software
Options for installing the Software Portal agent
(Windows only)
The SoftwarePortal agent provides access to the Software Portal Web application
from the client computer and installs shortcuts to the Software Portal interface.
If you plan to use the SoftwarePortal, you must install the Software Portal agent
on the Windows client computers.
You can skip this step for Mac client computers. The Software Management
Solution plug-in for UNIX, Linux, and Mac supports the Software Portal on the
Mac operating system.
Your options for installing the Software Portal agent are as follows:
45Implementing Software Management Solution
Options for installing the Software Portal agent
When you install the Software Management Solution agent, you
can run a program (command line) that installs the Software
Portal agent at the same time. This method is more convenient
but it provides less control over the Software Portal agent’s
installation.
The results of using this method are as follows:
■ Reduces the number of agent rollouts that you need to
perform.
■ Installs the Software Portal agent on all computers that get
the Software Management Solution agent.
■ Places theSoftware Portal’s shortcuts in all possible locations
on the client computers: The Desktop, the Start menu, and
the Altiris Agent’s context menu.
See “Installing the Software Management Solution agent”
on page 38.
Include the Software
Portal agent with the
installation of the
Software Management
Solution agent.
This method provides more control over the Software Portal
agent’s installation but it requires a separate operation.
The results of using this method are as follows:
■ Lets you more specifically select which computers to install
on.
■ Lets youselect where to place the SoftwarePortal’s shortcuts
on the client computers.
See “Installing the Software Portal agent” on page 46.
Install the Software
Portal agentseparately.
Installing the Software Portal agent
(Windows only)
The SoftwarePortal agent provides access to the SoftwarePortal Web application
from the client computers. It configures the URL that the users use to access the
Software Portal. The agent also installs shortcuts tothe SoftwarePortal interface
on the client computers.
This task is a step in the process for implementing the Software Portal. Perform
this task every time that you need to install the Software Portal on the client
computers that do not have it.
You can skip this step for Mac client computers. The Software Management
Solution plug-in for UNIX, Linux, or Mac supports the Software Portal on the
Mac operating system.
See “Implementing the Software Portal” on page 173.
Implementing Software Management Solution
Installing the Software Portal agent
46
The SoftwarePortal agent requires that the Software Management Solution agent
is installed on the client computers. You can set options in the Software
Management Solution agent’s installation to install the Software Portal agent at
the same time.
See “Installing the Software Management Solution agent” on page 38.
To install the Software Portal agent
1
In the Symantec Management Console, on the Settings menu, click All
Settings.
2
In the left pane, under Settings, click Software > Software Portal Settings >
Software Portal Agent Settings > Software Portal Agent Installation.
3
On the Software Portal Agent Installation page, under Configure Links,
specify where to place the shortcut for theSoftware Portal on the client
computers.
Click one or more of the following options:
■ Show link for Software Portal on Desktop
■ Show link for Software Portal in Start Menu
■ Show link for Software Portal in Altiris Agent’s context menu
Places the Altiris Agent icon in the notification area on the client
computer. The user can right-click the Altiris Agent icon to display the
context menu and access the Software Portal.
4
Under Select Destination, select the computers or users on which to install
the agent.
For more information, see the topics about specifying the targets of a policy
or task in the Symantec Management Platform Help.
5
Under Apply Schedule, define the schedule on which to install the agent.
For more information, see the topics about specifying a policy schedule in
the Symantec Management Platform Help.
6
Click Save changes.
Installing the Software Virtualization agent
(Windows only)
If you plan to use software virtualization to manage Windows-based software on
client computers, install the Software Virtualization agent on those computers.
See “Managing virtual applications” on page 217.
47Implementing Software Management Solution
Installing the Software Virtualization agent
By default, the Software Catalog contains a software resource for the Software
Virtualization agent. You can use any delivery method to deliver the agent to
client computers. You are licensed to deliver the Software Virtualization agent
to as many nodes as you purchased for Software Management Solution.
As withany other software resource, when you installthe Software Virtualization
agent, you can use its default command lines or create your own.
For more information, see the topics about creating and editing command lines
in the Symantec Management Platform Help.
The SoftwareVirtualization agentrequires thatthe SoftwareManagement Solution
agent is installed on the client computers.
See “Installing the Software Management Solution agent” on page 38.
To install the Software Virtualization agent
◆
Create any type of software delivery policy or task and specify the software
resource for the Software Virtualization agent.
See “Methods for delivering software” on page 88.
Web parts for Software Management Solution
Web parts are the building blocks for portal pages in the Symantec Management
Console. Web parts are predefined for the products that you have installed. You
can edit the predefined Web parts, and you can create new Web parts. Your user
privileges determine which of the Web parts you can use and whether you can
edit and add Web parts.
For more information, see the topics about portal pages and Web parts in the
Symantec Management Platform Help.
Table 2-5
Web parts for Software Management Solution
DescriptionWeb part
Displays a pie chart that summarizes all the open requests that
are in the Software Portal and groups them by status. It also
shows the number of requests that are in each status group.
OpenSoftwareRequest
Status
Lists allsoftware deliveries and displays a green bar next to those
that succeeded and a redbar next to those that failed. It includes
the following delivery types: Managed Software Delivery, Quick
Delivery, Package Delivery, and Legacy Software Delivery.
Recent Software
Delivery Status
Implementing Software Management Solution
Web parts for Software Management Solution
48
Table 2-5
Web parts for Software Management Solution (continued)
DescriptionWeb part
Displays a pie chart that shows how many software installations
are compliantand notcompliant amongthose thatwere installed
with Managed Software Delivery. This data is based on the most
recent compliance checks that the currently-active Managed
Software Delivery policies performed.
A software installation is considered compliant when it is in the
correct stateon theclient computers. For example, if the software
is installed and it should be installed, it is compliant. If the
software is installed but it should not be installed, it is not
compliant.
Software Compliance
Summary
Displays a graph that shows the number of deliveries that
succeeded and failed among the deliveries that were attempted
within thespecified time period. It includes the following delivery
types: Managed Software Delivery, Quick Delivery, Package
Delivery, and Legacy Software Delivery.
Software Delivery
History
Displays a pie chart that shows the number of deliveries that
succeeded and failed among all deliveries that were attempted.
It includes the following delivery types: Managed Software
Delivery, Quick Delivery, Package Delivery,and Legacy Software
Delivery.
Software Delivery
Status
Displays a pie chart that summarizes all the software requests
that were placed through the Software Portal and groups them
by status. It also shows the number of requests that are in each
status group.
Software Portal
Request Summary
About Wise Toolkit
Wise Toolkit provides the tools that let administrators create, customize, and
manage installations.
Wise Toolkit consists of the following tools:
Lets you easily customize Windows Installer installations. It
simulates the installation, captures the options you select, and
creates atransform file (MST) that incorporates those selections.
At run time, you apply the transform to a Windows Installer
package to customize the installation for a particular group of
users.
Wise InstallTailor
49Implementing Software Management Solution
About Wise Toolkit
A WiseScript authoring environment that lets you create scripts
to automate administrative tasks. WiseScript is a high-level
scripting language in an easy-to-use, structured interface.
Use a WiseScript to perform the tasks that you cannot easily
perform with your other tools. A WiseScript can retrieve
information about a computer, prompt for input if necessary,
and take action as a result of that information. A WiseScript
collects and analyzes the data and takes action in real time.
You can write a WiseScript to quickly solve an urgent problem.
You can also create a library of WiseScripts to resolve common
problems and perform routine maintenance. In Software
Management Solution,you cancreate a Quick Delivery or Package
Delivery task to deploy your WiseScripts on an as-needed or
regularly scheduled basis. You can add any of those tasks to a
Managed Software Delivery policy to run the scripts as part of a
larger delivery process.
WiseScript for NS does not fully support the management of
computers that run Windows Vista or 64-bit operating systems.
WiseScript for NS
See “Installing the Wise Toolkit tools” on page 50.
For more information, see the topics in the help that is installed with each tool.
You can access the help from each tool’s Help menu. You can also press F1 to
display context-sensitive help for an active page or dialog box.
Installing the Wise Toolkit tools
The Wise Toolkit provides the tools that let administrators create, customize, and
manage installations.
See “About Wise Toolkit” on page 49.
When you install Software Management Solution, a software resource for the
Wise Toolkit is created in the Software Catalog. You can use any delivery method
to install these tools. We recommend that you install these tools on an
Administrator’s Desktop.
To install the Wise Toolkit tools
1
In theSymantec Management Console, on the Manage menu, click Software.
2
In the left pane, under Software, click Software Catalog > Deliverable
Software > Releases.
Implementing Software Management Solution
Installing the Wise Toolkit tools
50
3
In the right pane, click the following software resource:
Wise Toolkit x
where x is the version number.
4
On the Actions menu, click Actions and select the delivery method.
You can use either Managed Software Delivery or Quick Delivery.
See “Creatinga Managed Software Delivery policy with the Managed Software
Delivery wizard” on page 106.
See “Creating a Quick Delivery task with the Quick Delivery wizard”
on page 134.
51Implementing Software Management Solution
Installing the Wise Toolkit tools
Implementing Software Management Solution
Installing the Wise Toolkit tools
52
Configuring Software
Management Solution
settings
This chapter includes the following topics:
■ About Software Management Solution settings
■ Configuring the default settings for Managed Software Delivery
■ Schedule settings for Managed Software Delivery
■ About recurring software deliveries
■ About the Wake-on-LAN setting
■ Download settings in Software Management Solution
■ About the alternate download location for packages
■ Run settings in Software Management Solution
■ Advanced options in Managed Software Delivery policies
■ Advanced options for tasks in Software Management Solution
■ Task Options settings in Software Management Solution tasks
■ Options for purging Software Management Solution data
■ About replicating Software Management Solution data
3
Chapter
About Software Management Solution settings
Software Management Solution settings control the behavior of the
software-related policies andtasks. Thedefault settings let administrators create
policies and tasks without having to enter the details that they are not familiar
with. Instead,a more experienced administrator can configure the defaultsettings
that apply to all the policies and tasks that are created. When necessary, the
administrator who runs the specific policies and tasks can change the settings.
Table 3-1
Sources of default settings for Software Management policies and
tasks
Source of default settingsPolicy or task
All new Managed Software Delivery policies inherit the
default settings that are defined in the Managed Delivery
Settings. You can override the default settings for specific
Managed Software Delivery policies.
See “Configuringthe defaultsettings for Managed Software
Delivery” on page 54.
Managed Software Delivery
Some of the task settings are predefined. Other settings for
these tasksare obtainedfrom the Task Management settings
or the Altiris Agent settings. You can override the settings
for specific tasks.
See “Advanced options for tasks in Software Management
Solution” on page 70.
Package Delivery
Quick Delivery
Source Path Update
Software Virtualization
Windows Installer Repair
Configuring the default settings for Managed
Software Delivery
Configuration settingscontrol the behavior of Managed Software Delivery policies.
Rather than configuring these settings individually for each policy, you can
configure the default settings that apply to all new Managed Software Delivery
policies. Then you can change the settings for a specific policy only when needed.
The default settings speed the creation of Managed Software Delivery policies
and promote consistency among them.
You can override the default settings for Managed Software Delivery as follows:
■ When you create a Managed Software Delivery policy manually
■ When you edit an existing Managed Software Delivery policy
Configuring Software Management Solution settings
About Software Management Solution settings
54
To configure default settings for Managed Software Delivery
1
In the Symantec Management Console, on the Settings menu, click All
Settings.
2
In theleft pane, under Settings, click Software> Managed Delivery Settings.
3
On the Managed Delivery Settings page, complete the following tabs to
configure the specific settings:
Lets you define the schedule on which a Managed Software
Delivery policy runs.
See “Schedule settings for Managed Software Delivery”
on page 55.
Schedule tab
Lets you define how a Managed Software Delivery policy’s
downloads are handled.
See “Download settings in SoftwareManagement Solution”
on page 58.
Download tab
Lets you define how a Managed Software Delivery policy
runs on the client computer.
See “Run settings in Software Management Solution”
on page 61.
Run tab
4
When you finish the configuration, click Save changes.
Schedule settings for Managed Software Delivery
The Schedule settings let you define the schedule on which a Managed Software
Delivery policy runs. You schedule the compliance check and the remediation
action separately.
Managed SoftwareDelivery policiesperform compliance checks and remediations.
A compliance check uses either the software resource’s unique identifier or its
detection rule to determine the state of the software on a managed computer. If
the softwareis not in the correct state, the compliance check fails and remediation
occurs. The nature of the remediation depends on the action that the Managed
Software Delivery policy performs. For example, the remediation can consist of
installing or uninstalling the software.
See “About policy applicability, compliance, and remediation” on page 102.
The Schedule settings appear in multiple places in the Symantec Management
Console as follows:
55Configuring Software Management Solution settings
Schedule settings for Managed Software Delivery
Lets you define the default settings for all new Managed
Software Delivery policies. You can override these settings
for a specific policy.
See “Configuringthe defaultsettings for Managed Software
Delivery” on page 54.
On the Managed Delivery
Settings page
Lets you change the settings for a specific policy.
See “Creating a Managed Software Delivery policy with the
Managed Software Delivery wizard” on page 106.
On the Schedule delivery
page thatappears duringthe
ManagedSoftware Delivery
wizard
Lets you change the settings for a specific policy.
See “Editing a Managed Software Delivery policy”
on page 113.
Under the Schedule section
that appearswhen youcreate
or edit a Managed Software
Delivery policy
For more information, see the topics on specifying a policy schedule in the
Symantec Management Platform Help.
Table 3-2
Schedule settings for Managed Software Delivery: Compliance
DescriptionOption
Sends a signal to turn on a managed computer if it is turned off when the Managed
Software Delivery policy runs.
See “About the Wake-on-LAN setting” on page 57.
The client computer must have a network card that is enabled for Wake-on-LAN,and
Wake-on-LAN must be enabled in the client computer’s BIOS settings.
This option does not appear during the Managed Software Delivery wizard.
Poweron if necessary (using
Wake-on-LAN, Intel, AMT,
ASF)
Lets you add one or more schedules to the policy. You can specify as many schedules
as you need, and you can have any number of schedules active at one time.
Add Schedule
Lets you specify the time zone to apply to the schedule.Time zone
Lets you specify the interval at which to rerun the Managed Software Delivery, if
any. This option is available only when you schedule a specific time or a specific
window.
Use this option to perform recurring compliance checks and remediation actions.
See “About recurring software deliveries” on page 57.
No repeat
Lets you set the options that determine the conditions under which the check is
performed and the effective dates for the policy.
Advanced
Configuring Software Management Solution settings
Schedule settings for Managed Software Delivery
56
Table 3-3
Schedule settings for Managed Software Delivery: Remediation
DescriptionOption
Specify when to perform any remediation action that is defined for the Managed
Software Delivery.
The options are as follows:
■ Immediately
■ At next maintenance window
■ Don’t run remediation
Lets you run a Managed Software Delivery policy without performing the
remediation. For example, you might want to perform an applicability check or a
compliance check to determine if a certain configuration exists. A report of the
results ofthe check might be all you need, or you might perform some action other
than installing or uninstalling software.
Your point of entry into
these settings determines
what textappears, asfollows:
■ When computers are
found to be out of
compliance, run
remediation actions
■ Choose when to
remediate when
compliance fails
About recurring software deliveries
When you schedule a Managed Software Delivery policy, you can configure its
schedule to repeat daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. Use this scheduling feature
to ensure that the software remains in the correct state on the client computers.
Managed Software Delivery installs the software to a specific known state on the
client computer. On a recurring basis, Managed Software Delivery can perform a
compliance check to verify that the state is maintained. If the state ofthe software
is outof compliance,Managed Software Delivery performs a remediation to restore
the correct state.
See “Schedule settings for Managed Software Delivery” on page 55.
See “About policy applicability, compliance, and remediation” on page 102.
About the Wake-on-LAN setting
When youschedule the compliance check for a Managed Software Delivery policy,
you can set the policy to turn on the client computer if necessary. This setting
uses the Wake-on-LAN network standard.
See “Schedule settings for Managed Software Delivery” on page 55.
The Wake-on-LAN setting is used when a computer that the Managed Software
Delivery policy targets is turned off or in sleep mode. A Wake-on-LAN packet is
sent to client computers using a server-side task that is set to the policy’s
compliance schedule. For example, if your delivery policy is scheduled to check
compliance at12:00 p.m.every Wednesday, a corresponding Wake-on-LAN packet
57Configuring Software Management Solution settings
About recurring software deliveries
is sent at that same time. The packet ensures that the client computer is turned
on, awake, and able to perform the compliance check.
This setting has the following limitations:
■ When the policy has a non-repeating schedule and the schedule date and time
occur in the past, Wake-on-LAN cannot be performed.
■ When the policy is applied to one or more users, it is impossible to know in
advance whatcomputer auser mightlog onto. Therefore, Wake-on-LAN cannot
be performed. However, if the policy is also applied to computers, those
computers can be awakened.
■ This optiondoes notsupport the waking up of a computer during a maintenance
window. Because policy remediation is performed during a maintenance
window, it cannot run if the client computer is turned off or in sleep mode.
However, you can create a separate server task to wake up a client computer
during its maintenance window.
The client computer must have a network card that is enabled for Wake-on-LAN,
and Wake-on-LAN must be enabled in the client computer’s BIOS settings.
Download settings in Software Management Solution
The Download settings let you define how the packages and command lines are
downloaded for a policy or a task in Software Management Solution.
These settings appear in the following places:
Lets you define the default settings for all new Managed
Software Delivery policies. You can override these settings
for a specific policy.
See “Configuringthe defaultsettings for Managed Software
Delivery” on page 54.
On the Managed Delivery
Settings page
Lets you change the settings for any specific software
resource that the policy contains. The changes that you
make for a specific policy do not change the defaults for
other policies.
See “Editing a Managed Software Delivery policy”
on page 113.
In the Advanced Options
dialog box that you can
access when you edit a
Managed Software Delivery
policy.
Configuring Software Management Solution settings
Download settings in Software Management Solution
58
Lets you change the default settings for a specific Software
Management Solution task.
See “Advanced options for tasks in Software Management
Solution” on page 70.
You cannot change the default settings in a Software
Virtualization task.
In a Software Management
Solution task, these settings
appear in the Advanced
Options dialog box, on the
Download Options tab.
Table 3-4
Download settings
DescriptionOption
Lets you define the directory on the client computer in which to place the package
file. The package downloads to and runs from this location.
Options for the download location are as follows:
■ Altiris agent cache
Places thepackage files in the default directory for software packages. The default
location is as follows:
installation_path\Altiris\Altiris Agent\Agents\SoftwareManagement\Software
Delivery\package_GUID\cache
■ Location on destination computer
Lets you override the default directory and download the package directly to a
directory that you specify.
See “About the alternate download location for packages” on page 60.
Destination download
location
Lets you download and run the package with the default Download and Execute
settings thatare defined in the global Altiris Agent settings. These settings determine
whether the package runs from the server or on the client computer.
Even if the multicasting option is selected in the global Altiris Agent settings, it is
not supported by the Software Management Solution tasks.
Usethe default Altiris Agent
download settings to
download
59Configuring Software Management Solution settings
Download settings in Software Management Solution
Table 3-4
Download settings (continued)
DescriptionOption
(Windows only)
Lets you override the default download settingsthat are defined for theAltiris Agent.
The download settings that you can override are as follows:
■ Run from the server if bandwidth is above
Runs thepackage directlyfrom the Notification Server computer if the bandwidth
is greater than the connectionspeed that you select. You also can choose to never
run from the server.
■ Download and run locally if bandwidth is above
Downloads the package or the command line and runs it locally if the bandwidth
is greater than the connection speed that you select.
■ Allow multicasting for package delivery
Uses a multicast download for the package. For this option to work, multicasting
must be enabled in the Altiris Agent settings.
This checkbox isnot availablein theSoftware ManagementSolution tasksbecause
they do not support multicasting.
For more information, see the topics about bandwidth throttling and multicasting
in the Symantec Management Platform Help.
Use the following settings to
download and run
Deletes the packages that are downloaded to the client computerbut are not used for
the amount of time you select in the If unused for drop-down list.
Delete package from client
computer
About the alternate download location for packages
The download settings for Software Management Solution delivery policies and
tasks contains the Destination download location option. This option lets you
define the directory on the destination computer in which to place the package
files. Thedefault location is the Altiris Agent cache. You can also select analternate
download location.
When adelivery task or policy is executed ona client computer, the log.xml event
file and other delivery-related XML files are created. The download settings do
not affect the location of the XML files.
See “Download settings in Software Management Solution” on page 58.
Configuring Software Management Solution settings
About the alternate download location for packages
60
Table 3-5
How different delivery methods use the alternate download location
Download locationWhere the download
location is specified
Delivery method
■ The package is downloaded to the alternate download
folder that is defined for the task.
■ The XMLfiles arecreated ina subfolderunder thedefault
download location. The subfolder’s name is the same as
the GUID that is associated with the package.
In the Advanced Settings
dialog box for the specific
task
Quick Delivery task or
Package Delivery task
■ The package is downloaded to the alternate download
folder that is defined for the policy.
■ The XMLfiles arecreated ina subfolderunder thedefault
download location. The subfolder’s name is the same as
the GUID that is associated with the package.
In the Advanced Options
dialog box for the specific
policy
Managed Software
Delivery policy
■ The packageis downloadedto asubfolder ofthe alternate
download folder that is defined for the policy. The
subfolder’s name is the same as the GUID that is
associated with the package.
■ The XMLfiles arecreated ina subfolderunder thedefault
download location. The subfolder’s name is the same as
the GUID that is associated with the package.
In the global settings on the
Managed Delivery Settings
page
Managed Software
Delivery policy
Run settings in Software Management Solution
The Run settings let you define how a Managed Software Delivery policy runs on
the client computer. They also let you define how much you let the user interact
with the policy.
The Run settings are arranged in sections. The appearance and location of the
sections depend on how you access the settings.
Table 3-6
Sections on the Run tab
DescriptionSection
(Windows only)
The optionsin thissection letyou definethe account under which
the policy runs on the client computer.
See “Run As settings in Software Management Solution”
on page 62.
Run As section
61Configuring Software Management Solution settings
Run settings in Software Management Solution
Table 3-6
Sections on the Run tab (continued)
DescriptionSection
(Windows only)
The options in this section let you define the conditions under
which the policy runs and the level of user interaction with the
policy.
See “User run conditions settings in Software Management
Solution” on page 63.
User run conditions
section
The options in this section let you define the actions that occur
during or after the policy runs on the client computer.
In aManaged SoftwareDelivery policy,the Results-basedactions
section appears in the Advanced Options dialog box, on its own
tab.
See “Results-based actions settings in Software Management
Solution” on page 67.
Results-based actions
section
The option in this section defines the level ofdetail that is logged
when a policy runs on the client computer.
In a Managed Software Delivery policy, the Reporting section
appears on the Policy settings tab.
See “Reporting settings in Software Management Solution”
on page 69.
Reporting section
Run As settings in Software Management Solution
(Windows only)
The options in this section let you define the account under which a policy or a
task runs on the client computer.
These settings appear in the following places:
Lets you define default settings for all new Managed
Software Delivery policies.
See “Configuringthe defaultsettings for Managed Software
Delivery” on page 54.
See “Run settings in Software Management Solution”
on page 61.
On the Managed Delivery
Settings page, on the Run
tab.
Configuring Software Management Solution settings
Run settings in Software Management Solution
62
Lets youchange the settings for a specific software resource
that the policy contains. The changes that you make for a
software resource in a specific policy override the global
settings.
See “Editing a Managed Software Delivery policy”
on page 113.
In a Managed Software
Delivery policy, these
settings appear in the
Advanced Options dialog
box, on the Run tab.
Lets you change the default settings for a specific Software
Management Solution task.
See “Advanced options for tasks in Software Management
Solution” on page 70.
You cannot change the default settings in a Software
Virtualization task.
In a Software Management
Solution task, these settings
appear in the Advanced
Options dialog box, on the
Run Options tab.
Table 3-7
Options in the Run As section
DescriptionOption
Lets you run the task with the default authentication settings that are defined in the
global Altiris Agent settings.
For moreinformation, seethe topics about the Agent Connectivity Credential settings
and aboutconfiguring theglobal agentsettings inthe SymantecManagement Platform
Help.
Altiris Agent credential
Lets you run the task with the current user’s credentials. This option overrides the
default Authentication settings that are defined in the global Altiris Agent settings.
Current logged-on user
Lets you run the task with a specific user’s credentials. For example, you might use
specific credentials to perform an administrative task when the system account is
locked down.This optionoverrides thedefault authenticationsettings thatare defined
in the global Altiris Agent settings.
When you select this option, enter the following credentials:
■ Domain
■ User Name
■ Password
The credentials that you supply must be for a known account on Notification Server
and every package server.
This option is not available in the default Managed Delivery Settings. You can set a
specific user’s credentials in individual Managed Software Delivery policies only.
Specific user
User run conditions settings in Software Management Solution
(Windows only)
63Configuring Software Management Solution settings
Run settings in Software Management Solution
The options in this section let you define the conditions under which the policy
or the task runs and the level of user interaction.
These settings appear in the following places:
Lets you define default settings for all new Managed
Software Delivery policies.
See “Configuringthe defaultsettings for Managed Software
Delivery” on page 54.
See “Run settings in Software Management Solution”
on page 61.
On the Managed Delivery
Settings page, on the Run
tab.
Lets youchange the settings for a specific software resource
that the policy contains. The changes that you make for a
software resource in a specific policy override the global
settings.
See “Editing a Managed Software Delivery policy”
on page 113.
In a Managed Software
Delivery policy,most ofthese
settings appear in the
Advanced Options dialog
box, on the Run tab. The
remaining optionsappear on
the Policy settings tab.
Lets you change the default settings for a specific Software
Management Solution task.
See “Advanced options for tasks in Software Management
Solution” on page 70.
You cannot change the default settings in a Software
Virtualization task.
In a Software Management
Solution task, these settings
appear in the Advanced
Options dialog box, on the
Run Options tab.
Table 3-8
Options in the User run conditions section
DescriptionOption
Lets you define the condition under which this task can run.
The conditions are as follows:
■ Only when user is logged on
■ Whether or not the user is logged on
■ Only when no user is logged on
Tasks thatrun whenno user is logged on run silently regardless of how the execution
is configured.
This option is not available if you selected Current logged-on user under the Run
As section.
See “Run As settings in Software Management Solution” on page 62.
Task can run
(Managed Software Delivery
policies only)
Configuring Software Management Solution settings
Run settings in Software Management Solution
64
Table 3-8
Options in the User run conditions section (continued)
DescriptionOption
Runs the task for each user who is logged on to the client computer.
This check box is available only if you clicked the following option under Task can
run: Only when user is logged on.
Repeat this task for each
logged on user
(Managed Software Delivery
policies only)
Lets you specify whether the installation’s user interface appears when the package
runs.
When a package’s execution is complex, we recommend that you check this check
box and click Hidden under Allow user to interact with installing software.
This check box is not available if you clicked the following option under Task can
run: Hidden.
When you do not check this check box, the package runs silently. This check box is
primarily intended for non-Windows Installer packages that do not have the built-in
ability to run silently.
If thepackage’s commandline containsoptions forthe user interface, those commands
override this setting. For example, if you check this check box but the command line
runs the package silently, the installation’s user interface does not appear.
Allow user to interact with
installing software
(Managed Software Delivery
policies)
Allow user interaction
(Software Management
Solution tasks)
Lets you define how the installation’s user interface appears when the package runs.
This option is available only if you checked the following check box: Allow user to
interact with installing software.
The user interface options are as follows:
■ Normal
■ Hidden
Normally, this option is not used because it conflicts with the option to let the
user interact with the installation. However, you might use this option to hidethe
main installation window from the user but let the installation run in interactive
mode. That way, any errors or messages that result during the installation are
presented to the user. Otherwise, when an installation runs in non-interactive
mode, any error messages are hidden and can hang the installation.
■ Maximized
■ Minimized
The package’s command line overrides this setting.
Display window
65Configuring Software Management Solution settings
Run settings in Software Management Solution
Table 3-8
Options in the User run conditions section (continued)
DescriptionOption
Notifies the user before the policy runs by displaying the Starting Task dialog box.
The policy starts 60 seconds after the dialog box appears. A progress bar shows the
amount of time that remains. The user can dismiss the Starting Task dialog box but
cannot cancel the policy unless you select Allow user to turn on policy from the
Altiris Agent.
The Starting Task dialog box appears only if the Show popup notifications check
box is checked on the client computer’s Altiris Agent.
Promptuser before running
Lets you allow the user to defer running the policy up to the maximum amount of
time that you select. The ability to defer policies lets the user save work and close
any open files or programs.
This check box is available only if you checked the following check box: Promptuser
before running.
When you check this check box, the Starting Task dialog box that appears to the user
contains the following options:
■ Run Now
■ Run Later
■ Remind me again in
Lets the user select the amount of time to defer the policy. The total amount that
the user can defer the policy cannot exceed the maximum time that you specify.
Allow user to defer up to a
total of
Lets theuser choosewhen torun the policy by clicking the policy in the Altiris Agent.
The user can also choose not to run the policy.
A policy’s remediation options override this global setting and its related settings.
For example, if this check box is checked here but not in a specific policy, then the
user cannot choose when to run that policy.
In aManaged SoftwareDelivery policy,this checkbox appears on the Policy settings
tab.
Allow user to turn on policy
from the Altiris Agent
Configuring Software Management Solution settings
Run settings in Software Management Solution
66
Table 3-8
Options in the User run conditions section (continued)
DescriptionOption
Requires the user to run the policy. If you select this option, the policy never runs
automatically.
This check box is available only if you checked the following check box: Allow user
to turn on policy from the Altiris Agent.
The user can run the policy by clicking it on the SoftwareDelivery tab that is on the
Altiris Agent.
The user can also run the policy by clicking Start Task Now on the New Software is
Available dialog box, if the following conditions are met:
■ If you check Promptuser when this policy is available on their computer for the
policy.
■ If the Show popup notifications check box is checked on the client computer’s
Altiris Agent.
In aManaged SoftwareDelivery policy,this checkbox appears on the Policy settings
tab.
User must turn on from
Altiris Agent
Displays a message to notify the user that new software is available. When the user
clicks the message, the New Software is Available dialog box opens. The user can
start, dismiss, or defer the policy. If you do not choose to prompt the user, the New
Software is Available dialog box does not appear.
This check box is available only if you checked the following check box: Allow user
to turn on policy from the Altiris Agent.
The New Software is Available dialog box appears only if the Show popup
notifications option is selected on the client computer’s Altiris Agent.
In aManaged SoftwareDelivery policy,this checkbox appears on the Policy settings
tab.
Prompt user when this
policy is available
Results-based actions settings in Software Management Solution
These settings let you define the actions that occur during or after the Software
Management Solution policy runs on the client computer.
These settings appear in the following places:
67Configuring Software Management Solution settings
Run settings in Software Management Solution
Lets you define default settings for all new Software
Management Solution policies.
See “Configuringthe defaultsettings for Managed Software
Delivery” on page 54.
See “Run settings in Software Management Solution”
on page 61.
On the Managed Delivery
Settings page, on the Run
tab.
Lets youchange the settings for a specific software resource
that the policy contains. The changes that you make for a
software resource in a specific policy override the global
settings.
See “Editing a Managed Software Delivery policy”
on page 113.
In a Managed Software
Delivery policy, these
settings appear in the
Advanced Options dialog
box, on the Results-based
actions tab.
Table 3-9
Options in the Results-based actions section or tab
DescriptionOption
Lets you define an action to occur after the policy runs successfully.
The options are as follows:
■ No action required
■ Restart computer
■ Log off user
Upon success run
Lets youallow theuser to defer the post-execution action up to the maximum amount
of time that you select.
This option is not available if you clicked the No action required option in the Upon
success run drop-down list.
Allowuser to defer action up
to
Lets youforce anyapplications that are running on the client computer to close before
a post-execution restart or logoff occurs.
This option is not available if you clicked the No action required option in the Upon
success run drop-down list.
Force running applications
to close
Lets you define the amount of time to wait before the policy terminates if it stops
responding.
Terminate after
Defines whether the policy aborts, continues, or restarts when it fails.
When you create a Managed Software Delivery policy, this setting is the same for
each software resource and task that the policy contains. You can edit the policy to
override thissetting foreach software resource and task. For example, if the execution
of the first software resource fails, you can run subsequent items. Conversely, if one
execution in the sequence fails, you can abort the remaining items in the sequence.
Upon failure
Configuring Software Management Solution settings
Run settings in Software Management Solution
68
Table 3-9
Options in the Results-based actions section or tab (continued)
DescriptionOption
Defines the number of times that the policy retries when it fails.Max retries
Reporting settings in Software Management Solution
This section lets you define the level of detail that is logged when a Software
Management Solution policy runs on the client computer.
The Reporting section appears in the following places:
Lets you define default settings for all new Software
Management Solution policies.
See “Configuringthe defaultsettings for Managed Software
Delivery” on page 54.
See “Run settings in Software Management Solution”
on page 61.
On the Managed Delivery
Settings page, on the Run
tab
Lets you change the settings for the entire policy, including
all the software resources and tasks that it contains. The
changes thatyou make for a specific policy donot affectthe
default settings or the settings in other policies.
See “Editing a Managed Software Delivery policy”
on page 113.
On the Policy settings tab
that appears when you edit a
Managed Software Delivery
policy.
Table 3-10
Options in the Reporting section
DescriptionOption
Records the details of policy status, package download, and execution events and
posts them to the Notification Server computer.
Enable verbose reporting of
status events
Advanced options in Managed Software Delivery
policies
This dialog box lets you change the settings for the individual software resources
that are in a specific Managed Software Delivery policy. For example, you might
download this software’s package to a different location or allow the user to
interact with this software’s installation but not others.
69Configuring Software Management Solution settings
Advanced options in Managed Software Delivery policies
These settings are inherited from the policy but you can change them for any and
all the software resources in the policy. The changes that you make for a specific
policy do not change the defaults for other policies.
The Advanced options dialog box appears when you edit a Managed Software
Delivery policy, select a specific software resource, and click Advanced options.
See “Editing a Managed Software Delivery policy” on page 113.
Table 3-11
Tabs in the Advanced options dialog box
DescriptionTab
Defines howa specific software resource downloads to the client
computer.
See “Download settings in Software Management Solution”
on page 58.
Download tab
Defines how a specific software resource runs on the client
computer.
This tab contains the same settings that are under the Run As
section and the User run conditions section on the Managed
Delivery Settings page.
See “Run As settings in Software Management Solution”
on page 62.
See “User run conditions settings in Software Management
Solution” on page 63.
Run tab
Defines the actions that occur during or after the policy runs on
the client computer.
See “Results-based actions settings in Software Management
Solution” on page 67.
Results-based actions
tab
Advanced options for tasks in Software Management
Solution
This dialog box lets you change the settings that define how a specific task runs.
These settings are predefined to make task creation easier and to maintain
consistency acrossyour organization.However, you can change the default settings
for a specific task. For example, you can run the task with different user
credentials. The changes that you make for a specific instance of a task do not
change the defaults for other instances of that task.
Configuring Software Management Solution settings
Advanced options for tasks in Software Management Solution
70
When you create or edit a task in Software Management Solution, the Advanced
option provides access to the task settings.
See “Editing a task in Software Management Solution” on page 143.
Table 3-12
Tabs in the Advanced settings dialog box
DescriptionTab
Contains the settings that define how a specific task downloads
and runs on the client computer. The defaults for some of these
settings are inherited from the Altiris Agent settings.
See “Download settings in Software Management Solution”
on page 58.
Download Options tab
Defines how a specific software resource runs on the client
computer.
See “Run As settings in Software Management Solution”
on page 62.
See “User run conditions settings in Software Management
Solution” on page 63.
Run Options tab
Contains the settings that define how a specific software
management task runs on the client computer. The defaults for
these settings are inherited from the Task Server settings.
See Table 3-13 on page 72.
Task options tab
The tasks that use these settings are as follows:
■ Package Delivery
See “About Package Delivery” on page 137.
■ Quick Delivery
See “About quick delivery of a single software resource” on page 131.
■ Source Path Update
See “Aboutsource pathupdates forWindows Installerapplications” on page 198.
■ Windows Installer Repair
See “About Windows Installer repair” on page 193.
See “Editing a task in Software Management Solution” on page 143.
71Configuring Software Management Solution settings
Advanced options for tasks in Software Management Solution
Task Options settings in Software Management
Solution tasks
This tablets you edit the settings that definehow a specific Software Management
Solution task runs on the client computer. The defaults for these settings are
inherited from the Task Server settings.
The Task Options tab appears in the Advanced settings dialog box, which you
can access when you create or edit a task in Software Management Solution.
See “Advanced options for tasks in Software Management Solution” on page 70.
See “Editing a task in Software Management Solution” on page 143.
Table 3-13
Options on the Task Options tab
DescriptionOption
Lets you prevent other tasks from running until the current task finishes.Ensure no other tasks are
running while this task is
running
Lets you define the amount of time to wait before the task endsif it stops responding.
For example, if you expect the task to run for no longer than 20 minutes, then set
this option to 30 minutes.
End task after
Options for purging Software Management Solution
data
Software Management Solution data is stored in the Configuration Management
Database on the Notification Server computer. The data is grouped in resource
data classes. A resource data class defines one or more fields, and the properties
of the fields, that a resource of that class may have.
Settings in the Symantec Management Platform determine how long the data is
retained in the database before it is purged. You can specify the retention period
for specific data classes. These settings are on the Purging Maintenance page
that appears in Notification Server.
For more information, see the topics on resource data classes and purging the
Configuration ManagementDatabase inthe SymantecManagement Platform Help.
The dataclasses that represent Software Management Solution data are as follows:
■ Computer Events:
AeX SWD Execution
Configuring Software Management Solution settings
Task Options settings in Software Management Solution tasks
72
AeX SWD Status
AeX SWD Package
SoftwareManagementSolution MSI Repair
■ Events:
SoftwareManagementSolution App State Failures
SoftwareManagementSolutionAppRepair
■ Policy Compliance Remediation
■ Virtual Software Events:
Software Virtualization Events
About replicating Software Management Solution
data
Software ManagementSolution supportshierarchy andreplication. These features
let youcreate tasks and policies at the top-level NotificationServer computer and
replicate them to child-level Notification Server computers.
Hierarchy defines the information flows across multiple Notification Server
computers in an enterprise. Hierarchy uses replication to copy and synchronize
shared objects and data between multiple Notification Server computers within
the same hierarchical structure.
Software Management Solution supports full and differential replication.
Differential replication replicates only those items that changed since the last
replication.
Hierarchy replicates each object or piece of data in one direction only.
For more information, see the topics about hierarchy and replication in the
Symantec Management Platform Help.
Table 3-14
Software Management Solution data that can be replicated
Direction of
replication
Data
DownTasks: Quick Delivery, Package Delivery, Source Path Update,
Windows Installer Repair
Any tasks that are replicated with the default replication rules
cannot be edited on the child computers.
73Configuring Software Management Solution settings
About replicating Software Management Solution data
Table 3-14
Software Management Solution data that can be replicated
(continued)
Direction of
replication
Data
DownPolicies: Managed Software and Legacy Software Delivery,
including any Legacy Software Delivery policies that are in
subfolders
Any policies that are replicated with default replication rules
cannot be edited on thechild computers. However,those policies
can be scheduled on the child computers.
DownSoftware resources
This data is defined in the Symantec Management Platform but
it is used in Software Management Solution.
DownManaged Software Delivery global settings
DownSoftware publishing information from software resources and
Managed Software Delivery policies
DownSoftware Portal settings and the Software Portal agent settings
UpEvents
DownData classes
DownReports
Not applicableComputer and user resources and collections
This data is defined in the Symantec Management Platform but
it is used in Software Management Solution.
DownSecurity Permissions, Roles, Privileges
This data is defined in the Symantec Management Platform but
it is used in Software Management Solution.
Some of the Software Management Solution data that cannot be replicated is as
follows:
■ All the read-only items that the solution installs
■ All thepackages for the agents that are used in SoftwareManagement Solution
as follows:
■ Application Management Agent
■ Software Management Solution Agent (Windows)
Configuring Software Management Solution settings
About replicating Software Management Solution data
74
■ Software Management Solution Plug-in for AIX
■ Software Management Solution Plug-in for HP-UX
■ Software Management Solution Plug-in for Linux
■ Software Management Solution Plug-in for Mac
■ Software Management Solution Plug-in for Solaris
■ Software Portal Agent
■ Software Virtualization Agent
■ The package for installing the Wise Toolkit
75Configuring Software Management Solution settings
About replicating Software Management Solution data
Configuring Software Management Solution settings
About replicating Software Management Solution data
76
Performing common tasks
in Software Management
Solution
This chapter includes the following topics:
■ About the Software Management worker view
■ Sources of status information in Software Management Solution
■ About Software Management Solution event files
■ About Software Management Solution reports
■ Running a Software Management Solution report
About the Software Management worker view
The SoftwareManagement worker view in the Symantec Management Console
provides a single place to perform software-related action and view certain
software reports.You can review the status of current software policies and tasks,
create new policies and tasks, access the Software Catalog, and configure
software-related settings.
The Software Managementworker view is availablefrom the Home menu, under
Software > Software Delivery. The view menu appears in the left pane of the
SymantecManagement Console and contains links to software-related functions.
4
Chapter
Table 4-1
Sections and options in the Software Management worker view
OptionsSection
Lets you access the software releases, service packs, and updates that are in the Software
Catalog.
For moreinformation aboutthe SoftwareCatalog, seethe SymantecManagement Platform
Help.
Manage Software
Catalog
Lets you create and edit the policies and tasks in Software Management Solution and
approve requested software from the Administrator Portal.
See “Methods for delivering software” on page 88.
Deliver/Manage
Software
Lets you run compliance reports in the following ways:
■ By Managed Delivery Policy
■ By Computer
See “About Software Management Solution reports” on page 82.
Software Compliance
Lets you run Quick Delivery status reports in the following ways:
■ By Task
■ By Computer
See “About Software Management Solution reports” on page 82.
Quick Delivery Status
Lets you configure the following settings:
■ Configure Software Library Location
For more information, see the topic about configuring the Software Library in the
Symantec Management Platform Help.
■ Rollout Software Management Solution plug-in
See “Installing the Software Management Solution agent” on page 38.
■ Rollout Software Portal plug-in
See “Installing the Software Portal agent” on page 46.
■ Configure Software Portal
See “Configuring the Software Portal settings” on page 181.
■ Configure Software Portal Administrators
For moreinformation, see the topics on setting upsecurity, securityroles, and security
role privilege settings in the Symantec Management Platform Help.
■ Configure Software Portal Managers
For moreinformation, see the topics on setting upsecurity, securityroles, and security
role privilege settings in the Symantec Management Platform Help.
■ Configure Managed Delivery Defaults
See “Configuring the default settings for Managed Software Delivery” on page 54.
Settings
Performing common tasks in Software Management Solution
About the Software Management worker view
78
Sources of status information in Software
Management Solution
You canobtain statusand other information about Software Management Solution
tasks, policies, and other actions from several sources. Each source provides a
different type or format of information depending on your needs.
Table 4-2
Sources of status information for Software Management Solution
DescriptionSourceInformation
The predefinedSoftware Management Solution reports are
an excellent source for compliance and delivery status
information.
See “About Software Management Solution reports”
on page 82.
ReportsA wide range of information
about software delivery,
compliance, software
requests, application
management, and software
virtualization
Web parts are the building blocks for portal pages in the
SymantecManagementConsole. You can add theSoftware
Management Solution Web parts to any portal page that
you can access.
See “Web parts for Software Management Solution”
on page 48.
Software Management
Solution Web parts
Graphical representationsof
the status of Software
Management tasks, policies,
and requests
The Software Management worker view provides a single
place to view software-related status reports.
See “About the Software Management worker view”
on page 77.
Software Management
worker view in the
SymantecManagement
Console
Status of Software
Management tasks and
policies
79Performing common tasks in Software Management Solution
Sources of status information in Software Management Solution
Table 4-2
Sources of status information for Software Management Solution
(continued)
DescriptionSourceInformation
You can view a task’s status and details in the following
places:
■ The Task Status section on the task details page
You can open any Software Management Solution task
to view its Task Status section. This section lists the
instances of the task and the statusof each instance. For
each instance, you can drill down to the details of its
delivery and execution and to the computers on which
the task was run.
See “Editing a task in Software Management Solution”
on page 143.
■ The Job and Task Status Web part
You can add this Web part to the Jobs and Task Portal
page or to any otherportal page. This Web part displays
individual instancesof eachtask. For each instance, you
can drill down to the details of its delivery and execution
and to the computers on which the task was run.
Task status views on
the Notification Server
computer
Status and details for a
specific task
You can check the status of a task or policy on the Altiris
Agent on the client computer.
For moreinformation, seethe topicsabout viewing the task
status on the Altiris Agent in the Symantec Management
Platform Help.
Altiris AgentStatus of tasks and policies
on a specific client computer
The Software Management Solution agent creates files on
the client computer that record information about the
Software Management Solution events on that computer.
The event files are as follows:
■ AexSWDPolicy.xml
Records the execution details and status for every
software delivery task and policy that runs on the client
computer.
■ log.xml
Records thedownload statusfor eachcommand lineand
package that a specific software resource contains.
See “About Software Management Solution event files”
on page 81.
Software event files on
the client computer
Detailed information about
downloads andexecutions on
a specific client computer
Performing common tasks in Software Management Solution
Sources of status information in Software Management Solution
80
Table 4-2
Sources of status information for Software Management Solution
(continued)
DescriptionSourceInformation
The Altiris Log records the events that occur within the
Symantec Management Platform, including errors. When
a task or policy does not behave as you expected, you can
open the log and view the specific event to diagnose
problems. The Altiris Log Viewerlets you open and viewthe
Altiris Log.
For more information, see the topics about the Altiris Log
and the Altiris Log Viewer in the Symantec Management
Platform Help.
Altiris LogEvents that occur within the
Symantec Management
Platform
See “About the status of Managed Software Delivery policies” on page 128.
About Software Management Solution event files
The Software Management Solution agent creates files on the client computer
that record information about the Software Management Solution events on that
computer. Youcan view these files to obtain detailed information aboutdownloads
and executions on a specific client computer.
Table 4-3
Software Management Solution event files
Location on the client computerDescriptionEvent file
installation path\Altiris\Altiris
Agent\Agents\SoftwareManagement\Software
Delivery
Records the execution details and status for
every software delivery task and policy that
runs on the client computer. The detailed
information includes the package
identification, the execution options, the
command line, and the results of the
execution.
AexSWDPolicy.xml
installation_path\Altiris\Altiris Agent\
Agents\SoftwareManagement\Software
Delivery\package_GUID\cache
See “About the alternate download location
for packages” on page 60.
Records the download status for each
command line and package that a specific
software resource contains.
By default, this file records the last 30
download attempts. You can change this
value by editing the following registry key
on the client computer:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Altiris\Communications\
Package Delivery\Download history size
log.xml
81Performing common tasks in Software Management Solution
About Software Management Solution event files
See “Sourcesof status information in Software Management Solution” on page 79.
About Software Management Solution reports
Predefined reports let you easily view and analyze your Software Management
Solution data. The reports are grouped in folders by type in the Symantec
Management Console.
See “Running a Software Management Solution report” on page 83.
You can also create your own custom reports.
For more information, see the topics about custom Notification Server reports in
the Symantec Management Platform Help.
By default, all the Software Management Solution reports support resource
scoping, which limits the data that users can access based on their security roles.
The Software Management Solution reports use the scoping feature as follows:
■ When a user runs a report, the report contains only the data that the user has
permissions for.
■ When a user saves a snapshot of a report, the snapshot is scoped according to
that user’s permissions. The users who have a lower security role than the
original user cannot view the snapshot. The users who have a higher security
role than the original user can see only the data that the original user was
allowed to access.
■ You can clone a report and edit the clone’s SQL query to customize how the
data isscoped when it is extracted for that report. You can alsoinclude scoping
information when you create an SQL query for a custom report.
■ You can clone a report and edit the clone to select the fields that are scoped
when data is extracted from that report’s snapshots.
For more information, see the topics about configuring the scoping fields in a
report and about defining an SQL query in the Symantec Management Platform
Help.
Performing common tasks in Software Management Solution
About Software Management Solution reports
82
Table 4-4
Types of predefined reports in Software Management Solution
DescriptionReport type and folder
Contains the reports that appeared in Software Delivery
Solution 6.x.This folderdoes notcontain anycustom reports
that were defined in 6.0.
The Legacy Reports can contain data from Software
Management Solution 7.0 as appropriate. They can also
contain any data that you might have migrated from
Software Delivery Solution 6.x.
6.0 Legacy Reports
Contains the reports that display information about the
Windows Installerapplications thatare broken or that have
inaccessible source paths.
Application Management
Contains the reports that display information about the
compliance actions and the remediation actions that
Managed Software Delivery performs.
Compliance
Contains the reports that display information about the
status of the software downloads and executions.
If you migrated software delivery data from Software
Delivery Solution 6.x, the new delivery reportscontain data
from both 6.x and 7.0.
Delivery
Contains the reports that display the status of software
requests that are made through the Software Portal.
Portal
Contains the reports that display information about the
actions (events) that have been performed on the virtual
layers that are installed on client computers.
Virtualized Software
Resources
Running a Software Management Solution report
You can view reports to get information about the actions that you perform in
Software Management Solution.
For more information, see the topics about reports in the Symantec Management
Platform Help.
83Performing common tasks in Software Management Solution
Running a Software Management Solution report
To run a Software Management Solution report
1
In the Symantec Management Console, on the Reports menu, click All
Reports.
2
In the left pane, under Reports, expand Software and expand the folder that
contains the report that you plan to run.
See “About Software Management Solution reports” on page 82.
3
Under the folder that you expanded, select a report.
4
When the report appears in the right pane, you can print the report or save
it in a variety of formats. Other actions might be available depending on the
type of report.
Performing common tasks in Software Management Solution
Running a Software Management Solution report
84
Delivering software
■ Chapter 5. Introducing software delivery
■ Chapter 6. Performing advanced software deliveries
■ Chapter 7. Performing quick software deliveries
■ Chapter 8. Delivering packages
■ Chapter 9. Creating and managing Software Management tasks
■ Chapter 10. Delivering 6.x software packages
2
Section
86
Introducing software
delivery
This chapter includes the following topics:
■ About software delivery
■ Methods for delivering software
■ Methods for uninstalling software
■ How Software Management Solution integrateswith theSoftware Catalog and
Software Library
About software delivery
Software Management Solution lets you deliver and install software safely and
accurately on managed client computers. You can create tasks and policies to
respond to software delivery needs from elementary to complex.
Software Management Solution integrates with the Software Catalog and the
Software Library that are part of the Symantec Management Platform. By
leveraging this information, Software Management Solution ensures that the
correct software gets installed, remains installed, and runs without interference
from othersoftware. This integration lets your administrators focuson delivering
the correct software instead of redefining the packages, command lines, and so
on for each delivery.
See “How Software Management Solution integrates with the Software Catalog
and Software Library” on page 93.
Software ManagementSolution supportspackages for the Windows, UNIX, Linux,
and Mac operating systems. With few exceptions, all the functions in Software
Management Solution work the same for all platforms. For example, you use the
5
Chapter
same method to create a delivery task for a Windows, UNIX, Linux, or Mac OS
package.
You can use Software Management Solution tasks or policies to fulfill any of the
following delivery requirements:
■ Perform a quick delivery of a single software resource.
■ Perform one or more advanced delivery actions.
For example, you can deliver multiple software resources and periodically
check the client computer to verify that they are in the correct state.
■ Deliver software automatically in response to a direct request from a user.
■ Deliver a package that is not associated with a software resource.
■ Deliver software with a policy that you migrated from Software Delivery
Solution 6.x.
■ Create a new virtual software layer on a client computer.
See “Methods for delivering software” on page 88.
Methods for delivering software
You can deliver software to one or more managed computers by creating and
running aSoftware Management task or policy. The method that youuse to create
the task or policy depends on your delivery requirements.
Introducing software delivery
Methods for delivering software
88
Table 5-1
Methods for delivering software
DescriptionDelivery methodYour requirement
You can use the task-based Quick Delivery
method to specify the software to deliver,
the action to perform, and the computers to
deliver to. Quick Delivery uses the default
task settings, which you can change when
necessary.
Because of its simplicity, Quick Delivery is
an ideal way for non-administrators, such
as help desk personnel, to deliver software
safely and accurately.
The software that you deliver in this way
must be defined as a deliverable software
resource in the Software Catalog.
See “About quick delivery of a single
software resource” on page 131.
Quick DeliveryPerform a quick delivery of a single
software resource.
Managed SoftwareDelivery isa policy-based
delivery method that lets you fulfill
advanced delivery requirements. A single
Managed Software Delivery policy can
perform multiple delivery actions.
The software that you deliver in this way
must be defined as a deliverable software
resource in the Software Catalog.
Managed Software Delivery leverages the
software resourceinformation andthe logic
that isin the Software Catalog. For example,
Managed Software Delivery uses the
software resource’s dependencies, package,
and detection rule.
See “About advanced software deliveries”
on page 96.
Managed Software DeliveryPerform one or more of the following
advanced delivery actions:
■ Deliver on a recurring schedule.
■ Install to a known state and ensure
that the state is maintained.
■ Install software with the other
software that it depends on.
■ Install a software resource that
replaces other software.
■ Sequentially install multiple
software and tasks.
■ (Windows only)Install softwareinto
a virtual software layer.
■ Run any client task at any stage of
the delivery.
A client task is one that is defined
in Notification Server and is
intended to run on a client
computer.
89Introducing software delivery
Methods for delivering software
Table 5-1
Methods for delivering software (continued)
DescriptionDelivery methodYour requirement
(Windows and Mac only) With the Software
Portal, users can request software and
responds to those requests. If the user is
pre-approved to install the software, the
installation occurs without the
administrator’s involvement.Otherwise, the
administrator only needs to approve the
requests and deliver the software that is not
in the Software Catalog.
See “Aboutthe SoftwarePortal” on page 161.
Software PortalDeliver softwarein response to a direct
request from a user.
Package Delivery is a task-based delivery
method. It lets you deliver any package
regardless of whether it is associated with a
software resource.
See “About Package Delivery” on page 137.
Package DeliveryDeliver apackage that is not associated
with a software resource.
When you upgrade from Notification Server
6.x to Symantec Management Platform 7.0,
you can migrate your 6.x software delivery
tasks to Legacy Delivery policies. You can
continue to use those policies as they are.
You can also assign their packages to
software resources to deliver a 6.x software
package with Quick Delivery or Managed
Software Delivery.
See “About Legacy Software Delivery”
on page 149.
Legacy Software DeliveryDeliver software with a policy that you
migrated from Software Delivery
Solution 6.x.
Imports a virtual software archive(VSA) file
to a managed client computer and creates a
new virtual software layer.
A VSA file is an installation file for one or
more Windows-basedapplications or sets of
data.
See “Methods for installing and managing
virtual software” on page 221.
Software Virtualization task
Quick Delivery
Package Delivery
(Windows only) Install software into a
new virtual software layer on a client
computer.
Introducing software delivery
Methods for delivering software
90
Table 5-1
Methods for delivering software (continued)
DescriptionDelivery methodYour requirement
You can create and manage new virtual
software layers or manage existing layers
on client computers. A Managed Software
Delivery policy lets you perform complex
layer management tasks.
See “Installing and managing a virtual
software layer with a Managed Software
Delivery policy” on page 230.
Managed Software Delivery(Windows only) Virtualize an
application and install it into a new
virtual software layer on a client
computer.
Methods for uninstalling software
You can uninstall software from one or more managed computers by running a
Software Management policy or task.
The method that you use to uninstall software depends on how the software was
installed.
Table 5-2
Methods for uninstalling software
Uninstall methodInstallation method
You can clone the original installation task or policy and
then edit the clone to select an uninstall command line.
The software was installed
with aSoftware Management
Solution task or policy.
91Introducing software delivery
Methods for uninstalling software
Table 5-2
Methods for uninstalling software (continued)
Uninstall methodInstallation method
If a software resource is defined for that software, you can
create a software delivery task or policy and select an
uninstall command line.
See “Methods for delivering software” on page 88.
If a software resource is not defined for that software, you
can create one in the Software Catalog.
For moreinformation, seethe topicsabout creatingsoftware
resources andcommand linesin theSymantec Management
Platform Help.
If you prefer not to create a software resource, you can use
a Package Delivery task. For Windows software, you can
obtain the uninstall command line from the registry of a
computer that contains that software. The command line
is in the UninstallString key in the following folder:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Uninstall\application folder
The software was not
installed with Software
Management Solution.
You can clone the original installation task or policy and
then edit the clone to select a deactivate and delete
command line.
The software was installed
into a virtual layer with a
Software Management
Solution task or policy.
You canuse aSoftware Virtualization task to deactivate and
delete anyvirtual software layer that was installed with one
of the following products: Altiris Software Virtualization
Solution or Symantec Workspace Virtualization. You can
specify the name of the layer to act upon.
See “Installing and managing a virtual software layer with
a Software Virtualization task” on page 225.
The software was installed
into a virtual layer, but not
with Software Management
Solution.
Managed SoftwareDelivery providesthe ability to perform more complex uninstall
tasks. For example, you can use a Managed Software Delivery policy to not only
uninstall obsolete software but also install new software at the same time.
See “About installing software that replaces other software” on page 124.
Managed Software Delivery can also regularly check computers for the presence
of unauthorized software and uninstall any unauthorized software that is found.
For example, you can use a Managed Software Delivery policy to remove game
software from client computers on a recurring basis.
Introducing software delivery
Methods for uninstalling software
92
How Software Management Solution integrates with
the Software Catalog and Software Library
In SoftwareManagement Solution,Quick Deliveryand Managed Software Delivery
leverage the software resource information that is in the Software Catalog and
Software Library. Whenyou create a task or policy, you select a software resource
to deliver. Any information about the software that the task or the policy needs
is available from the software resource.
The SoftwareCatalog and Software Library are part of the Symantec Management
Platform.
For more information, see the topics about the Software Catalog, the Software
Library, and software resources in the Symantec Management Platform Help.
Table 5-3
How features in Software Management Solution use software
resource information
Usage of software resource informationFeature
The Quick Delivery wizard limitsthe selections that you needto make to deliver software.
You select the software resource to deliver, the command line to use, and the destinations
to target. The software resource provides any other information that is required for the
delivery. This simplified delivery method lets you entrust certain deliveries to
non-administrators such as help desk personnel.
See “About quick delivery of a single software resource” on page 131.
Quick Delivery
The software resource information is essential for the complex deliveries that Managed
Software Delivery performs.
Managed Software Delivery uses the software resource’s rules to intelligently perform
applicability andcompliance checksand toremediate thesoftware thatis outof compliance.
These checks conserve bandwidth by ensuring that the software is not downloaded to
computers on which it is already installed.
The Managed Software Delivery wizard can use the software resource’s associations to
alert you to the following situations:
■ When the selected software depends on other software resources
■ When an update to the selected software is available
■ When other software supersedes the selected software
■ (Windows only) When the selected software resource conflicts with another software
resource
See “About advanced software deliveries” on page 96.
Managed Software
Delivery
93Introducing software delivery
How Software Management Solution integrates with the Software Catalog and Software Library
Table 5-3
How features in Software Management Solution use software
resource information (continued)
Usage of software resource informationFeature
(Windows and Mac OS only) In each software resource, you can configure settings for
making thatsoftware availableto theSoftware Portal. The settings determine which users
are allowed to request that software and whether their requests require approval.
See “About the Software Portal” on page 161.
Software Portal
See “About Software Management Solution” on page 13.
Introducing software delivery
How Software Management Solution integrates with the Software Catalog and Software Library
94
Performing advanced
software deliveries
This chapter includes the following topics:
■ About advanced software deliveries
■ Advanced delivery actions that Managed Software Delivery can perform
■ About the execution of Managed Software Delivery policies
■ About policy applicability, compliance, and remediation
■ Performing an advanced software delivery
■ Creating a Managed Software Delivery policy with the Managed Software
Delivery wizard
■ Select software resource page
■ Creating a Managed Software Delivery policy
■ About editing a Managed Software Delivery policy
■ Editing a Managed Software Delivery policy
■ Select Software dialog box
■ About the destinations for a Managed Software Delivery policy
■ Policy Rules/Actions section
■ Software Publishing tab
■ Select Task dialog box
■ About software delivery deferral options for the user
6
Chapter
■ About deferring the execution of software remediation
■ About installing software that replaces other software
■ About delivering multiple software resources and tasks
■ Delivering multiple software resources and tasks sequentially
■ About the status of Managed Software Delivery policies
About advanced software deliveries
In many organizations, administrators spend the majority of their software
delivery time on a minority of advanced delivery activities. Managed Software
Delivery simplifies advanced software deliveries by letting you deliver software
as a unit, which can include multiple software resources as well as dependencies.
For example,you can create a single Managed Software Delivery policythat installs
an application and its associated patches and service packs. Managed Software
Delivery can also run any task at any stage of the delivery. For example, it can
run a task that performs a restart or runs a script.
Managed SoftwareDelivery isa policy-based delivery method that lets you respond
to an assortment of advanced delivery requirements.
See “Performing an advanced software delivery” on page 104.
The power of Managed Software Delivery lies in the following abilities:
■ To intelligently perform the compliance checks and the remediation actions
that let you not only deliver software but also manage it.
■ To leverage the software resource information and the logic that is in the
Software Catalog such as dependencies, packages, and detection rules.
■ To conserve bandwidth by downloading packages only when they are needed.
If a client computer does not have the appropriate configuration for the
software orif the software is already installed, the package is not downloaded.
■ To perform multiple delivery actions with a single policy.
See “Advanced delivery actions that Managed Software Delivery can perform”
on page 97.
The software that you deliver in this way must be defined as a software resource
in the Software Catalog. If the software is not defined, contact an administrator
who can edit the Software Catalog.
For more information, see the topics about the Software Catalog in the Symantec
Management Platform Help.
Performing advanced software deliveries
About advanced software deliveries
96
If you need to perform a quick delivery of a single software resource, use Quick
Delivery instead of Managed Software Delivery.
See “About quick delivery of a single software resource” on page 131.
Advanced delivery actions that Managed Software
Delivery can perform
Managed SoftwareDelivery isa policy-based delivery method that lets you respond
to an assortment of advanced delivery requirements. A single Managed Software
Delivery policy can perform multiple delivery actions.
See “About advanced software deliveries” on page 96.
Table 6-1
Advanced delivery actions that Managed Software Delivery can
perform
DescriptionDelivery action
In its simplest form, Managed Software Delivery delivers a single software resource with
its associated package and command line. It downloads the software and installs it on the
managed computer according to a defined schedule. It does not perform a compliance
check and it always considers the computer to be compliant.
Deliver software
You can set the Managed Software Delivery schedule to repeat daily, weekly, monthly, or
yearly. The most common use of a recurring delivery is to check and remediate software
on the client computer.
Perform thedelivery on
a recurring schedule
Managed Software Delivery installs the software to a specific known state on the client
computer. On a recurring basis, Managed Software Delivery can perform a compliance
check to verify that the state is maintained. If the stateof the software is out of compliance,
Managed Software Delivery performs a remediation to restore the correct state.
See “About policy applicability, compliance, and remediation” on page 102.
Check and remediate
software on the client
computer
Managed SoftwareDelivery checks the client computer for the dependencies ofa software
resource that it delivers.
When a client computer does not contain the dependency software, Managed Software
Delivery can perform either of the following actions:
■ Trigger a compliance failure and stop the delivery.
■ Perform a remediation by installing the missing dependency.
Deliver software
dependencies to the
client computer as
needed
97Performing advanced software deliveries
Advanced delivery actions that Managed Software Delivery can perform
Table 6-1
Advanced delivery actions that Managed Software Delivery can
perform (continued)
DescriptionDelivery action
When you create a Managed Software Delivery policy for a software resource that
supersedes other software, you can set supersedence options. These options determine
whether ManagedSoftware Deliveryreplaces thesuperseded software.Managed Software
Delivery’s supportof supersedenceassociations makesit easyto deliver software upgrades.
For example, you want to distribute Norton AntiVirus 2008 to the managed computers
that arerunning NortonAntiVirus 2007.If amanaged computer contains Norton AntiVirus
2007, Managed Software Delivery can uninstall it and install Norton AntiVirus 2008.
See “About installing software that replaces other software” on page 124.
Detect supersedence
associations on the
client computer
You can deliver multiple software resources and tasks with a single Managed Software
Delivery policy. When Managed Software Delivery evaluates compliance for a group of
software, only the software that is out of compliance is downloaded and installed. You can
add any client tasks to the execution queue to perform custom operations before, during,
or after the software remediation process. For example, you can add a task that performs
a restart or runs a script. A client task is one that is defined in Notification Server and is
intended to run on a client computer.
See “About delivering multiple software resources and tasks” on page 125.
Sequentially install
multiple software
resources and tasks
(Windows only) Managed Software Delivery lets you install Windows-based software into
a virtual software layer on a managed computer. The Software Virtualization agent must
be installed on the managed computer; otherwise, the software is installed normally.
You might virtualize the software for the following reasons:
■ To prevent conflicts on the managed computer when you deliver the software that
conflicts with other software in your environment. When you install the software into
a virtual layer, it does not conflict with other software even if the conflicting software
is installed later.
■ To fix an application that is broken on the managed computer. You can quickly reset
the broken application’s layer to restore the application to its original configuration.
See “Installing and managing a virtual software layer with a Managed Software Delivery
policy” on page 230.
Install thesoftware into
a virtual software layer
and perform multiple
layer actions
In aManaged Software Delivery policy, you can set different schedules for the compliance
check andthe remediation (in this case, installation). The separate schedules allow forthe
offline executionof theManaged Software Delivery. When the compliance check determines
that aremediation isrequired, thepolicy downloads the appropriate package. Remediation
can occur even if the client computer is not connected to the server because the client
computer already has the package that it needs.
See “About deferring the execution of software remediation” on page 124.
Execute software
installations offline
See “Performing an advanced software delivery” on page 104.
Performing advanced software deliveries
Advanced delivery actions that Managed Software Delivery can perform
98
About the execution of Managed Software Delivery
policies
When a Managed Software Delivery policy runs on a managed computer, it
performs a series of tasks that are grouped into the following phases:
■ Compliance
See Table 6-2.
■ Remediation
See Table 6-3.
When you schedule a Managed Software Delivery policy, you can assign different
schedules for compliance and remediation. For example, you can schedule the
compliance status to be reported during the day and the remediation to occur
only during a maintenance window.
See “About policy applicability, compliance, and remediation” on page 102.
The ability to separate compliance and remediation also allows for the offline
execution of Managed Software Delivery policies. When the compliance check
determines that a remediation is required, the policy downloads the appropriate
package. Remediation can occur even if the client computer is not connected to
the server because the client computer already has the package that it needs.
See “About deferring the execution of software remediation” on page 124.
Table 6-2
Process for the compliance phase of Managed Software Delivery
DescriptionActionStep
Starts the policy’s compliance process at the
scheduled time on the client computer.
Policy executionStep 1
(Windows only) Determines whether the client
computer has the correct environment for an
installation of the software. If the computer does
not have the correct environment, the policy
execution stops.
The applicability check runs for each software
resource inthe ManagedSoftware Deliverypolicy
that is associated with an applicability rule.
Applicability checkStep 2
99Performing advanced software deliveries
About the execution of Managed Software Delivery policies
Table 6-2
Process for the compliance phase of Managed Software Delivery
(continued)
DescriptionActionStep
Evaluates the software resource’s unique
identifier or detection rule to determine whether
the software resource is installed on the client
computer. The software resource’s unique
identifier is used when the software resource is
not associated with a detection rule.
The compliance check runs for each software
resource inthe ManagedSoftware Deliverypolicy.
This compliance check determines whether the
software is in the correct state. The correct state
of asoftware resource can mean that it is installed
or that it is not installed.
If all the software in the Managed Software
Delivery policy is in the correct state, it is
compliant. Therefore, remediation is not needed
and the policy execution stops. If any or all of the
software is not in the correct state, it is out of
compliance. Therefore, remediation is required
and the policy execution continues.
Compliance checkStep 3
Performing advanced software deliveries
About the execution of Managed Software Delivery policies
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