DX Version 2.0 for SMP User Guide

Transcription

1 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ DX Version 2.0 for SMP User Guide Table of Contents Introduction...3 Installation Prerequisites...4 Installation...4 Upgrading...4 Configuration...6 Platform Analysis...6 View Filters...8 View Devices...9 Computer/Class Comparison...9 Manually Moving Computers Driver Management Harvest Drivers Driver Repository Add Applications Mass Storage Driver Repository Image Management Image Creation Deployment Configuration Settings Active Profile Settings Target OS Device Filters Scope Global Settings Credentials Data Repository Synchronization Connections License Troubleshooting Log Viewer... 31

2 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Message Log Viewer Background Task Manager Preferences Support Appendix A Installation Guide Installation Prerequisites Installation Configuration Appendix B - Quick Start Guide Appendix C Actions Pane Index Platform Analysis Driver Management Harvest Drivers Driver Repository Add Applications Mass Storage Driver Repository Image Management Image Creation Deployment Configuration Settings Active Profile Settings Target OS Device Filters Scope Global Settings Credentials Data Repository Synchronization Connections License... 53

3 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Introduction Enterprise IT environments have struggled with the enormous task of routinely managing the many separate images required to support all of their distinct PC models. The inefficiencies of this manual process equate into many labor-intensive hours. DeployExpert (DX) steps above the manually engineered process limitations by providing an easy and manageable methodology for image consolidation. The core product functionality leverages the existing Deployment Solution framework. The intuitive DX console allows administrators to quickly build support for a single image, while populating Altiris Deployment Solution with a familiar job to use for imaging. For more information and support, please visit the Altrinsic Solutions forum at For organizational purposes, this User Guide presents DX topics as organized by DX Console interface location, NOT necessarily in order of use in a normal implementation. For an operational flow sample, see the DX Quick-Start Guide at the bottom of this document. It is strongly recommended that the complete user guide be read prior to implementation of DX.

4 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Installation Prerequisites Symantec Management Platform 7.1 with Deployment Solution and Inventory Solution Automation folder or PXE automation configured. WinPE based deployments configured Relevant SMP App Identity account access. SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2008 Account privileges necessary to install DX and create a database Installation DeployExpert is intended to be installed in a server environment. After verifying that the above requirements are met, run the DX installation executable called DeployExpert.exe. The installer guides through the installation of the four DeployExpert Components. DX Core Services This installs the DX Kernel, Database, DX-side connector components for SMP and DX Logging. This can be installed on the SMP server or, for larger environments, on a dedicated system with sufficient computing power and disk space for the driver repository. DX Console The DX Console should be installed on the DX server, but can also be installed solo on administrative workstations and other servers. DX SMP Components These components are the SMP console components for DX. This should be installed on all DX managed SMP/DS7.1 servers. The SMP must have DS 7.1 installed. It should be noted that if the DX Core Services are installed on a separate server, a copy of the DX driver repository will be replicated to the SMP server s SMB share to support deployment jobs. In a hierarchy enabled environment, each site server in the SMP hierarchy needs to have the DX SMP Components installed on it. DX Connector for SMP This installs the DX Connector web service for SMP onto the DX Managed DS 7.1 server. This component communicates with the DX-side SMP connector components creating a communication channel between the DS and SMP server(s). This should be installed on each SMP/DS7.1 server that is managed by DX. For a more detailed overview, please see the DeployExpert Installation Guide. Upgrading To Upgrade DX to a newer version, begin by downloading the newest version from the Altrinsic Solutions website. Login or register for a new account and select Download DX for Symantec SMP. Once downloaded, extract the files locally to the DX server and run the DeployExpert.exe. Do not uninstall the old version of DeployExpert. The installer will detect the older version of DeployExpert and present the following dialog:

5 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Click Next. To properly install, DX requires a restart of the Altiris Core services. Click Next.

6 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ If your installation of DX is eligible and ready for upgrade, select Upgrade. This will begin the wizards for each component, but will not prompt for configuration installation. Once all installed component wizards complete, the upgrade is complete. To be eligible for an upgrade of DeployExpert, two criteria must be met. First, the Auto-Update Protection date from the active license must be a future date. Second, a current functioning installation of DX must currently be installed on the server for the upgrade to proceed. Configuration After installation, the initial configuration of DeployExpert is completed through a series of wizards. When DX is first launched, the required wizards will request to be run. These wizards will allow configuration of credentials, SMP connection information, and data repository paths. For more information about these settings, see the Global Settings section of this user guide. Additionally, there are optional wizards that will aid you in the creation and configuration of the first profile in DeployExpert. Although these are optional wizards, it is recommended that these settings are reviewed before beginning working with DX. For a more detailed walkthrough of the wizards, please see the DeployExpert Installation Guide. Platform Analysis Analyzing the diverse hardware within the organization is the first phase in building a process to support hardware independent imaging. The functionality present within the Platform Analysis interface in the DX console uses an advanced algorithm to group computers based on the commonality that is important to imaging. These calculations examine several characteristics including manufacturer, model and hardware devices that are present. The process identifies and graphically illustrates these groupings, first into model groups, and then further into Compatibility Classes.

7 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ To analyze the hardware within an environment, run a Check for New Inventory Data from the Actions pane. This action is finding inventory on devices and computers collected by the Symantec Inventory Solution and the DX Inventory policy. Once the check is complete, select Force Reclassification from the Actions pane. This action is running a sophisticated analysis to group all computers into compatibility classes. Once the reclassification is complete, select Refresh for the Platform Analysis. Selecting a model or class populates the corresponding computers into the Model pane. For each Compatibility Class created by DX, a representative must be chosen in order to successfully image to this class or model of systems. This representative is called the Source Computer of the class. Each source computer is used in later steps to harvest and build a library of support files necessary to image every computer belonging to the same class. Choose a source computer from each class in the model tree by selecting the computer and selecting the Add as Source Computer from the Actions pane. Each source computer will be eligible for driver harvest from the Harvest Drivers interface. Selecting Auto Select from the Actions pane will attempt to automatically choose one candidate from each class. To edit the criteria for the candidate selection, refer to Active Profile Settings. Selecting a computer from the Members pane or the Source Computers pane will populate a computer description for the selected computer in the Actions pane.

8 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ For a full explanation of all the available actions from the Actions pane, see the Appendix C -Actions Pane Index. View Filters DeployExpert View Filters are a tool that can limit and specify what systems are displayed in the Model tree of the Platform Analysis. View filters are activated from the profile bar as Active Profile. The profile bar is shown at the top of the Platform Analysis interface under the menu bar. To enable a Filter check the Active Filter box and select the desired filter from the Active Filter drop-down option box. View Filters can limit the amount of systems shown in the platform analysis using either computer name or IP address. However, the view filters are only limiting what is shown, not what is analyzed. All computers available from the connection and its scope are still being inventoried and analyzed. To filter the computers that are being analyzed and inventoried, refer to the Scope interface. To add a new filter, click the Add button on the Filter Setup dialog. Give the filter a name and it will populate into the Filters pane. To add criteria to the View filter, select the filter and select Add on the Conditions pane. View Filters can be based on Computer Name or IP Address. This allows for sorting on naming conventions or for filtering by subnets. A single view filter can have multiple criteria, which are sorted in the order shown in the order field in the Conditions pane. Multiple View filters can be created, but only one View filter can be active at a time. To enable a View filter, select Active Filter from the Platform Analysis and choose the desired filter.

9 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ View Devices To view the device list of a computer, select that computer and click View Devices from the Actions pane. The View Devices dialog shows a listing of all inventoried devices on a specific system. Selecting a device from the device listing will show all associated driver information collected by the DX Inventory. Computer/Class Comparison Comparing computers and classes in the environment gives insight to the analysis process by highlighting each difference and similarity between any two computers or any two compatibility classes in the environment.

10 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ To access the Comparing Computers interface, select Compare Computer(s) or Compare Classes from the Platform Analysis Actions pane. Select one computer or class and select View Left and select another computer and select View Right. Nonmatching devices will be listed in red, as well as difference in Manufacturer, Model, or Operating system. The Comparing Computers tool can highlight the exact device differences that are causing two similar systems to be in different compatibility classes in the Platform Analysis tab. Manually Moving Computers Computers can be manually moved between classes by selecting a computer and clicking Move to Class action in the Actions pane. The Select Class dialog will provide a drop-down of all classes in the active profile. Select the destination class for the computer and clicking OK. To prevent the computer from moving classes after the next reclassification, select the Lock After Moving to Class option before clicking OK. Show Empty Classes will populate the Classes drop-down with all classes including hidden classes that currently have no class members. By default, Empty Classes are hidden from the Platform Analysis, but still exist and keep their driver associations.

11 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Driver Management The Driver Management interfaces work together to compile and manage all the drivers in the environment. This includes harvesting new drivers, manually adding downloaded drivers and applications, and managing the driver associations that govern the deployment job. Harvest Drivers After analyzing hardware diversity and populating the list with one computer to represent each identified class, the next step is to use those computers to build a library of driver files necessary to image those computers and other computers like them (belonging to the same class). The DX Harvest Drivers interface provides an intuitive interface and allows the administrator or imaging technician to quickly and easily harvest these files.

12 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ The computers that were selected in the Platform Analysis as source computers are listed in the Harvest Drivers interface in the Source Computers pane. To initiate a collect, highlight each computer that you wish to harvest from and select Harvest from Selected from the Actions pane. DX will create and assign Jobs as necessary in the Symantec Management Console. By default, harvest jobs are scheduled to run immediately when the Harvest from Selected action is clicked. To harvest systems in batches, select Harvest in Batches and specify the batch size and interval. This will stagger the harvest jobs in the DS to run a smaller number of harvest jobs at a time. This is useful to avoid network slow-down in cases of large quantities of harvest jobs. Harvest jobs can also be scheduled by selecting Schedule for a specific start time and entering a date and time. This will postpone the start of the harvest jobs until the specified time. If this option is not selected, the harvest jobs run immediately. The checkbox Harvest Microsoft Drivers determines whether the harvest job will return drivers that are manufactured by Microsoft. By default, these drivers are collected for Microsoft XP. For Windows Vista and Windows 7 systems, Microsoft drivers are not collected by default and should not be collected for best results during deployments. By default, the harvested drivers will copy to the Shared Path as specified in the Data Repository interface. As the harvest action finishes on each computer, the icon next to the computer name changes to indicate either success (indicated as green) or failure (indicated as red). If failure occurs, either troubleshoot the problem or select a different computer to represent the class, and re-collect. Harvest Jobs can be monitored from the Manage -> Jobs and Tasks interface from the Symantec Management Console, or from the Background Task Manager. Driver Repository The DeployExpert Driver Repository is the complete resource for viewing, managing, and resetting all the drivers in the master DX Driver Library. DeployExpert distinguishes three types of drivers that are used in deployment jobs. Harvested drivers are the drivers that are collected directly from the environment using the Harvest Drivers interface. OEM\Downloaded drivers are drivers that have been manually downloaded from the manufacturer or other source and added into the DX driver repository using the Add driver functionality from the Actions pane. Finally, Applications are drivers that require a software installer or executable to run properly. More information about adding and removing application drivers can be found in the Add Applications interface. The Driver Repository pane displays all the drivers in the environment. Selecting one of the drivers displays the driver properties of that driver. The Classes pane shows all the current classes for the active profile. Selecting a class will populate the Class Associated Drivers pane with all the drivers.

13 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ The Driver Repository can be an overwhelming list of all the drivers in the environment. The Actions pane allows the user to filter the views of the drivers to more easily manage the drivers and their associations. For a full explanation of all the available actions from the Actions pane, see the Appendix C -Actions Pane Index. The Driver Repository interface also allows for manual adding and removing driver associations to classes, models, and profiles. To remove an association from a single class, select the class and uncheck the driver from the Class Associated Drivers pane. To add a driver association, select the driver(s) and select the class and select associate with selected class(es) from the Actions Pane. Drivers can also be associated by model or to an entire profile. Select one or multiple drivers, and then select Associate to Model. Select the model or models and select OK. To associate a driver or drivers to an entire profile, select the driver(s) and select Associate to profile from the Actions pane. The driver will then be deployed to all classes for the active profile. Add Applications Certain drivers require software installations to be fully utilized or even properly installed. Those types of drivers and devices are not usefully served by harvested drivers, so DeployExpert provides an interface to add drivers that are Application-based. The Add Applications interface allows for the creation of two types of application-based driver installations. These drivers must first be manually obtained from the manufacturer of the driver. Once obtained and extracted, the application can be added into DX to be managed and deployed alongside the other drivers.

14 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ To add the new driver, select New application browser as the Application Source. Then, browse for the setup or installation executable. If the executable has additional files and/or subfolders, choose the appropriate Copy Files option to include all those files into the added driver. Specify a name for the application and enter the command line that will run during sysprep deployment. Typically, the command line should be the installation executable with a silent command switch. To determine the silent parameters for an application install, look for the usage information in the documentation that came with the driver. Typically, for Dell drivers the silent parameter will be /s and for HP drivers the silent parameter will be -sq. Examples of Command line +parameters: Setup.exe /s Install.exe sq The Execution priority is the order in which the applications run during sysprep. If the order is unimportant, leave the default execution priority of 2. To install an application at the time of first login instead of during the sysprep mini-setup, select Run on first login. Certain types of drivers must be installed as a logged-in user and therefore cannot install during minisetup. These types of applications should run on first login.

15 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Select Save from the Actions pane to add the application to the DX Driver Repository. Applications can also be added as simple commands. To add a command line application, select New command line application from the Application Source pane. Then, specify the application name and command line. These applications will not have any associated files, so the application being executed by the command line must already be copied down manually or must be present in the image when sysprep runs. To edit an existing application, select the Existing Applications from the Application Source pane and then make any changes to the application. To save the application, click Update from the Actions pane. To clone an existing application, select that application from the existing applications list and select the Clone from the Actions pane. Make any necessary changes to the name and command line and select Update from the Actions pane. This will create a duplicate of the existing application with any changes made to the name or command line. All applications added in the Add Applications interface can be managed as normal drivers by the DX Driver Repository. Mass Storage Driver Repository For the Windows XP operating system, mass storage devices require their drivers to be installed before the OS boots up the first time. Because of this, mass storage drivers cannot be installed at the same time as other drivers during Sysprep mini-setup. Mass Storage drivers must be embedded into the image at the time of image creation to avoid deployment failures. Drivers added in this interface are used in the DX image creation process and added as part of Sysprep packing of the template image system. Since these devices often come from harvested drivers, it is advisable to harvest all classes possible and register MSDs in this interface prior to creating a production image. Similarly, when new system hardware featuring specialized mass storage chipsets are added to the DX environment and harvested, it will be necessary to revisit this dialogue and register any relevant new devices. Once new devices are registered, it will be necessary to remake the template image. Mass Storage Drivers can be created from any Harvest, OEM/Download, or Application driver currently in the DeployExpert Driver Repository. To generate a list of probable Mass Storage Drivers in the environment, select Show possible Mass Storage drivers from the Actions pane.

16 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Once the list of possible mass storage drivers is generated, the list must be analyzed by the user to determine which drivers are required. Pay attention to SCSI, RAID, SATA RAID, and SATA controller drivers. These types of devices are oftentimes required MSDs. To add one of these drivers as an MSD select that driver and click Create new Mass Storage Driver from the Actions pane. This will populate the name and.inf file to the Mass Storage Driver Property pane. The user will need to copy in the compatibility ID from the Driver Properties pane into the Compatibility ID section of the Mass Storage Driver Property pane. Once the compatibility ID is set for the MSD, select Add. Repeat the process for each necessary MSD in the environment. All associated Mass Storage Drivers in the repository will automatically be embedded into the image by the Image Creation interface. Image Management The final step in the essential tasks necessary to support imaging for multiple hardware platforms is to populate Deployment Solution with the Job (or Jobs) necessary for imaging. The Image Management interface in the DX console allows creation of the image file and Microsoft Sysprep answer file to be used for the process, along with the DX Deployment job(s). For a full explanation of all the available actions from the Actions panes in this section, see the Appendix C - Actions Pane Index. Image Creation

17 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ The Image Creation interface allows for the creation of Deployment Solution jobs and tasks that will create a sysprepped image to be used with the DeployExpert Deployment Job(s). Specify a source computer by selecting the connection and the computer name. This computer should already be prepared with the base image to be used by the DeployExpert Deployment Job. Enter an Image Name for the new image and choose the Imaging tool to be used. DS 7.1 supports Ghost image format (.gho) and RDeploy image formats (.img and.exe). Select the OS Type and the Product Key to be used during the sysprep process after the image is created. The Product Key drop-down list is populated from the OS Licenses interface in the Symantec Management Console. To create a new product key for an OS to be used during the image creation process, select New Product Key from the Actions pane. This will bring up the Create New Product Key dialog.

18 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Select the Operating System of the image to be created and enter the Windows product key. Click OK. DX will automatically import this newly created product key into the Symantec Management Console under Settings -> Deployment -> OS Licenses. Select the automation type to be used by the Create Image task, either a built-in automation folder or a PXE boot image. Automation should already be configured and operating in the environment before the Create Image tasks are created. Click Create Image from the Actions pane to schedule the Image Creation job. Deployment Configuration Once the Image has been created in the Image Creation interface, that image should populate into the Symantec Management Console and is available to be used by a DX Deployment job. The Deployment Configuration interface guides the user through the configuration and creation of the DX Deployment job. The first step is to choose the type of Drivers Deployment that the DX Deployment Job will use. Class Based drivers deployment is used when a computer has already been added in the console and is a member of a collected compatibility class. This means that deploying a system with a Class Based job will deploy the specified image, Sysprep answer file and the set of drivers that are associated with the specific class a system belongs to. Trying to use this job to deploy a system that is not a member of a collected (green) compatibility class will result in a deployment failure. Model Based drivers deployment is used with new computers that do not come with an OS (such as clones or servers), or that have the wrong OS, or anytime it is desirable that the injected driver pack would include all drivers from the captured DX driver repository that are associated with that specific model. This will pull one of every unique driver that is associated with all classes that represent that exact model. This is called a widespectrum driver pack or meta pack. Model Based jobs are useful to deploy unmanaged systems (that are not a member of a collected class) that have their model well represented in collected classes in DX. Occasionally using this technique, a device will be encountered that does not have coverage in the meta pack. If this occurs, simply manually add the driver to the device, and collect the system through the DX Harvest Drivers interface. The driver in question will now be added to the DX driver repository and be part of future meta packs.

19 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Select the Connection and the Image to be used for this Deployment Job. The Image name drop-down list is populated from the Symantec Management Console available image files. Select the OS Type and the Product Key to be used during the sysprep process after the image is created. The Product Key drop-down list is populated from the OS Licenses interface in the Symantec Management Console. To create a new product key for an OS to be used during the image creation process, select New Product Key from the Actions pane. This will bring up the Create New Product Key dialog.

20 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Select the Operating System of the image to be created and enter the Windows product key. Click OK DX will automatically import this newly created product key into the Symantec Management Console under Settings -> Deployment -> OS Licenses. Select the automation type to be used by the Create Image task, either a built-in automation folder or a PXE boot image. Automation should already be configured and operating in the environment before the Create Image tasks are created. By default, the DX Console will create a sysprep file to be used during the deployment process. To specify an existing sysprep answer file, select Custom Sysprep configuration file and browse for the.inf or.xml file. When using a custom sysprep file, it is the user s responsibility to provide an appropriately configured answer file. Click Create Job(s) for Deployment from the Actions pane to create the DX Deployment job. The job will be available to run on computers from the Symantec Management Console and is integrated with an image deployment task. To create a DX job that is not fully integrated with an image deployment task, click the Driver Deployment tab under the connection drop-down. A driver deployment job will create a job in the Symantec Management Console that only supplied the drivers and sysprep information from DeployExpert. There is no image deployment task integrated into this job. The driver deployment job must be used in conjunction with another means of image deployment before it runs. That must be pre-configured and setup by the user strictly in the DS console. This job allows for scripted OS tasks to be used in conjuction with DeployExpert imaging beyond the default DS Distribute Disk Image functionality.

21 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Select the settings as before and select Create Job(s) for Deployment from the Actions pane. Settings The settings section of the DX Console is used for the configuration of the profile, console, connections, and licensing of the entire DeployExpert Product. For a full explanation of all the available actions from the Actions panes in this section, see the Appendix C - Actions Pane Index. Active Profile Settings The Active Profile Settings interface allows for the creation, renaming, and deletion of DeployExpert profiles. DeployExpert uses profiles to separate the drivers, filters, and other settings for each operating system in an environment. Each OS in an environment should be configured as a separate profile, including architecture type differences (32-bit or 64-bit versions of the same OS).

22 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ To create a new profile, select New Profile from the Actions Pane and specify a name for the profile. To rename a profile, select an existing profile and select Rename Profile from the Actions pane. Specify the desired name for the profile. To delete a profile select an existing profile and select Delete Profile. This action removes all driver associations for harvested, downloaded, and application-based drivers from this profile. This action is not reversible. Auto Select Options The auto-select functionality allows for the preferentially selecting source computers automatically. This function is initiated from the Platform Analysis to generate a list of possible source computers without having to manually select a computer from each compatibility class. The Auto-Select Options in the Active Profile Settings allow for the selection to be weighted on a series of criteria. For Select Type, the default option is Any Class without a source node. This option will cause the Auto-Select functionality to attempt to choose a source computer from every class that is not already represented by a source computer. This will select source computers from classes regardless of whether they have been collected or not. The Select Type Non Deploy Ready Classes will choose a source computer from every class that is not already represented by a source computer and has no harvested drivers associated. The weight options indicate which criteria are the most important when auto-selecting source computers.

23 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ LastSeenWeight will auto-select the computer that most recently checked in with its task server. LastAdded will auto-select the computer that was most recently added into the DS console. LastModified will auto-select the computer that was most recently modified. MaxDeviceWeight will auto-select the computer that has the most devices. MinDeviceWeight will auto-select the computer that has the fewest devices. MinRank will select only computers that reach this designated value from all other criteria To just use one criterion, set the desired weight value to 1. To use multiple criteria, set the numbers on multiple criteria depending on the emphasis desired, e.g. LastSeenWeight 2 and MaxDeviceWeight 5. Target OS Target OS The Target OS setting defines the Windows platform that will be used in the driver harvesting and imaging process created by DX for the active profile. This setting should match the Windows platform of the image intended to be used. The Target OS setting is used to determine which computers are eligible source computers; only computers matching the Target OS criteria will show as selectable source computers for their class. The OS architecture (32-bit or 64-bit) must also be selected for each profile. This separates 32-bit drivers from 64-bit drivers in the DX deployments. Platform Build The Platform Build setting defines which builds of the selected Target OS will be eligible source computers to harvest drivers from. Computers that do not run the specific platform build listed will not be eligible source

24 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ computers in the Platform Analysis. By default, any build type of a selected OS is eligible for harvesting. That is the recommended option. Locale The Locale setting defines the Windows locale that will be used in the imaging process created by DX. This setting should match the Windows platform within the image intended to be used. The Locale setting is used to determine which computers are candidates for addition to the representative list; only computers matching the locale and match the target OS in DS will show as selectable candidates for their class. Selecting Any Locale checkbox will allow any clients of that target OS to be a candidate for driver harvesting. Device Filters DeployExpert uses device filtering to bring flexibility, power, and meaning to device analysis. Filtering devices either individually, by class, or by specific criteria allows DX to analyze an environment and create compatibility classes based on meaningful devices only. In the Device Filters interface, checked devices and device classes are not meaningful to the analysis performed in the Platform Analysis. By default many standard classes are filtered out; for example Battery, CD-ROM, and Keyboard device classes. Computers with different devices in these checked categories will not be put into separate compatibility classes. Only devices in non-filtered categories will cause computers to be placed into separate classes. It is important to note that although non-important devices are filtered out and are not factored into the analysis process, filtered devices will still be harvested during the Harvest Drivers step.

25 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Devices can also be filtered out individually by selecting the device from the Individual Device Filters pane or can be filtered out using a powerful tool in DX, the Custom Filters. Custom Filters Custom Filters are user customizable device filters. By default, DX creates many custom device filters to filter out non-meaningful devices. To create a new custom filter, select New Custom Filter from the Actions pane. Name the new filter, choose the scope of the filter (profile or global) and then decide the criteria the filter will act on. For example, to filter out all devices that are made by a certain manufacturer, select Manufacturer and type in the manufacturer s name. Custom filters can also be based on Device Class, Device ID, or Device Name. Custom filters can also have multiple criteria. To delete a custom filter, select the custom filter from the Custom Filters tree and select Remove Custom Filter from the Actions pane. Scope The Scope interface allows the user to choose the computer filter to use for the DX profile. These computer filters are populated from the SMP 7.1 server. When a filter is selected, only the computers within that containing filter will be analyzed by the active profile in the DX Console. Any computer nodes that do not fit the Computer ilter criteria will not be displayed or analyzed by the DX Platform Analysis. These filters must be configured from the Symantec Management Console. To refresh the list or generate the computer filters list, select the connection and click Refresh platform collection list from the Actions pane. Once the refresh has completed, select Refresh. One or more computer filters can then be selected for the active profile. By default, if no computers filters are selected, all computers from a connection will be analyzed by the DX Console.

26 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Global Settings The global settings section of the DX navigation tree provides the tools to configure and manage the entire DeployExpert installation. The interfaces in this section allow for the configuration of settings that affect all consoles and all profiles of DX. These settings include credentials, the data repository, synchronization, and the connection information. For a full explanation of all the available actions from the Actions panes in this section, see the Appendix C - Actions Pane Index. Credentials In DeployExpert, credentials are used to authenticate all the functions that are accessible from the console. This is a required configuration step for DeployExpert to function properly. DeployExpert breaks down the various credential needs into a set of Security Roles. These Security Roles control the authentication for all the tasks sent to the DS by the DX Console, including all driver harvesting, inventory, and imaging jobs and tasks. A credential can serve multiple Security Roles and a single Security Role can be selected by multiple credentials. In situations where multiple credentials share a Security Role, a drop-down menu will allow the selection of which credential to use for a specific task. For examples of this, see the Harvest Drivers interface or the Image Creation interface.

27 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ To add a new credential, select Add new credential from the Actions pane. This creates a new entry in the Selected Credential pane. Specify a Domain, User Name, and Password for the credential and then select one or more security roles to be filled by that credential. To save the credential, select Update settings for current credentials from the Actions pane. To remove an existing credential, select the credential in the Select Credential pane. Then, select Delete credential and confirm. If a credential that is solely serving a security role is removed, another credential should be added or edited to fulfill that role. Every security role should be fulfilled by at least one credential at all times. Data Repository The Data Repository interface allows the configuration of all stored driver information used by DeployExpert. This is a required configuration step for DeployExpert to function properly. Both of these paths must be configured to harvest drivers and deploy images with DeployExpert deployment jobs.

28 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ The Driver Repository path is the UNC path to the driver library share, which contains all harvested drivers, download/oem drivers, and applications. This is where DX will store the master single-source repository for all drivers used by the DX deployments. The standard \\<smpserver>\deployment share can be used, or any configured share can be used as long as it is accessible from clients. The specified credential will need Read/Write access to this share. The Shared Path is the UNC path to a share that is used by the clients to upload harvested drivers to. The harvested drivers are temporarily held in this directory until DX processes and consolidate the unique drivers into the master driver repository specified above. The Shared Path can be the same share as the driver repository, but it is recommended to set up a separate share due to permissions issues. The specified credential will need read/write access to this share. Synchronization The Synchronization interface provides the functionality to specify certain scheduled times to transmit new inventory, driver data, and driver files between the DX server and the active connection(s). By default this data is synchronized actively as the data changes or as requested from the DX Console and is not on a set synchronization schedule. For larger environments or environments with slow network links, these data transmissions can be scheduled for specific times during the day or week. The more often the synchronizations are scheduled to occur, the more up-to-date the DX deployment jobs will be in deploying drivers to imaging tasks.

29 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ To set synchronization rules, select the Connection from the Connections pane. Check the data type that will be scheduled (Inventory, Driver data, or Drivers). Specify a schedule and a start time for the synchronization, select Apply and then select Save Settings from the Actions Pane. Connections In DeployExpert, Connections are instances of the Symantec Management Platform that DX will communicate with and leverage inventory devices, harvest drivers, create images, and create hardware independent imaging deployment jobs. The Connections interface allows for the creation, configuration, testing, and deletion of these connections. This is a required configuration for DX to function properly. There must be at least one connection for DX to begin analyzing the computers in the environment. Multiple connections can be created and active at the same time.

30 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ To create a new connection, select the New Connection action from the Actions pane. Specify a name for this connection and enter the server name of the Symantec Management server. The server name can be the hostname, the fully qualified domain name, or the IP address of the server. The entered server name must be resolvable from the DX server. Selecting Encrypt traffic will encrypt all communication between the DX Console and the DX Connector service. Select Save Settings from the Actions pane to save the newly created connection. Connections can be deleted, disabled, edited, and tested from this interface by selecting the desired connection and selecting the appropriate action from the Actions Pane. License The License interface shows the current licensing status of DeployExpert. DeployExpert is licensed by client (workstation) nodes and server nodes. Each computer in a Connection is counted as a single node towards the total DX node count total. Client nodes allow for the harvesting and image deployment of Windows clients. The server nodes will allow for the harvesting and image deployment of Windows servers. The AUP Date is the Auto-Update Protection date. This date shows the expiration date of support and maintenance for the DeployExpert product.

31 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ To activate a new license, select Add New License from the Actions pane. Browse for the provided license file to add the new license. The License interface will reflect the new information after refreshing. Troubleshooting The DeployExpert Solution provides several resources for monitoring both internal and external processes used by the DX Console. These resources give valuable insight into troubleshooting errors, monitoring the status of various tasks, and learning about the DeployExpert process. Log Viewer The Log Viewer is the main tool for monitoring all activity from the DX Console. The Log Viewer can be accessed from the Windows menu in the DX Console. The Log Viewer Runtime Logs will show all responses sent and received from connections as well as status messages and information from various functions in the DX Console. Errors will also be shown in the DX Log Viewer as a red circle and level Error. Selecting an entry from the log viewer will give more information about that entry. To subscribe to current runtime logs, click the Play button at the top of the menu bar. To view past logs, select the DB Query button from the menu bar and specify a date and time range. The log entries can also be searched from the Log Viewer to find possible problems or recurring errors. In order to subscribe to the Runtime logs in the Log Viewer, the DX Logger service must be running on the DX Server.

32 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Message Log Viewer The Message Log Viewer is the tool for monitoring all messages that occur during the use of the DX Console. The Message Log Viewer can be accessed from the Windows menu in the DX Console. The Message Log Viewer shows in-depth messages that appear while assigning tasks from the DX Console. These messages are statuses from tasks that communicate between the active Connection(s) and the DeployExpert Console and DX Kernel. These tasks are typically inventory tasks or job assignment tasks. Background Task Manager The Background Task Manager is another troubleshooting tool that shows DX tasks that run in the background on the active connection. Background Task Manager can be accessed from the Windows menu in the DX Console. The monitored tasks are typically SMP tasks and the status shown is the current status as shown in the Symantec Management Console. Completions and errors can be seen from the Background Task Manager, but

33 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ the full status details are contained in the job or task in the Symantec Management Console. The jobs are grouped by the connection they are running on. Select Auto Refresh each 10 sec will display a timer and will update the status every 10 seconds from the Symantec Management Console for all current tasks in the Background Task Manager. The statuses can be manually refreshed by selecting Refresh. Selecting Kill Task will send a stop command to the task in the Symantec Management Platform. Preferences The DX Preferences can be viewed from the Settings Menu. The Services tab of the Preferences interface shows the current settings for the Kernel and Logger settings. The timeout for the DX Kernel service and DX Logger service can be changed from the services tab. The default timeout is 25 seconds, which is recommended for a local DX Console. For remote consoles over slow connections, this timeout can be extended if timeouts are occurring frequently.

34 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ The Themes tab allows the selection of a new theme for the DeployExpert Console. Select a new theme choice from the drop-down menu and click Apply to change themes. The About DeployExpert Console dialog is accessible from the Help menu in the DeployExpert Console. This dialog will show the version of DeployExpert installed and a summary of the active license.

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36 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Support Support for DX can be accessed by ing support@altrinsicsolutions.com. Gratis support is available at this address, but is provided on an availability basis. Gratis support may incur a 72 hour or more delay in live response. Support tickets can also be opened at or posted on the Altrinsic Solutions forum at Organizations wishing to access priority phone fee based support may purchase support incident packages from your DX reseller. For more information, contact sales@altrinsicsolutions.com.

37 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Appendix A Installation Guide The DeployExpert (DX) Installation Guide will take you step by step through the DeployExpert Installation and Configuration process. When this guide is completed, your DeployExpert server will be ready to start the Hardware Independent process. Installation Prerequisites Deployment Solution 7.1/PXE/WinPE based deployment Relevant SMP App Identity account access Account privileges necessary to install DX and create a database in MS SQL Microsoft SQL Server 2005 or 2008 Installation DeployExpert is intended to be installed in a server environment. After verifying that the above requirements are met, run the DX installation executable called deployexpert.exe. Review and accept the license agreement to continue. The next interface will present a summary of the components that will be installed and configured during the DX installation process.

38 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Each available component has a description indicating its function and the location to install the component. If DX is being installed on the same server as the DS 7.1, then all the components should be selected for a complete installation. If DX is being installed on a dedicated server, then only the DX Core services, DX Console, and DX Connector for SMP components should be installed on the dedicated DX server. The installer must run again on the DS 7.1 server and the DX SMP components and DX Connector for SMP must be installed directly on the DS server. For a DX installation in an SMP hierarchy environment, the DX SMP Components will need to be installed on each site server in the hierarchy. The next interface allows a DX license to be applied to the installation. Select Browse for file to allow a license to be applied to the installation. To run in Trial mode, select Trial mode. Licenses can be added later from the DX Console License interface.

39 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ The first component to be configured is the DX Core Services. Specify a host name for both the DX Kernel Service and the DX Logger services. The default host name is localhost. The default port is 8090 for the kernel and 8091 for the logger, but custom ports can be selected. To test the availability of the port, click Check Port. To configure the SQL, select the SQL Server Name from the drop-down list, and choose an authentication protocol. Windows Authentication will use the logged-in user credentials to authenticate to the SQL server. Click Test connection to test the credentials before continuing to the next interface. Create a new database for the DX tables and functions, or install DX into an existing database. Creating a new database to store data associated with DX is recommended.

40 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ To configure the service credentials, select either Local System or Specify Account. These credentials affect two services; DX Logger and DX Kernel. The recommended option is to run the services as the Local System account for local installation on the SMP server. For a separate DX installation, an account should be specified. The next component to be configured and installed is the DX Console. In the initial installation, the DX console will be installed locally with the DX Core Services, so the default localhost should be used. If the console is being installed on a separate server, the host name in this dialog should be changed to the appropriate server name or IP address. Select the SQL server that the DX Core Services created the DX database in for the previous component in the installer. Test the connection by selecting Test Connection before continuing.

41 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Select the name of the database used for DX. This should match the name specified during the Core Services component installation. The next component to be installed is the DX Connector. The Connector is the component that is installed directly onto the SMP server. If the DX installation is local on the SMP, leave the host name settings as localhost. If the DX Core Services and Console were installed on a separate server, specify the server name or IP address as the host name. Select Finish to complete the installation.

42 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Configuration The first step is to review the DX Inventory Policy. After the installation of the DX SMP Components has completed, the DeployExpert Inventory Policy can be configured from the Symantec Management Console. The DeployExpert Inventory can be found under Manage -> Policies -> Inventory -> DeployExpert. Verify that this inventory is enabled and scheduled to run. This inventory is required for the DeployExpert analysis. Start the DeployExpert Console by selecting the desktop icon or the start menu item. When DeployExpert is first started, it will prompt to launch the base wizards. These wizards are a guide for a full DX configuration. Three wizards are required before working with DX; Credentials, Connections, and Data Repository. If this is the first time DX is started, it is recommended to select all seven wizards to get a complete configuration of the DX console and the profiles. The first (required) wizard is the Credentials wizard. Before any other configurations can be completed, DX requires at least one credential to use for various tasks, including communicating with the DS, communicating with the database, domain joins, and various other tasks. Select Add new credential from the actions pane to create your first credential. Specify a domain, User Name, and password for the account, and then select which security roles that will use that credential. When configured, select Update settings for current credential to save those settings. Add additional credentials if needed. Each security role should be associated with at least one credential. Select Next. The next (required) wizard is the connections wizard. This wizard configures the connection to the SMP server. Select New Connection and pick a name to identify this connection. In Connection Settings enter the server name and the service port to use to connect to that SMP server. The default port is Select the credential to be used to connect to the specific SMP server. The default driver repository is recommended, do not check

43 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ Use its own driver repository unless you have multiple connections and do not want a consolidated driver library. Select Save Connection and then select Test Connection to verify the information is correct. The next (required) wizard is the Data Repository wizard. The Driver Repository path is the UNC path to the driver library share. This is where DX will store the master single-source repository for all drivers used by the DX deployments. The standard \\<smpserver>\deployment share can be used, or any configured share can be used on the network. The specified credential will need Read/Write access to this share. The Shared Path is the UNC path to a share that is used by the clients to upload harvested drivers to. From this directory, DX processed and consolidates the unique drivers into the master driver repository specified above. The Shared Path can be the same share as the driver repository, but it is recommended to set up a separate share due to permissions issues.. The specified credential will need Read/Write access to this share.

44 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ The next (optional) wizard is the profile configuration. This just allows for creation, deletion, or renaming of profiles. To begin, select the Default Profile, select Update Profile and name this profile according to the OS type to be harvest, ex. Windows XP 32-bit, Windows 7 64-bit.

45 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ The next (optional) wizard is the Target OS Wizard. This wizard configures your initial profile for analysis. In DeployExpert, drivers and settings are configured by profile. Each profile is assigned a Target OS which it will harvest drivers for and prepare an image of that type. Select the OS version and architecture for your default profile. Specific builds can be chosen, for example XP SP3 only, but it is recommended to select Any Build. When that is configured select Save Changes. Additional profiles can be created and configured later from the Settings node.

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47 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ The next (optional) wizard is the Device Filters Wizard. This wizard deals with the configuration of DeployExpert Device Filters. Filters determine what devices will be used when analyzing the environment. For the initial configuration, this wizard can remain as the default. For further information about using and manipulating the device filters, see the DeployExpert User Guide.

48 DeployExpert for SMP - User Guide Revision /06/ The final (optional) wizard is the Scope wizard. The scope wizard allows specific SMP Computer Filters to be used in order to choose groups of computers to add into the DX profile. By default, there is no scope selected and DX will use all the systems listed as clients in the Symantec Management Console. Select Refresh Platform collection list to produce a list of computer filters that exist in the Symantec Management console. This action may take a minute or more. All of the wizards can be reconfigured at any time by finding the associated settings pages under the Settings node in the DeployExpert Console or by re-running the wizard from the Wizards pane. Congratulations! DeployExpert is now fully installed and configured. You are now ready to begin the analysis process integration. For information on the hardware independent process with DeployExpert, see the DeployExpert Quick Start Guide and the DeployExpert User Guide.