Overview of Client Management Suite 7.1 Hands-On Lab
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Overview of Client Management Suite 7.1 Hands-On Lab Description If you are new to Altiris Client Management Suite, this lab is an excellent place to start. This introduction lab provides a hands-on overview of the suite going through many steps of IT lifecycle management. It includes the basics on software and patch management, deployment, migration, remote assistance, and more to start you on your path to effective client management. At the end of this lab, • Create an inventory policy and run reports to view the you should be able to collected data • Describe the available methods for delivering and metering software within a real-world environment • Describe the process of staging and deploying patches to systems and applications within a network environment • Use Deployment Solution 7.1 to perform an OS Migration Notes . The lab will be directed and will provide you with step-by- step walkthroughs of key features. Feel free to follow along with the instructor, or you may optionally perform this lab at your own pace. Be sure to ask your instructor any questions you may have. Thank you for coming to our lab session. Introduction Altiris® Client Management Suite™ reduces the total cost of owning client systems by automating time-consuming and redundant tasks. By minimizing the efforts and costs associated with deploying, managing, securing and troubleshooting client systems, organizations can gain control of their environments. This easy-to-use, integrated suite of solution software for Windows, Mac and Linux is designed to address IT management needs for desktop and notebook computers throughout their entire IT lifecycle. Client Management Suite tightly integrates industry-leading technologies, including Symantec Ghost™, Wise packaging, Altiris® Software Virtualization Solution™ and pcAnywhere™ to give IT the most value for managing, deploying, securing and troubleshooting client systems through the entire IT lifecycle. It includes: • Comprehensive system discovery and hardware and software inventory • OS migration, imaging and deployment technology • Intelligent software management and delivery • Complete Comprehensive software packaging and patch management • Real- time troubleshooting including remote control • Application virtualization New features in the Altiris® Client Management Suite™ include: • The ushering in of a new generation of client systems management by providing better, end-user focused client management, complete process automation, and intelligent software management. • Complete process automation with better task management and Workflow Solution • More intelligent software delivery and management by providing a centralized software library this gives IT workers better software targeting, delivers conflict-free virtual software, keeps the software up-to-date on client PCs, and ensures the software is available and remains installed for end-users. • Tight integration of industry-leading cast of all stars from Altiris and Symantec to give customers a comprehensive solution for client systems management (Symantec Ghost, pcAnywhere, Wise, Deployment Solution, and Software Virtualization Solution) • Enhancement of day to day operations by providing enterprise calendar views, actionable dashboards and reports, and event consoles to give IT and others a better view into the organization. • Expansion of client management by improving the installation and configuration process, giving more options for expandability including hierarchy and replication, expanding client management with additional Symantec and 3rd party products. • Better support for Windows, Mac and Linux machines This lab will introduce many of these new features in a virtual lab environment. 2 of 19 Exercise 1: Using Inventory Reports Inventory Solution allows administrators to identify and report hardware, software, operating systems, and network data for computer assets within their environment. Administrators can then use this data for a variety of purposes including tracking hardware changes, identifying installed software, etc. Using Inventory Solution with Altiris Client Management Suite 7.1 allows an administrator to better understand and manage their environment, regardless of size. In this lab we will review the inventory wizard and examine some of the reports that can be used to better understand and managed an environment. 1. If they are not already powered, power-on the virtual machines in the following order. a. DC b. NS71 c. XP Client d. Win7 2. Switch to the NS71 virtual machine. 3. Launch the Symantec Management Console by double-clicking the “Symantec Management Console 7.1” shortcut located on the desktop. The Symantec Management Console loads. 4. Maximize the Symantec Management Console so that it fills the screen. 5. Click Home —>Discovery and Inventory —>Inventory. The Inventory home page is displayed, and the current inventory policies in use within the environment are listed, along with the current status of collected inventory data within the environment. 6. Select the Collect Full Inventory policy listed at the bottom of the screen, and click the edit (pencil) icon. The Collect Full Inventory policy is displayed. 7. Note that the policy is configured to capture a new inventory if the current inventory is ever detected to be more than 7 days old. 8. Verify that Hardware, Software, and File properties are being collected. 3 of 19 9. Click Cancel. 10. Click Home —>Discovery and Inventory —>Inventory 11. Click the “Run an inventory report” hyperlink. You are re-directed to the Reports section. 12. Navigate to and expand Reports—>Discovery and Inventory—> Inventory—> Cross-platform—>Operating System. 13. Select the “Count of Computers by Operating” report. The report details are displayed in the right-hand pane. Note: This report lists a count of all operating systems in use within the environment. 14. Review the report data that is made available. 15. Right-click “Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise” system in the report results, and select “View OS Details” from the resulting menu. The systems associated to the selected operating system are listed. 16. Right-click the “DC” system within the results of the report, and view the available options. Note: These functions can be customized to match the specific needs of a given environment. 4 of 19 Exercise 2: User Assistance with Real-Time System Manager Real-Time System Manager provides remote management of systems with or without an Altiris Agent installed. Real-Time System Manager can allow an administrator to view detailed real-time information about a managed computer and remotely perform various administrative tasks such as powering on and off computers, redirecting reboots, running a port scan, or a variety of other real-time processes. For Intel AMT-capable computers, an administrator can remotely power on a system, establish a remote console session, change BIOS settings, and perform other AMT-specific operations. In this exercise we will use Real-Time management to remotely perform the following tasks on a managed client system: • Verify that the managed system can be pinged successfully across the network • Review the status of all ports on the remote system • Verify that the Symantec Management Agent is currently running on the remote system • Send a reboot command to the remote system 1. If they are not already powered, power-on the virtual machines in the following order. o DC o NS71 o XP Client o Win7 2. Switch to the NS71 virtual machine. 3. Launch the Symantec Management Console by double-clicking the “Symantec Management Console 7.1” shortcut located on the desktop. The Symantec Management Console loads. 4. Maximize the Symantec Management Console so that it fills the screen. 5. Click Actions—>Remote Management—>Real-Time Management. The Resource Manager interface is displayed. 6. Type WinXP in the Computer field, and click Connect. After a short delay, the Resource Manager window will appear for the remote system. 5 of 19 7. Maximize the Resource Manager window so that it fills the screen. 8. Wait for the remote system information to be displayed (this may take a couple minutes to complete). 9. Within the left pane click More Actions—>Connector Samples—>Ping Computer. A Launch Command window appears, and the ping results are displayed. 10. Verify that the ping was successful and close the Launch Command window. 11. Within the left pane click More Actions—>Remote Management—>Port Check A Port Check window appears, and after a short delay, displays the current status of the ports on the remote system. 12. Review the Port Check results, and then close the Port Check window. Note: Checking the status of the ports of a remote system is a good way to troubleshoot a managed system in order to verify that required ports are open (for either Altiris or third party applications). 13. Within the central pane of the Resource Manager, expand the following: Real-Time Consoles—>Real-Time System Manager—>Management Operations 14. Locate and select Manage Services within the Management Operations folder in the central pane. The services for the remote system are displayed in the right pane. 15. Within in the right pane, expand the Name, Status, and Startup Type fields (these are the first three fields) so that the data within these fields can be read. 16. Locate the Symantec Management Agent service; note that it is currently started and the Startup Type is set to Auto. Note: Checking the status of the remote Symantec Management Agent is a good way to troubleshoot a non-responding managed system. Service status can also be modified directly from this interface. 6 of 19 17. Within the central pane click Manage Power State and Redirection. A Manage Power State window appears, and the available options are displayed. 18. Verify that the Reboot radio button is selected. 19. Click Run. 20. Switch to WintXP virtual machine, and verify that the system reboots as directed. Note: Rebooting a remote system is often required as a trouble-shooting step when dealing with services or running applications. 21. Switch to the Notification Server virtual machine. 22. If open, close the Manage Power State window.