Altiris NS 7 Task Scheduling

[Migration User]

Hello

First poster here, so apologies if I have stuck this in the wrong forum.

Would anyone be able to provide assistance, or a link to a how to on the following issue. It's just something I havent been able to get my head around at this stage.

Im currently re-creating a few of our most used Software packaged for Altiris 7.0. We are currently phasing out our NS 6, and building up our NS7 server.

In the past, we would have 'Packages' containing multiple 'Programs' Each 'Program' could have it's own schedule. After linking each 'Program' to tasks, we could reference these with collections. So, we could add machine objects to these collections, and potentially have a single package deployed with multiple programs, each with its own schedule. Also with a limited priority system, Low, normal, high, very high etc, if schedules conflicted.

In the clients window, we could see one package, and after selecting it have access to each task in the left hand part of the window. It was a neat way of deploying packages that could potentially have various modules, with some needing to run at logon for each user, and others running once, some maybe even running at system startup etc.

I cant get my head around on how to accomplish this setup in NS7.

I have gone through the doco's on creating Software resources, but there seems to be no functionality associated with command lines - these seem to be in place of the old 'programs' on NS6.

So my question is how to setup one Software Resorce or Package, with command lines that run on different schedules.

Looking at Policies on NS7, the one schedule appears to affect ALL command lines, and creating multiple policies creates duplicate entries on the client's window which is a bit of a mess.

Im definitely missing something here!

Any tips would be hugely appreciated.

[Migration User]

Why one package?  Can you provide an example?

Here's an example of mine on how I would do what I think you're saying:

• Create a software resource
• The software resource becomes a package
• The software resource has command lines associated with it
• The software resource has detection checks associated with it
• The software resource does not have any schedule associated with it
• Deliver the software resource using a Managed Software Delivery policy
• The MSD policy has a target defined, which contains filters (collections replaced with filters in NS7)
• The MSD policy has a schedule defined telling clients when to check to see if the software resource is installed, and if not, to install it
• The MSD policy is enabled

So you would create a software resource for Office 2007, SEP 32-bit (applicability check for 32-bit Windows), SEP 64-bit (applicabillity check for 64-bit Windows), Adobe 10, and Adobe Flash 10, and assign it to all Windows Workstations, for example.  Client-side, you would see a line for each of these under the Software Delivery tab, and each would have a status (i.e. Compliant or Not Compliant).

I'm not sure how this would cause duplicate entries.  Can you explain?

[Migration User]

Thanks for the response..

An example, using NS 6 that I would like to duplicate in NS7 would be:

(Bearing in mind this would be in a machine rather than user based environment - a computer lab at a university)

• Create package, containing source files and multiple programs associated with it. Eg. Firefox, which contains a program for the installer, and also a program for a user-specific updater. The former would run using the system account, and latter as the user.
• Create Tasks linked each program. The installer task would be scheduled to run once only to get the software on the machine. Create a second task linked to the user updater program, that is scheduled to run at logon - to capture each new user and apply standard firefox settings at logon. Possibly add in multiple schedules here, to run at logon and also when notified by NS, to capture the logged on user if any.
• Both tasks run scripts from the same package/share
• Create one collection, and link to both tasks, and set the installer task to have a higher priority than the user updater task.
• The result of this would be when a machine is added to the collection, the software would deliver and run the installer task, then run the user updater task once to capture a logged on user. Then from then on at each logon run the user update task, all from the one package.

From your example, the MSD policy would only run one command line from the package? Can you get one MSD to run multiple command lines from the same package with different schedules? I understand you can sequence different packages from the same MSD, which would work well.

I think I tried multiple MSD's pointing to the same package, but executing different command lines -  which gave the multiple package entries in the client side window - each with one task.

Then again, im probably think too NS6 and need to think in terms of NS7 - which is that hardest part!

Im also trying to avoid creating separate packages for, say, something like a small task that runs at logon like in the above example, and would run files included in the same package.

I think ive gotten my head around most other aspects of package creation in NS7 - just this multiple task/multiple schedule from same software resource thing which has got me!

[Migration User]

You would create a single policy with multiple resources.  You'd ask your follow-up resource to depend on the first.  For example, let's say you wanted to install Firefox and then install Flash for Firefox.

Firefox

• Contains a package that contains the install files, in this case an .msi
• Has command lines specified that execute the .msi
• Has a detection check to ensure Firefox is installed; if so, it will not install over and over again

Flash for Firefox

• Contains a package that contains the install files, in this case an .msi
• Has command lines specified that execute the  .msi
• Has a detection check to ensure Flash for Firefox is installed; if so, it will not install again
• Has a dependency on Firefox; if Firefox is not detected, it will install Firefox first according to the remediation settings (immediately, next maintenance window, or scheduled time) that you specify

This is a single policy applied to a target that contains one or more filters or computer lists, e.g. Filter Windows Workstations, Filter Minneapolis, Computer List exclude MCLEMSON-TEST.

So, yes, you can only run one command line against a package.  To get around this people typically create .bat, .vbs, or PowerShell script wrappers that, for example, kill a process, install the program, copy an .ini file, and then change two registries and delete two others.

Would this meet the need?

[Migration User]

Yes, I think that will meet the need.

Many thanks for the help.

I gather the new processes in NS 7.x achieve the goal but in a different way. For NS6, using your example above I would

Dump all the MSI's into one folder - Firefox, Flash for firefox, and define a single package located at that folder (Firefox 4.0). Create the programs that execute silently both MSI's. Create two tasks -  schedule one to run once to install, and the other to run at logon for each user - but link both tasts to the same collection. So its all in one package, with different components each with their own schedule defined by their task.

Ill set up the extra resources and sequence with the single policy and see how we go!