Detailed Import Patch Management for Windows access to SolutionSam and Vendor Download Sites

Products

• Patch Management Solution
• Client Management Suite
• IT Management Suite

Issue/Introduction

PMImports may now fail, or you need to know information for allowlisting the Patch Management Import (PM Import) process.

Certain updates from vendors or all updates from some vendors fail to download.

 

Environment

ITMS 8.x

Patch Management 8.x

Cause

For PMImport, this may be caused by recent changes to the storage location for the PM Import data files (i.e. allowlisting by IP address).

For update download issues, this is caused by one or more network configurations (i.e. firewall, proxy, security software, etc.)

Resolution

The Import Patch Management for Windows (PMImport) data location recently changed from an Akamai Server Farm, which managed the download of the primary cab and associated files. The default URL has not changed but allowlisting by IP addresses is now possible:

http://www.solutionsam.com/imports/7_1/patch/windows/pmimport.cab 

The current IP Address is: 192.19.145.79 

Network and Authentication Requirements
The Symantec Management Platform (SMP) server downloads PMImport data and vendor software bulletins using Anonymous Authentication (IUSR). No specific user credentials are supplied during these scheduled download processes.
Because of this:

Target vendor sites do not recognize local SMP user accounts.
Network security must allow anonymous system-level access from the SMP server to the required vendor URLs and IP addresses.
Firewall, proxy, and security rules must explicitly permit this traffic.

Important Note
Successfully accessing the PMImport URL from a web browser using an administrator or personal account only confirms that the site is reachable with that user’s credentials. It does not verify that the SMP server itself can access the site using anonymous authentication.
To ensure proper functionality, confirm that the SMP server can reach the specified URL and IP address without relying on user-based credentials.

Additional Information

199422 Patch Metadata Import HTTPs Support