You need to upgrade Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1 clients after you upgrade Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager, or after you add the latest client install packages.
You can use AutoUpgrade to install a new version of Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1 on all the clients in a group.
Use it to upgrade multiple computers in a network to a new version of Symantec Endpoint Protection with a minimum of user intervention.
To upgrade Symantec Endpoint Protection across a network, it is only necessary to manually upgrade the Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager. After the upgrade, the clients will download the install package assigned to their group as they heartbeat to the manager, or on a schedule.
To upgrade clients by using AutoUpgrade:
Caution: You should first update a group with a small number of test computers before you update your entire production network.
You need to restart the client computers after you upgrade the client software. By default, the clients restart automatically after installation.
You can configure the restart options on a group to control how the clients restart after AutoUpgrade. You can also restart the clients at any time by running a restart command from the management server.
You have the option to schedule the clients to restart during a time that is convenient for users. You can force an immediate restart, or give the users an option to delay.
To configure restart options on client computers:
To restart a selected client computer:
To restart the client computers in a selected group:
Note: Some restart options apply only to Windows clients. For details, see the context-sensitive Help.
Test the AutoUpgrade process before you attempt to upgrade a large number of clients in your production network. If you do not have a test network, you can create a test group within your production network. For this test, you add a few non-critical clients to the test group and then upgrade them by using AutoUpgrade.
To reduce bandwidth during peak hours, schedule AutoUpgrade for after hours in the Upgrade Clients with Package wizard. For wide area networks, you should also set up the remote clients to receive the upgrade package from a remote web server.
If you upgrade from Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.x and use Application and Device Control, you must disable the "Protect client files and registry keys” rule set.
After the clients receive the new policy, you may upgrade using AutoUpgrade.
You can confirm that the upgrade completed successfully by verifying the version number of the client software. The version number is displayed in the client's Help > About panel.
The Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager also displays the updated client version number on the Clients page after a successful check-in. You select the group, then the Clients tab, and change the view to Client Status.
When you upgrade clients using the AutoUpgrade feature and check Maintain Existing Features, the features of Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0 or 12.0 clients will map to those in Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1.
For example, Antivirus and Antispyware Protection in Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0 is called Virus and Spyware Protection in Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1.