How do you reinstall a Package Server while retaining the packages that have been downloaded?

Products

• IT Management Suite

Issue/Introduction

Question
Occasionally a Package Server Agent will need to be reinstalled.  What is the best way to perform the Reinstall?

Environment

ITMS 8.x

Resolution

Answer

The instructions are as follows to reinstall a Package Server Agent:

1.   Stop the Altiris Agent on package server

2.   Make a copy <Altiris Agent folder>\Package Delivery in a safe place in another location.  This folder contains all hosted packages by Package Server, it’s shared as PkgSvrHostC$ with permissions "Everyone - Full Control"

3.   Uninstall Altiris Agent and subagents ( "...\altiris agent\aexagentutil /clean" will uninstall Agent and all subagents)

4.   Install the Altiris Agent.

5.   Copy Package Delivery folder (step 2) back to <Altiris Agent folder>

6.   Manually install the Package Server agent from the "..\NSCAP\Bin\Win32\X86\PkgSvr Agent Package" folder

7.   The package server agent takes care of validating each package in Package Delivery folder and updating it in case of any mismatch with NS source packages, it creates all corresponding IIS Virtual directories for each package.

8.   Altiris Agent on remote clients will be notified of new PS, all packages will be ready to be downloaded from new PS.

 

Note: You may need to re-install any other sub-agents that were installed on the Package server (e.g. "Task Server" agent)