PXE service setup and Preboot Configuration for Deployment Solution 8.x

Products

Deployment Solution

Issue/Introduction

This article covers installing and configuring PXE services (Symantec Network Boot Service (NBS)) and creating a Preboot Configuration in Deployment Solution 8.x, including automation environment setup, NBS Global and General Settings, and required Site Server component policies.

Environment

Deployment Solution 8.7.x and later

Symantec Netboot Services (NBS) — PXE and TFTP components

Deployment Task Server Components

Deployment Package Server Components (8.7.2 and earlier)

Cause

How it works

PECTagent is the automation agent component of Deployment Solution that operates within preboot automation environments (WinPE). It performs three functions:

Initializes the automation environment when a machine boots into PXE or an Automation Folder.
Enables the machine to connect to the Symantec Management Platform (SMP) to receive and execute deployment tasks, such as image deployment or domain joins.
Communicates between the client machine in automation and the Notification Server (NS) to report status and retrieve job configurations.

If PECTAgent stops receiving the Initial Deployment menu or otherwise misbehaves after an ITMS/Deployment Solution upgrade, the cause is typically a Preboot environment that wasn't rebuilt post-upgrade, leaving it with an outdated agent, stale settings, or a mismatched communication profile. Recreating the Preboot Environment updates PECTAgent and resolves this scenario.

Registration and communication failures can also have other, unrelated root causes — for example, duplicate OEM-assigned UUID or serial number values causing the Notification Server to merge or misidentify machines, or network conditions (such as VPN saturation) interrupting the domain-join process. Recreating the Preboot Environment does not resolve these; they require OEM/firmware correction or network troubleshooting respectively.

Resolution

Complete the following configuration items before a PXE server responds to clients and allows them to PXE boot.

1. Confirm the PXE services are running

In Computer Management, PXE services are called Symantec Netboot Services (NBS):

Symantec Network Boot Service (PXE)
Symantec Network Boot Service (TFTP)

Both services are set to start automatically by default. The services must be running for PXE boot to work.

Start the services in this order:

PXE Server
TFTP Server

2. Confirm the automation environments are configured

An automation environment (which includes PXE configurations) is a preboot environment the computer loads into a RAM disk to run processes such as image capture, without production files being open. Automation environments must be built before a machine can PXE boot. By default, only templates for these environments exist, called Automation Folders.

To configure the automation environment in the Symantec Management Console:

On the SMP Console, Open Settings > Deployment > Manage Preboot Configurations.
Under Profile Configuration settings, configure the following:
1. Select or create a Profile to be used for the Notification Server connection.
2. Confirm the Server URL for that profile (format: https://:443/Altiris/). See PXE Quick Start for Windows for setup steps.
3. Set Cloud-enabled Management Settings to the appropriate option ("not used" if this PXE server does not serve CEM-managed clients). See Imaging using Cloud Enabled Management for CEM-specific setup.
4. Optionally enable Set Boot Menu Timeout (seconds) and specify a value.
5. Set the Windows Agent log level (for example, Trace) if additional logging detail is needed for troubleshooting.
  
  Refer to Creating Preboot Configuration for Windows
Under the Preboot Environment Settings pane, links are provided to download the ADK and import it. See Installing WinPE11 ADK for use in Deployment Solution 8.x.
Configure the Preboot Environment Settings for WinPE. The default setting works in most cases.
Two options appear by default after importing the corresponding preboot OS: LinInstall and PEInstall. These are Automation Folders, not PXE-bootable environments. To create a PXE-bootable environment, select Add in the top left.
Enter a name and select the appropriate options:
- The name cannot contain special characters.
- You can create an environment that auto-selects between x64 and x86, or force a specific architecture by removing the one you don't want.
- You can choose PXE only, Automation Folders only, or both. If unsure, create both.
After entering the information, select OK, then Save Changes on the policy page.
Verify that the configuration has built and replicated. This happens on each individual PXE server client via policy. Check status by selecting the Status link in the upper right of the policy page. The status shows while the configuration is building; you can also see build progress on the client under the NBS Server tab.
To speed up this process:
Run the Delta Update scheduled task.
On the client on the chosen PXE server (including the Notification Server, if it also runs PXE), select Update to send a configuration request and pull the policy.
Open Task Manager on the PXE server to watch Bootwiz.exe run. When it finishes, Status shows the policy as complete, and the PXE folders appear on the agent.

3. Confirm PXE services are configured to respond

Confirm the NBS Global Settings policy is on: On SMP Console, go to Settings > Deployment > NBS Global Settings, and toggle Apply NBS settings immediately.
For PXE acknowledgment, turn on the NBS General Settings policy: On SMP Console, go to Settings > Deployment > NBS General Settings.
If you will image unknown (bare-metal) computers, enable the option to respond to unknown computers.
If the process isn't behaving as expected, this is also where you can enable logging.
Select Save Changes at the bottom of the policy page.

Note: At least one NBS server should be listed at the bottom of this page. If none appear, a prior step wasn't completed correctly — commonly, the PXE services weren't started. You cannot add computers here manually; they appear automatically once everything is working. After completing the steps above with the services running, it can take some time for the server to appear initially. Sending a basic inventory from the server and running NS.Delta Resource Membership Update on the SMP Server will speed this up.

4. Confirm the Deployment Site Server Components policies are on

Note: Apply these plug-ins on the Site Server. If imaging will be done from the Notification Server (NS), install the Deployment Task Server Component and NBS plug-ins there as well.

In the Symantec Management Console, open Settings > All Settings.
Expand Settings > Agents/Plug-ins > Deployment.
1. 8.7.2 and earlier only: Turn on Deployment Package Server Components – Install Policy.
2. 8.7.2 and earlier only: Turn on Deployment Package Server Components – Upgrade Policy.
  See After upgrade to ITMS 8.7.3, "Deployment Package Server Components - Upgrade" and "Install" policies are not available/visible
Expand Settings > Agents/Plug-ins > Deployment > Windows x64 or x86.
1. Turn on Deployment Task Server Components (x86/x64) – Install Policy.
2. Turn on Deployment Task Server Components (x86/x64) – Upgrade Policy.
Navigate to Settings > Notification Server > Site Server Settings, and confirm the NBS plug-in is installed on any site server where PXE services are required.