Is there a problem in using the Local system Account for running the Altiris Services besides the AppID for the Notification Server?

Products

• Management Platform (Formerly known as Notification Server)

Issue/Introduction

 

Resolution

Question
Is it necessary to run the Altiris services (Altiris Client Message Dispatcher, Altiris NS Receiver, and Altiris Service) with the installation install account (the ApplicationID used by your Notification Server) or can it be changed to log on with the Local System Account?

Answer
By default the Altiris Services will run using the ApplicationId account defined during the NSSetup. This is the recommended mode of operation.

However, it was found that sometimes, when the Notification Server is rebooted or during upgrades of Altiris Solutions, the Altiris services are stopped and require the administrator to reenter the password in the Service Manager (services.msc). Changing the Altiris services to use the Local System Account can help resolve this problem.

It is possible to use the Local System Account to run the Altiris services but there are some risks related to GPOs that can limits that account in some way.