Answer
Note: This information can be found in the Notification Server 6.0 SP3 Reference Guide pages 19–20.
When the Altiris Agent is installed using a Push or Pull installation, a small (approximately 100 KB) bootstrap program is used. This program, the Altiris Agent Bootstrap program, downloads a larger (approximately 4.5 MB) program, the Altiris Agent installation program, that actually performs the Altiris Agent installation. The Altiris Agent Bootstrap program gets sent to all managed computers at the same time to prevent an overload of the network. The Altiris Agent Bootstrap program then handles the network throughput (starting and stopping), until it downloads the Altiris Agent installation program to the managed computer.
Because the Altiris Agent Bootstrap program controls how fast the Altiris Agent installation program gets downloaded to the managed computer, it can reliably download the Altiris Agent on remote computers or managed computers with poor connections.
The following steps show the installation process during an Altiris Agent installation using a Push or Pull installation:
Note: From the time you start a Push or Pull installation, it can take several minutes before the Altiris Agent icon appears in the system tray. This is because the Altiris Agent Bootstrap program is downloaded, then the Altiris Agent Bootstrap program downloads the Altiris Agent installation package, then the Altiris Agent installation package installs the Altiris Agent on the computer. Depending on the network traffic, this process can take some time.
Note: There is an MSI program available, AeXNSCInstSvc.msi, that also installs the Altiris Client Installation Service. This service downloads the Altiris Agent installation program from the Notification Server and installs it on the managed computer. The only parameter that AeXNSCInstSvc.msi takes is [NS=NSName.domain .com], where NSName is the name of your Notification Server and domain is the domain that your Notification Server is on. This MSI supports the elevated privilege install.
These are the commands that can be used as additional parameters for the AeXSWDInstSvc (Altiris Agent Installation Service):
AeXSWDInstSvc [-u URL]
[-s server_name]
[-w URL]
[-d path]
[-c chunk_size]
[-p pause_interval]
[-exe]
[-checkonly]
[-notrayicon]
[-nostartmenu]
[-preconfig]
[-?] [-h]
AeXSWDInstSvc Parameters
u URL | URL to download the Altiris Agent setup program from. This is an HTTP site. This argument is required. |
s server_name | Name of the Notification Server that the Altiris Agent will report to (without leading \\). This argument is required. |
w URL | URL that the Altiris Agent will use to report to the server. This argument is required. |
d path | Destination path the Altiris Agent will be installed to. |
c chunk_size | Size (in bytes) of data to download each time. If omitted, 1 KB is used. |
p pause_interval | Time (in ms) between downloading each chunk. If omitted, 25 ms is used. |
exe | Forces the program to run as an .exe under Windows NT/2000/XP/ 2003, ignoring any service registration to this .exe. This option has no effect under Windows 95, 98, 98 SE, or Me. |
checkonly | Forces the program to check the Altiris Agent minimum requirements are met. Details are displayed on screen. |
notrayicon | Specifies that the Altiris Agent will not show the tray icon on initialstartup. This will be overridden by the Altiris Agent Settings policies as soon as they are downloaded. |
nostartmenu | Specifies that no start menu item will be installed for the Altiris Agent. |
preconfig | If specified, the program and the Altiris Agent will use the existing client proxy configuration. If omitted, both will attempt to connect to the Notification Server directly. |
? or h | Shows the usage dialog. |