What is Altiris Agent Blacklisting?
Article ID: 181823
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
What is Altiris Agent Blacklisting?
Environment
ITMS 8.x
Resolution
Computer resources can be introduced into the NS (Notification Server or SMP Server) database from many different sources, Domain Discovery, AD Import, Network Discovery, etc.
In a customer environment where multiple Notification Servers exist, it will be likely that the same computer resources are being stored within the various NS databases with different resource GUIDs.
When joining these multiple Notification Servers in a Hierarchy the possibility for duplicates increases as more data is being transferred between Servers.
The process of ‘Blacklisting’ the Altiris Agent GUID was introduced to ensure that common computer resources and their identifying GUIDs are eventually synchronized across the entire Hierarchy structure.
When a computer resource is replicated from one Notification Server to another, and a matching computer resource already exists at the destination NS with the Altiris Agent installed, it merges the resource records and replaces all instances in the database of the existing computer GUID with the new incoming computer GUID. The old computer GUID is ‘blacklisted’ and added to the ‘AgentBlacklist’ database table.
The next time the Altiris Agent with the blacklisted GUID requests configuration from its local Notification Server, the Server responds by returning an error code. This error code instructs the Altiris Agent to visit the Server URL for CreateResource.aspx to obtain the new GUID, and start using this for all further communications.
Once the Altiris Agent GUID is blacklisted, there is a period of time before it next updates configuration where it may initiate communication with the server using the old resource GUID, such as posting events. The Server will not process any events which include the old resource GUID. This ensures that the old GUID does not get introduced back into the database.
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