Retiring package server that was originally hosting image captured packages

Products

Deployment Solution

Issue/Introduction

Scenario:

The customer has a package server, PS008, that is old and he is replacing it with a new server.
The new package server, PS010, is up and running. He adds the same Sites that the original PS had. So, the customer turned off the old PS.
Now, client machines can't receive the image packages because the image references still point to PS008, the original PS.
When he goes to the SMP Console under Settings>Deployment>Image Management, all the "package Location" for all his images refers to "\\PS008\....." path.
When he looks at the same image packages on the new PS, all of them say "Ready" but there is no "Cache" folder created under the Package Delivery folder.
When he checks the image package "Download History" tab on the new PS, it shows PS008 as the "Source Location".
Another package server, PS009, has the image packages Ready and a Cache folder with the files. However, this server is going to be retired too. So, PS009 is the only package server that still has a copy of their image packages.

We would like to know the appropriate way to get PS010 (the new package server) ready with every image package and have them downloaded so PS008 and PS009 can be gone completely and be still able to image using the new package server.

Environment

ITMS 8.5 RU4, 8.6

Resolution

Scenario 1: When the Package Server owning the image package is still available

If the image is owned by a Package Server then this Package Server is the source of that image and all other Package Servers are downloading this image from this owner.

If the customer wants to dismiss the Package Server which owns some images, then he/she should transfer image ownership to some other Package Server:

Go to owner PS and find the package with a blue icon. This means the package is a "Locally managed" package.
Go to "some other" PS which will be the new owner. Find the very same package, it should be with yellow icon "Externally managed".
Ensure it has a package downloaded and has proper size, status, etc.
Expand the "Package Tasks" section and choose the "Take ownership" link.
|Note: Before making "Take ownership" you must be sure all the files in the package are OK. If the package becomes "Locally managed" then there is nowhere to download from, since now it is where this package originates. If you delete files from the "Locally managed" package and run refresh, a new snapshot will be created based on the current package content on the disk. So if you convert an empty package to "Locally managed" now, it will be empty. To fix You could copy the files "by hand" from somewhere and put those in the package directory, and then run refresh. This should help. Check the snapshot.xml after the refresh, it should be generated with the files.

The action is done silently, so do not be afraid of no immediate UI feedback. You could search for "CreateExternalPackage" in the logs for more details.
Update delta membership on NS and refresh policies on both Package Servers.
The package should change status on PS1 from blue to yellow, on PS2 from yellow to blue. Now the image is owned by the second PS.
After all ownerships of all images are transferred to new Package Servers, the legacy PS could be dismissed.

Question:
Would be then necessary to "Take ownership" of the image packages on PS009 (wait for the process to finish) and then "Take ownership" of those packages on PS010 since also PS009 will be decommissioned?

Yes. There should be an owner for other PS-es to be able to download it.

Question:
on PS009 (still one of the remaining old PSes), we choose an image package and did "Take Ownership". After a bit, this package changed to "Locally Managed".
One thing that we are not sure if it was set that way but on PS010 (new PS with no Cache files for image packages) that same package was marked for Deletion after PS009 took ownership. We checked on 'SMP Console>Settings>Deployment>Image Management>Select the testing image>open the image settings' and we saw that under the "package servers" tab, just the PS009 showed as the assigned package server instead of "All Package Servers"

"Take ownership" AFAIK does not change any assignment on NS, it just changes the owner of the package. The fact that this setting exists, means this was done before by someone, and this explains why files were deleted from PS010. It could have received this policy earlier and deleted the package files.

Now you need to put the assignment back, so PS010 will be able to download the package and then "take ownership" of it.

Scenario 2: When the original package server is not longer present

Question:
Can we use ResourceImportTool if we don't want to follow this process described above or when the original package server is not longer available?

Images can also be imported via ResourceImportTool.exe, however it creates new image resources, and cannot replace existing ones. Default location of ResourceImportTool on PS is "C:\Program Files\Altiris\Altiris Agent\Agents\Deployment\Tools\ResourceImportTool.exe" if Deployment Solution Package Server is installed. If the original package server is not longer available but there is another package server that still have a downloaded copy of the image package(s) file(s), you can use the ResourceImportTool.exe to grab the files from that existing location.

Question:
If I run the ResourceImportTool on the new package server, by doing that also makes the package to be flagged as "Locally managed"?
Adds the files and uses the same GUID as previously referenced for that same set of files for the package that is missing the files under the Cache folder?
Or creates a new whole image package reference on the SMP that will be listed as a new image reference under Image Management in the SMP Console?

It will add it as a new image to the existing list of images, and will not reference existing GUIDs as there is no option in ResourceImportTool for GUID selection.