Recommendations and Requirements for upgrading/installing Site Servers for ITMS 8.7.3 Release or later

Products

• IT Management Suite

Issue/Introduction

You just want to know what the recommendations for Site Servers in ITMS 8.7.3 are if you are upgrading one.

Or, if you’re installing a new Site Server in ITMS 8.7.3, what are the recommendations?

Environment

ITMS 8.7.3

Resolution

Background:

Site services are an extension of the Symantec Management Agent. When a site service is installed on a managed node, it promotes the Symantec Management Agent to a site server.

Task, package, monitor, and network boot services are all site server roles. These site services can be deployed in multiple combinations to meet endpoint demands. A remote site may only need a package server or a network boot server. A task server may be needed only at the data center. Your topology and your use of solutions determines if you should combine site services onto a single computer or use dedicated computers.

The standard SMP (Symantec Management Platform) Server install only includes the minimum site server requirements. Additional site servers may use either a Windows desktop operating system or a Windows Server operating system.

A site with fewer than 100 endpoints may only require 10 sessions; however, a Windows server may be required for larger remote sites.

Your primary consideration for a site server's hardware and operating system is the number of concurrent sessions that you need. A desktop operating system is limited to 10 or 20 concurrent TCP connections, but the server operating system does not have this limitation. 

About the package service

About the task service

About the network boot service

If you are upgrading from a recent previous version, like ITMS 8.7.1 or 8.7.2, for example, there are no special considerations as far as Site Servers go. If your Site Servers were already operational and you upgraded to a newer version, if the Release Notes for such version don't indicate any special considerations or known issues, you are safe to upgrade without adding any other requirements on those Site Servers.

See steps for upgrading a Site Server:
Upgrading Site Servers

See the following Installation references:

Installing Task Service in ITMS 8.x

Installing Package Service in ITMS 8.x

General Requirements / Considerations

Upgrading or installing a Site Server will require the following considerations (provided as a general guidance):

1. If you are upgrading to 8.7.3 or any newer version, always review the Release Notes for possible Known Issues or special considerations. For example, check that you have a supported OS and Microsoft .NET version:
   
   With our ITMS 8.7.1 release (and later), we require .NET 4.8.x in our Site Servers as mentioned under KB 273640 "Task Servers not showing in task service upgrade policy after upgrading to ITMS 8.7.1."
   
   Refer to the Site Server Support Matrix for other considerations:
   https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/symantec-security-software/endpoint-security-and-management/it-management-suite/ITMS/Platform-and-OS-Support/site-server-v132619790-d780e17408.html
   
   https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/symantec-security-software/endpoint-security-and-management/it-management-suite/ITMS/Platform-and-OS-Support/microsoft-net-v120819458-d780e10868.html
2. Check the current hardware requirements for each of the Site Server Services that you may want to use. For example, under our Recommended IT Management Suite Hardware :
   
   The services in Physical and virtual hardware recommendations for Task Server, Physical and virtual hardware recommendations for Package Server, Physical and virtual hardware recommendations for Network Boot Server (PXE) can be combined on one site server or deployed separately, depending on your environment. Often, package and PXE services are installed on a single computer.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   NOTE: For the most current version of our Support Matrix, please refer to IT Management Suite - Platform and OS Support
   
   
   
3. Check the following IIS requirements:
   
   

   KB 180399 "Installing Task Server"

   KB 180398 "Installing Package Server"

4. After you have the proper hardware requirements and added the necessary IIS roles and features (and the Symantec Management Agent has been installed or upgraded) on the Site Server, you can also check if there are other requirements still missing.
   If you go to Settings>Notification Server>Site Server Settings>Site Servers>select the desired Site Server>Services, click on "Install/Remove services" and if you right-click on "Package Service", you should see "View Prerequisites for Site Service".
   For the Task Service, this is what is required:
   
   • Computer managed
   • Local
   • Asset status is active
   • Agent version supported
   • CEM Mode disabled
   • Operating system supported
   • Service not installed
   • IIS configured
   • NET framework version supported
   
   
   
   
   
   For Package Service:
   
   
   • Computer managed
   • Local
   • Asset status is active
   • Agent version supported
   • CEM Mode disabled
   • Operating system supported
   • Service not installed
   • HTTP server installed
   
   
   

Other Considerations:

1. Remember, Task Client-Server communication is moderately intense and could significantly impact the overall performance of the SMP Server. In newer versions, this has less impact.  On-Site Servers, the impact is much less.  This is why a Site Server is recommended because it supports about 15,000 clients. On an SMP Server, it is recommended that you configure it to have no more than 100. The main impact is with the Object Host Service, which can take up significant amounts of RAM as it does its work.  Clients communicate actively and frequently when tasks are running (every 30 minutes, even if nothing is happening at all), so be cautious.  This can be adjusted to reduce load, but it is still not recommended. If you are managing a large environment, refer to the following white paper for some additional considerations:
   Managing 50.000 client computers on a single Notification Server
   
   
2. If you are planning to upgrade the OS version on your Site Server, refer to:
   In-Place Operating System Upgrades
   
   Validating Site Servers After an OS Upgrade
   
   
3. If you are planning to replace your Site Server with new hardware, refer to:
   
   How to Replace a Site Server with New Hardware