Understanding Task Server List Generation and Registration Behavior in IT Management Suite (ITMS)

Products

IT Management Suite

Issue/Introduction

You may require strict control over which Task Servers your managed endpoints use.

Typical concerns include:

Endpoints connecting to Task Servers in other countries, increasing bandwidth costs
Departments sharing compute resources unintentionally
Imaging or deployment traffic failing over to remote regions instead of staying local

Administrators want to define a controlled, predictable Task Server assignment model rather than relying entirely on automatic server selection logic.

Today, manual site server assignment primarily applies to Package Servers, not Task Servers. As a result, customers cannot fully control Task Server selection the same way they can with Package Servers.

Environment

IT Management Suite 8.7.x, 8.8.x

SMP Server (Symantec Management Platform or Notification Server (NS))

Task Server (TS)

Symantec Management Agent (SMA or Altiris Agent))

Client Task Agent (CTA)

Cause

In IT Management Suite (ITMS), Task Server assignment is dynamically generated by the SMP Server (Symantec Management Platform or Notification Server (NS)).

When a client needs to run a task:

The Client Task Agent (CTA) requests a list of Task Servers from the SMP Server.
The SMP Server generates the list based on site association and server availability.
The CTA selects a Task Server using internal logic (capacity, load, performance, and previous connection errors).
The CTA registers with one Task Server and begins task execution.

Some customers require tighter control over:

Which Task Servers may be used
The preferred order of use
Preventing fallback outside an approved set

NOTE: An enhancement has been proposed to be included in the future release to allow administrators to define a custom, ordered Task Server list per site, overriding the default dynamic logic.

How Task Server Registration Works (Current Design)

For successful task execution, the following sequence must complete:

Step	Component	Requirement
1	Symantec Management Agent (SMA or Altiris Agent)) on Site Server	Registered and communicating with SMP Server
2	Task Server Service	Installed and registered with SMP Server
3	Symantec Management Agent (SMA or Altiris Agent)) on Client	Registered and communicating with SMP Server
4	Client Task Agent (CTA)	Requests and receives Task Server list from SMP Server
5	CTA	Successfully registers with one Task Server

Failure at any step prevents task execution.

Task Server Registration Flow Diagram

Below is a simplified representation of the registration process:

How the Task Server List Is Generated

When the CTA requests available Task Servers:

CTA requests a list of Task Servers from SMP Server.
SMP Server builds the list based on:
- Site association
- Server availability
- Manual site server assignment logic (if applicable)
The CTA processes the list according to its Task Server Settings policy.
CTA processes the list using its internal policy logic:
- Server load
- Performance
- Previous connection errors
- Capacity-based selection

Important:
Even if a list appears ordered, the CTA does not strictly connect to the first server in the list. It evaluates real-time conditions before selecting a server.

Common Causes of Registration Failure

Based on field experience, failures are most commonly related to:

Most Frequent Issues	Explanation
Task Server not registered with SMP Server	SMP Server cannot include it in the list
CTA unable to register to any Task Server	Connectivity or service issue
Network restrictions	Firewall, routing, or bandwidth limits

It is rare that failures are caused by the SMP Server being too busy to generate the list.

What Happens During Failures?

Scenario	Behavior
SMP Server unavailable	CTA retries; may use cached list temporarily
TS not registered on SMP Server	SMP Server cannot provide it in list
CTA cannot register to any TS	Cached list eventually dropped
All TS unreachable	CTA stuck retrying

Most real-world issues are caused by:

TS not properly registered on SMP Server
CTA unable to register with any TS
Connectivity issues

It is rarely caused by SMP Server being “too busy.”

Resolution

How Customers Typically Configure Task Server Assignments Today

1. Site-Based Assignment

Administrators can configure Sites under:

Settings > Notification Server > Site Server Settings > Sites > New Site

Manual assignment allows administrators to associate specific Site Servers to a Site.

However:

Manual assignment primarily affects Package Server behavior.
Task Server selection still follows Task Server policy logic.

2. Task Server Selection Policy

Under:

Settings > All Settings > Notification Server > Task Agent Settings

The CTA can be configured to select Task Servers based on:

Relative remaining capacity
Server responsiveness
Fewest connections

This improves load balancing but does not provide strict isolation.

Troubleshooting Guidance

Client Log Location

C:\ProgramData\Symantec\SMP\Logs\

Look for entries such as:

Received Task Server list from SMP Server
Attempting to register to Task Server: <ServerName>
Registration failed

Validation Checklist

Validation Step	Expected Result
Task Server service running	Service is started
Task Server registered in Console	Visible under Task Server Management
Client receives Task Server list	Log confirms receipt
CTA registers successfully	Registration success entry in log

By default, ITMS dynamically balances Task Server selection to optimize performance and load distribution.

Additional Information

Client Task Agent Connectivity
Optimizing Agent Assignment: Understanding Package and Task Server Selection Logic
Task Server is not registering to itself automatically
Enabling trace logging for Task management (task server) on a site server

Report: To list all ACTIVE Task Servers
Report: To list count of assigned clients for each Task server
Report: To list all managed clients with assigned Task Server