Excessive “Pending Reboot” Notifications After Patch Installation in ITMS Patch Management

Products

• IT Management Suite
• Patch Management Solution

Issue/Introduction

You have received reports regarding frequent “restart required” or reboot prompt notifications (every 5–15 minutes) after deploying software updates via Patch Management. The issue persists even after modifying policies and clearing agent cache components.

Settings in the SMP Console:

Environment

ITMS 8.7.x, 8.8.x

Patch Management 8.7.x, 8.8.x

Cause

This issue is caused by Patch Management configuration—specifically, how reboot behavior and patch cycles are scheduled.

When patch cycles run frequently and reboot settings are configured using scheduled triggers, the agent repeatedly generates reboot requests. Additionally, older versions of Patch Management do not consolidate reboot requests, resulting in repeated user prompts.

Frequent reboot prompts are triggered due to misconfigured patch and reboot schedules, including:

Configuration Issue	Impact
Frequent Patch Cycles (e.g., every 2–10 hours)	Each cycle re-triggers reboot checks
Scheduled reboot setting with repetition (e.g., every 5 minutes)	Causes continuous user prompts
Agent limitation (pre-8.8.2)	Cannot consolidate reboot requests
Multiple updates requiring reboot	Each update triggers independent reboot requests

 

Supporting Evidence from Logs

Example log entry showing frequent reboot scheduling:

enterRebootScheduled()() - <schedule tz="Local" start="2008-01-01 00:00:00 ">
<trigger type="Daily" exact="True" at="00:00:00 " duration="1.00:00:00" repetition="00:05:00" frequency="1"/>
</schedule>

This indicates:

• Reboot checks repeating every 5 minutes
• Causing continuous prompt cycles

Additional Contributing Factors

• Default Software Update Plug-in Policy still active or partially applied
• Conflicting settings between default and custom policies
• “Postpone” option used repeatedly (delays but does not eliminate prompts)
• Patch cycles occurring before reboot completion

Frequent reboot prompts are not an agent defect but a configuration-driven behavior—amplified in older versions.

The most effective fix is:

• Align patch cycles and reboot timing
• Avoid scheduled reboot repetition
• Upgrade to Patch Management 8.8.2+ for improved handling

Resolution

A product fix is planned for ITMS 8.8.2 Release, which improves this behavior by tracking reboot requests and preventing repeated notifications for the same update.

Patch Management 8.8.2 Improvement

A fix was introduced where:

• The agent remembers reboot requests
• Prevents repeated prompts for the same update within a patch cycle

Behavior Change:

Version	Behavior
Pre-8.8.2	Reboot requested repeatedly
8.8.2+	Reboot request tracked (registry flag: RebootRequested)

 

 

Recommended Configuration Changes

1. Modify Reboot Behavior

Navigate to:

• Manage > Policies > Software > Software Update Plug-in Policies

Update the following setting:

• Change:
  • Scheduled
• To:
  • At the end of software update cycle

Reason:
Scheduled reboots can trigger outside patch cycles and repeat frequently.

 

2. Adjust Patch Cycle Frequency

Navigate to:

• Manage > Policies > Software > Patch Management Settings

Reduce frequency:

Setting	Recommendation
Patch Cycle	Avoid running every few hours
Suggested Interval	Daily or aligned with maintenance window

Note: Frequent cycles will repeatedly trigger reboot checks.

 

3. Configure Restart Timing Properly

Recommended settings:

Setting	Value
Allow delay	Max 8 hours
Forced restart	Within 9 hours
Alternative	Do not allow postponement

Best Practice:
Ensure reboot occurs before next patch cycle begins.

4. Review “Do Not Install Updates if Reboot Pending”

Evaluate this setting in both:

• Default Software Update Plug-in Policy
• Custom Patch Policies

Scenario	Behavior
Enabled	Prevents new installs until reboot
Disabled	Allows installs but increases reboot prompts

 

5. Verify Policy Assignment

Ensure correct policy targeting:

1. Go to:
   • Manage > Computers
2. Confirm endpoint belongs to correct target (e.g., Workstation group)
3. Verify:
   • Default policy is disabled if using custom policies

6. Restart Agent and Validate Policy Update

Steps:

1. Restart Altiris Agent Service

2. Trigger policy update:

   aexagent /policy

    
3. Check Agent logs:
   • C:\ProgramData\Symantec\SMP\Logs\