Altiris ITMS 8.6 RU1 released

This week the first update for Release 8.6 of the Symantec IT Management Suite (ITMS 8.6 RU1) has been released. The update can be installed immediately via the Symantec Installation Manager (SIM).
We are happy to support you with this update, please contact us.

→ You can conveniently find these release notes and other useful documents on Altiris at:
Altiris Links & Downloads

Here we have compiled the new features for you.

These new features were realized with Release 8.6 RU1:

• The following operating systems are now supported for the installation of the Symantec Management Agent and solution plug-ins:
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.3 and CentOS 8.3
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.9 and CentOS 7.9
  • Windows 10, version 21H1

• Mac devices with Apple M1 chip are now supported for the installation of the Symantec Management Agent and solution plug-ins.

• The installation package of Symantec Management Agent for UNIX, Linux, and Mac is now Apple notarized and can be installed by default on macOS 10.15 and later.

• The Symantec Management Agent and solution plug-ins no longer support the management of the following operating systems:
  • Windows XP Professional SP2 x64
  • Windows XP Professional SP3 x86
  • Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005
  • Windows XP Embedded SP3
  • Windows Embedded Standard
  • Windows Embedded Point of Service 1.1 SP3
  • Windows Embedded POS Ready 2009
  • Windows Vista SP2 x86/x64
  • Windows Embedded Standard 7 x86/x64 SP1
  • Windows 8
  • Windows Server 2003 SP2 x86/x64
  • Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2 x86/x64
  • Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 R2 x86/x64

• Enhancements of the Symantec Management Agent UI.
  • The new NBS Server tab in the Symantec Management Agent UI now shows the status of Network Boot Service (NBS) services and images applicable to this NBS Server. → The NBS Server tab is only available if the NBS service is installed on the computer.
  • The Software Delivery tab in the Symantec Management Agent UI now lets you filter the software delivery policies. After you enter a text string to the search box, the list will be updated to show only those policies that include the entered text.
  • The Package and task properties dialog provides a new set of details about the package being installed. When you double-click a package task in the Software Delivery list, the Details tab now displays Software name, Software version, and Software vendor.

• The Show agent notifications in Windows action center option on the Targeted Agent Settings > User Control page lets you show all agent notifications in Windows action center on the client computers.

• To hide policy information in the Symantec Management Agent user interface, right-click the policy in the left pane of the Symantec Management Console, select Visibility in Agent UI, check Hide in Agent UI, and click OK.

• On the Software Catalog Configuration page, under Settings > Software > Software Catalog and Software Library Settings > Software Catalog Configuration, you can now define a default value to Assign package to setting. Note that this value will be applied only to new (created or imported) software packages. Already existing packages will not be updated.

• The Shallow clone option lets you clone a job without cloning the items that this job contains. This feature lets you replicate the process that this job represents while replacing the items within that job.
  
• The Cleanup Old Inventory Data task has been removed from the Daily shared schedule and does no longer remove data of the Retired, Disposed, or Returned to Lessor devices from the database. If you want to remove data of such devices, you can create and schedule an Inventory Clean Up task under System Jobs and Tasks > Service and Asset Management > CMDB.

• Enhancements and changes in Deployment Solution.
  • Use Cloud-enabled connection to run tasks and jobs in WinPE environments.
  • Ability to create or recreate PXE images on individual Network Boot Service (NBS) server.
  • Deployment Solution features are no longer supported on Mac OS clients.

• The AeX AC Identification page in Resource Manager now shows full operating system version and full operating system build number. You can also add this data to your customized reports.

• If you change the sorting and filtering of software publications on the Manage Publications page, then the same view settings will be retained when you visit the page next time.

• The Software Compliance Detailed Summary report now shows the client devices on which a Managed Software Delivery policy didn’t proceed to install software because a pending reboot was found on this device.

• The new privilege Use Filter Builder under Management Privileges lets you control if a security role can use the Filter Builder.

• In the Endpoint Management Workspaces console, a new workspace for managing Mac devices using modern device management protocols is available for technical preview. Note that this workspace is hidden by default. For more information about unhiding and using it, contact Mike Grueber over Broadcom Community.

• A new ASDK method CreateFolder2 is available. CreateFolder2 has an extra parameter folder type that can be either a class GUID or a predefined name.

• If you perform ITMS upgrade from earlier versions to 8.6 RU1, you can choose in SIM if you want to keep the legacy help or you want to uninstall it.

With ITMS 8.6 RU1, various improvements or «fixed issues» in the following solutions were also realized:

• Symantec Management Platform
• Asset Management Solution
• CMDB
• Deployment Solution
• Inventory Solution
• IT Management Views
• Software Management Solution
• Workflow Solution

Release Notes and User Guides

The release notes and other useful documents for Altiris can be conveniently found at:

Altiris links & downloads

As with all updates, there are a few things to consider, especially if you are running multiple clients and servers. We have profound experience in this area and would be happy to advise you on updating to the latest version. Feel free to contact us.