Altiris ITMS 8.8 released
Release 8.8 of the IT Management Suite (ITMS 8.8) from Broadcom was released mid-May 2025. The release can now be installed via the Symantec Installation Manager (SIM). We will be happy to support you in updating to the new version. Get in contact with us.
These new features were introduced with Release 8.8:
New Symantec Management Platform Features
| REST API introduced for ITMS ASDK | ITMS ASDK is now also provided as REST API with methods documentation available at https://localhost/Altiris/ASDK.REST/swagger/ui/index (change localhost to the name of your SMP Server). |
| AppLocker Support | Provided whitepaper explaining how customers can designate ITMS as a Managed Installer, so that ITMS can install applications and patches on devices controlled with AppLocker. Ed. note: A link to the Whitepaper can be found in the original Release Notes. |
| Windows Server 2025 | Windows Server 2025 is now supported for the installation of the Notification Server. |
| New reportPackage Distribution Point Status | New report “Package Distribution Point Status” added toReports > Notification Server Management > Server folder to simplify troubleshooting of package failures. |
| Subject Alternate Name (SAN) displayed in Certificate Management UI | Subject Alternate Name (SAN) is now displayed on the Certificate Details pane of Certificate Management page in Symantec Management Console. |
| Automation Policies – Override default task name when creating task instance | It is now possible to override the default task name when adding an instance of that task to an automation policy. |
| Enable accounts to use ASDK, but not access the console | The new privilege Allow Console Login has been added to allow access to the ASDK but not to the Console. Roles and Accounts with this privilege disabled are not able to login to the Altiris Console. |
| Custom names for task instances triggered by Automation Policies | It’s now possible to override the default task name when adding an instance of that task to an automation policy. |
New Symantec Management Agent Features
| New OS Support | The following operating systems are now supported for the installation of the Symantec Management Agent and solution plug-ins:Support for Windows Server 2025 • Support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.5 • Support for Oracle Linux 9.5 • Support for SUSE 15 SP6 |
| Windows 11 ARM Support | Windows 11 24H2 endpoints with ARM processor are now supported for agent installation and management. → Note: The legacy Windows x64 filter is now renamed to Windows x64 and ARM64 to highlight the fact that it contains 64-bit computers of both x64 and ARM64 architectures. New Windows x64 and Windows ARM64 filters were added that include computers of just specific architecture. Please review your targets that previously referenced legacy Windows x64 filter and adjust them correspondingly if they are expected to target only Intel64/AMD64 computers. |
| Deprecated Support | • 32-bit Operating Systems are no longer supported as Site Servers (Windows 10 and below) • Management of Solaris SunOS endpoints is no longer supported. |
| VBScript removed from Symantec Management Agent and plug-ins | VBScript is no longer used by Symantec Management Agent and plug-ins and replaced by alternative technologies. |
| SMAODJoin tool introduced | SMAODJoin.exe utility is now used for offline computers join to a domain instead of smatool.exe. |
New Symantec Management Console Features
| New Notification Server Event System Health reports | There are three new Notification Server Event reports in the Symantec Management Console – Pending events, Processed Events Summary and Processed Events Timeline. You can find these reports in Reports > Notification Server Management > Server > Event Queue > Metadata Statistics. The Pending Events report shows the current Notification Server Events queue on the SMP Server which are not yet complete. This report makes it possible to identify which product or source generates the most events in queue, and details their size and frequency. The Processed Events Summary report shows summary of processed event types for defined period of time. Possible to see summarized information by source, product specifying required time period to see processed common amount of events, their size and taken CPU time to process them. The Processed Events Timeline report shows a list of processed event types that were saved into the database. With this report, you can see what events types have been processed and how often per specified time period. Elements of this report include event count, event size, CPU time taken to process these events. The two latter new report types provide additional drill-down report options with a right-click. allow drilling down to show additional details for Computer Summary by Source, Timeline by Source, and Full History by Source. All three of these new reports are also accessible from the Core Performance console page. → Note: Capturing for these events is enabled by default. See KB393095 for details on disabling that functionality. |
New Inventory Solution Features
| Custom Inventory Data View | Computer Inventory View includes a new custom data option to display additional information about managed computers. |
| Windows Security Data Inventory | The inventory agent collects key security details from Windows devices. Collected data includes the status (enabled/disabled) of installed antivirus software, firewall, Credential Guard (running/not running/disabled), and the USB Autorun setting. This information is stored in the new SW Security Data data class and is also available in dedicated report titled Windows Computers Security Information. |
| Windows Browser Extensions Inventory | The inventory agent now collects detailed information about installed browser extensions from Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox on Windows computers. Data includes extension ID, status (enabled/disabled), permissions, associated browser profile, and the user who installed it. This information is stored in the new SW Browser Extensions data class and is also available in dedicated reports: Count of Browser Extensions by Browser and Computer and Installed Browser Extensions. |
| Microsoft SQL Server inventory enhancements | SQL inventory Enhancements added in this release:Added collection of Microsoft SQL Linked Servers – data is stored in the new MS SQL Linked Servers data class. Added collection of Microsoft SQL Server logins – data is stored in the new MS SQL Server Logins data class. For more information, see KB 397027 |
New Modern Device Management Features
| macOS payloads update | Existing MacOS payload updated to reflect changes in the latest macOS versions. |
New Patch Management Solution Features
| Integration with SEP Host Integrity feature is deprecated | The SEP Host Integrity Patch Compliance and quarantine feature is no longer supported as of this release. |
| Include Patch API to ITMS ASDK | Patch Management API methods are now part of general ITMS ASDK (both SOAP and REST). Legacy Patch web services are preserved for backward compatibility. |
| Ability to force periodical Patch inventory in full mode | New NS Core setting PatchAssessmentSendFullEveryNDays was added to force periodical Patch inventory in full mode to optimize CMDB space usage.For more information, refer to KB 393566. |
New Software Management Features
| Add computer information to software request dialogs | Software request dialogs in the Software Portal now include the computer name making the request. |
| Integration with Microsoft Store | It’s now possible to search the Microsoft Store for apps, import those apps into the Software Catalog, and deploy them using Software Management tasks and add to the Software Portal. |
New Workflow Solution Features
| TLS 1.3 only environment support for Workflow Solution | Workflow solution is now supported in TLS 1.3 only environments. |
| .NET 4.8 Requirement for Workflow Solution | .NET Framework 4.8 is now required for the Workflow Solution. |
New Deployment Solution Features
| Preinstall drivers using Windows deployment tools | This new option in the DeployAnywhere section of the Deploy Image task allows you to install boot critical drivers such as storage controllers before booting to Windows to complete the system configuration. |
| New option ‘Window size’ in the ‘NBS General Settings’ page | A new option, Window size was introduced in the NBS General Settings page allowing better control of PXE boot speed in combination with already available ‘MTU packet size’ option.For more information, see KB 281045. |
| Reorder initial deployment menu items | Added the ability to reorder initial deployment menu items from the Initial Deployment Settings page. |
ITMS 8.8 also addresses various “Fixed Issues” and “Known Issues”, which you can find in the original release notes.
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.
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