Deployment Solution for Dell Servers 3.2 MR1 Release Notes

Introduction

Altiris Deployment Solution offers enhanced Dell server deployment capabilities that dramatically reduce the time and cost of deploying and managing your Dell servers. Deployment Solution uses prebuilt scripts to quickly and easily deploy Dell servers. Deployment jobs enable you to update and configure hardware and system settings (including BIOS, RAID, and DRAC configurations), deploy a Microsoft Windows or Linux operating system, install applications (databases and email servers), and more. All from a central, remote console.

For a collection of videos that are a good introduction to Deployment Solution for Dell Servers 3.2 MR1, see Symantec Connect.

New features

This release includes the following new features:

• Support for the latest version of the Dell OpenManage Deployment Toolkit (DTK version 3.2.1) in the WinPE environment.
• Improved performance.
• Sample Jobs to provide access to Lifecycle Controller drivers on 11th Generation Dell Servers for use during scripted OS installations.

Prerequisites

System Requirements

Deployment Solution software provides the infrastructure and the core functionality that is used by Deployment Solution for Dell Servers. Before using this product, you should be familiar with the functionality and requirements of Deployment Solution.

• Deployment Solution 6.9 SP4. See the Deployment Solution release notes, article 51559. Deployment Solution 6.9 SP4 documentation is available at http://www.altiris.com/support/documentation.

Deployment Solution for Dell Servers 3.2 MR1 has the following requirements in addition to those of Deployment Solution 6.9 SP4:

• Installation of Deployment Solution for Dell Servers on Windows versions later than Windows 2000.
• The Deployment server, console, and datastore (deployment share) must be installed on the same machine as Deployment Solution for Dell Servers.

Supported Dell servers

This release provides support for the servers that are included in version 3.2.1 of the Dell OpenManage Deployment Toolkit (DTK) in the WinPE environment
This release provides support for the servers that are included in version 3.1 of the Dell OpenManage Deployment Toolkit (DTK) in the Linux environment.

Operating system files for scripted installations

When you install Deployment Solution for Dell Servers, the Configuration Wizard prompts you to provide installation (source) files for each operating system that you select to create automated scripted installation jobs. The files are copied to the deployment share if they are located elsewhere.

Drivers for Windows scripted installations

Drivers for supported Dell server models can be automatically located and copied from the following Dell OpenManage CDs or DVDs: Dell Server Assistant, Dell Systems Build and Update Utility, or Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation.

The Configuration Wizard prompts you for the CDs or DVDs for your selected systems (supported systems are listed on the front of each disc). If the discs are not available, ISO images can be downloaded from support.dell.com. Browse to the downloads section for your server model and operating system, and then select the Systems Management category.

Supported platforms for scripted installations

DS includes jobs to perform scripted installations of the following operating systems:

• Windows Server 2008 (32- and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2003 (all versions, 32- and 64-bit)
• Windows 2000 Server and 2000 Advanced Server
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 3, 4, and 5 (all versions, 32- and 64-bit)
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES 3, 4, and 5 (all versions, 32- and 64-bit)
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 (32- and 64-bit)

Installation

Complete installation instructions are contained in the Deployment Solution for Dell Servers 3.2 MR1 documentation, which is available at http://www.altiris.com/support/documentation.

Please refer also to the demo videos on the Symantec Connect site.

Where to download

You can download released versions of Altiris products from http://www.altiris.com/Download.aspx.

You can download Beta versions of Altiris products from http://beta.altiris.com.

WinPE and Linux pre-boot files

You can download files for the Microsoft WinPE and Linux pre-boot or automation environments from the Deployment Solution for Dell Servers download page. Go to http://www.altiris.com/Download.aspx, and then select the appropriate version of Deployment Solution for Dell Servers.

Upgrade

To upgrade, perform a standard installation as outlined in the Deployment Solution for Dell Servers 3.2 MR1 documentation, which is available at http://www.altiris.com/support/documentation.

During the upgrade, any existing folder that is named “Dell” within the Deployment Share is renamed to “Dell_prev.” Any Dell jobs that exist prior to an upgrade remain intact, but their references to the Dell directory in the Deployment Share might need to be redirected to the Dell_prev folder to operate properly.

Performing an upgrade has the following effects:

Deployment Console jobs folder

The jobs from the previous version should still appear in the Deployment Console. They are located in the folder that is named according to the version. For example, Deployment Solution for Dell Servers v3.2Linux. The new jobs in the Deployment Console are in a separate folder that is named according to the version and pre-boot environment. For example, Deployment Solution for Dell Servers v3.2 MR1 Linux.

Deployment share file-system folder

The Deployment share is usually located in the C:\ProgramFiles\Altiris\eXpress\Deployment Server\ folder. The old Dell file-system folder in the Deployment Share is renamed to "Dell_prev" (or something like Dell_prev1 if a Dell_prev folder already exists). A new file-system folder named "Dell," which contains the version 3.2 MR1 files, is created in the Deployment Share.

Deployment Console tools menu

The tools menu in the Deployment Console is updated to refer to the new version 3.2 MR1 items. The previous versions of each utility (Configuration Utility, Job Builder, Configuration Wizard) reside in their respective Dell_prev folders. Using these versions is not supported because they might not interact correctly with the updated database schema.