Build number 3.1.1045

This document contains the following topics:

Introduction

Dell Client Manager is the most powerful Dell hardware management solution available for Dell Precision* workstations, OptiPlex* desktops, and Latitude* notebooks. The unprecedented integration of Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation with the Symantec Management Platform has resulted in a single, remote console—the Dell Client Management Console.

Dell Client Manager Versions

Dell Client Manager provides three levels of capability to fit the varying needs and types of organizations. Each level—Standard, Plus, and Dell Client Management Suite—builds upon the previous level; each simply snaps additional management capability into the Dell Client Manager unified management architecture, adhering to and leveraging the same familiar interface, the same database, and the same management agent. With Dell Client Manager, you outfit yourself with sufficient capability to produce the outcomes you want in the near term and easily adopt additional capability—and the associated benefits—when you're ready to take the next step. Adopting and deriving the benefits of centralized, automated client management has never been easier or more straightforward.

Dell Client Manager Standard

With Dell Client Manager Standard you can perform the following actions:

  • Remotely identify, inventory, and add Dell computers in your environment to the pool of managed resources.
  • Automatically deploy the Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation (OMCI agent) to client computers.
  • Obtain detailed inventory client computer data, including hardware information and BIOS settings.
  • Remotely update the BIOS on client computers to the latest version.
  • Remotely configure BIOS settings on client computers.
  • Employ hardware health monitoring on client computers that can trigger alerts.
  • Generate a wide range of reports that help you manage client computers.
  • Perform real-time, one-to-one management of the client computers.
  • Configure Dell display settings and turn off Dell displays.
Dell Client Manager Plus

Dell Client Manager Plus (formerly known as Dell OpenManage Client Administrator - OMCA) includes additional Symantec solutions to provide the following capabilities:

  • Create software packages; distribute and install remotely.
  • Scan computers for detailed operating system and application information (inventory).
Dell Client Management Suite

Dell Client Management Suite provides the following additional capabilities:

  • Ensure all computers are compliant with published security patches.
  • Track the distribution and usage of software licenses.
  • Establish and enforce system configuration and software usage policies.
  • Take control of a remote computer on a WAN.

Supported Systems

Supported Dell computer models

Dell Client Manager supports all Dell Precision workstations, OptiPlex desktops, and Latitude notebooks. Dell Client Manager does not support Dell Dimension desktops, Dell Inspiron notebooks, and Dell Vostro notebooks.

Dell computer models that support patching

For the list of the Dell computers and devices that support patching, see the PDKPC readme at http://ftp.dell.com/cmsdk/PDKPC_Readme.doc

Supported Dell displays

Dell Client Manager can inventory and manage the following displays:

1708FP-BLK, 1908FP-BLK, E1609W, E1709W, E1909W, E2009W, E2209W, E170S , E190S, E1910, E1910H, E2010H, E2210, E2210H, E2310H, G2210, G2410, P170S, P2210, P190S, P2010H, P2210H, P2310H, U2410.

All newer Business Client Models of the E, P, and U series are also supported. The consumer models (IN, ST, SX and AW series) are not supported.

Dell computer models that support Alert Standard Format (ASF)

Some Dell models are ASF 2.0 capable. To be ASF 2.0 capable, a computer must have a network adapter and computer BIOS that supports ASF 2.0. Some Dell computers have Broadcom network adapters that support ASF 2.0 while the computer BIOS does not. You can discover ASF-capable computers using the Out of Band Discovery policy. For more information, see the Out of Band Management Component Implementation Guide.

Supported ASF computers can be identified through the Supported ASF 2.0 capable Dell client computers filter. Dell Client Manager may recognize other models that have ASF-capable network adapters but do not have ASF 2.0 support in the computer BIOS. In these cases, these computers are listed as capable in the ASF/DASH Capable Computers filter. They can have the Out of Band Task Agent installed on them, along with fully supported models. ASF 2.0 functionality is not available on these computers, and it does not cause any problems to have the agent installed on the computers that are not fully supported.

Dell computer models that support Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT)

Some Dell models support Intel AMT 2.0 and later. You can discover Intel AMT-capable computers by using the Out of Band Discovery policy. For more information, see the Out of Band Management Component Implementation Guide.

For more information on discovering, configuring, and managing Intel AMT-capable computers, see the Out of Band Management Component Implementation Guide.

New features

The new features of this release are as follows:

Support for Symantec Management Platform 7.0 SP2

This product can be installed on Symantec Management Platform 7.0 SP2.

Patch management for Dell client computers

You can deploy software patches to Dell computers that support patching.

BIOS system password management

You can set BIOS system password remotely from the Dell Management Console.

Updated version of Dell OMCI

Dell Client Manager installs OMCI 7.7 to the client Dell computers.

Dell Client Manager alerts integration with Event Console

Now you can view Dell Client Manager Alerts in the Event Console.

Warranty status reporting

The Warranty Extractor task lets you extract warranty information from the client Dell computers.

Installation and upgrade

Prerequisites

The following is required for this release:

  • Symantec Management Platform 7.0 SP2 Hot Fix 1. See knowledgebase article 46035.

If you are installing for the first time, Symantec Management Platform is installed automatically when you use Symantec Installation Manager to install this product.

New installation

You can install this product by using the Symantec Installation Manager. You can download the installation files directly to your server or you can create offline installation packages.
For more information, see the Symantec Management Platform Installation Guide (see knowledgebase article 45732).

Upgrade

You can upgrade this product from 2.x versions if you run the Symantec Installation Manager on a Notification Server 6.x computer. To upgrade from the 2.x version, you must first upgrade your 6.x Notification Server to Symantec Management Platform 7.0 or later. During the Notification Server upgrade process, you can select to upgrade to the latest version of this product.
For more information, see the Symantec Management Platform Installation Guide (see knowledgebase article 45732).

After you upgraded the product, you must upgrade the Altiris Agent and the Dell Client Manager Agent that are installed on the target Dell computers.

Installation and Upgrade issues

The following issues are known issues related to installing and upgrading this product. If additional information about an issue is available, click the Article ID link.

Issue Article ID
Dell Client Manager upgrade issues
 
Collected inventory data not transferred during upgrade

When you upgrade Dell Client Manager from version 2.x (Notification Server 6.x based) to 3.x, some hardware and BIOS inventory is not transferred to the new database. This is because of the changes to the database structure in this release. After you install Dell Client Manager 3.x, simply run the inventory tasks and re-collect all inventory.

If you still want to see the inventory data that you collected using the previous version of Dell Client Manager (for example, you want to see the inventory that you collected from the computers that are not available any more and whose inventory you cannot re-collect), you can use the Altiris Notification Store Browser to view the Store.adb file that you exported.

  
Issue when upgrading to a different location

If you install Symantec Installation Manager 7.0 to a location, other than where the previous version of Dell Client Manager and the Notification Server 6.0 is installed, the Dell Client Manager exporters are not available in the Migration Wizard.

To resolve this issue, do the following before clicking Next in the Migration Wizard:

  1. On the Notification Server computer, open to the Notification Server 6.0 installation folder, and find the Upgrade folder.
  2. Copy all of the files from this Upgrade folder into the Upgrade folder that is located at the new Symantec Installation Manager installation directory.
  3. In the Migration Wizard, click Next, and continue with the migration.
 
Client upgrade issues
  
Upgrading the Altiris Agent and the Dell Client Manager Agent

After you upgraded the product, you must upgrade the Altiris Agent and the Dell Client Manager Agent that are installed on the target Dell computers. To upgrade the agents, turn on the Altiris Agent for Windows - Upgrade and Dell Client Manager Agent - Upgrade policies.

We recommend that you configure the upgrade policies to run on a schedule. If the policy is configured to run Once ASAP (this is the default setting), it does not run twice on the same computer. Because of this limitation, if an agent had already been upgraded earlier, the same policy cannot upgrade the agent to a newer version.

  
Upgrading the client computer from OMCI 5.x and 6.x

Upgrade from OMCI versions earlier than 7.x is not supported. You must manually uninstall OMCI and then use the Dell Client Manager Agent - Install policy to install the current version.

 
Upgrading the client computer from OMCI 7.x

If you upgrade OMCI from an earlier version of 7.x, a restart might be necessary. You can configure the upgrade task to restart the computer after upgrade, or you can run the restart task on the Supported Dell Client Computers Awaiting Reboot to Finish Installation filter later.

 
User rights and OMCI 7.1 upgrade on client computer

If a computer has OMCI 7.1, and the current logged on user does not have administrator rights, an automatic upgrade to a newer version of OMCI will fail. To upgrade, manually uninstall OMCI 7.1, then use the Dell Client Manager Agent - Install policy to reinstall OMCI. Dell Client Manager includes a filter named Dell OMCI Previous Version installed that can help you identify these computers.

  

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Things to know

The following are things to know about in this release. If additional information about an issue is available, click the Article ID link.

Things to know Article ID
Hierarchy is not supported

This product does not support hierarchy and replication.

  
How to import Dell Client Update Packages Catalog from a custom location

Dell Client Manager lets you import the Dell Client Update Packages Catalog from the Dell Web site or from a custom location. If you want to import from the custom location, follow these recommendations:

  • You can download the catalogPC.cab from http://ftp.dell.com/catalog and the appropriate InvColPC_*.exe from http://ftp.dell.com/cmsdk
  • To find out which version of the InvColPC_*.exe file to download, extract the catalogPC.cab and examine the CatalogPC.xml file.
  • Place the catalogPC.cab and InvColPC_*.exe files in the same directory. Then, on the Dell Client Update Packages Catalog Import page, configure the custom location of the catalog.
  • If your Notification Server is on an isolated network, you may want to create a local storage for the update files. To do this, you must set up an intranet Web site, and then download the update files from http://ftp.dell.com/. Maintain the same folder structure as on http://ftp.dell.com/. Modify the baseLocation value in the CatalogPC.xml file (skip the http:// prefix) and put the file back to catalogPC.cab (to be able to create cab files, download the CABARC SDK from the Microsoft web site).
 

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Known Issues in this Release

The following are known issues for this release. If additional information about an issue is available, click the Article ID link.

Known Issue Article ID
Do not perform the shutdown operation after the BIOS version update

After performing a BIOS update, the computer must be restarted rather than shut down. If a computer is shut down, the BIOS upgrade will not take effect and you may cause the computer to not start properly.

  • BIOS Update Task—We recommend that you do not run the BIOS Update Task alone without a follow-up restart task. Combine the BIOS Update Task and the Restart by Power Control task into a job, or use the sample BIOS Update Job included with Dell Client Manager.
  • BIOS Update Job—The BIOS Update Job includes the Restart by Power Control task. We recommend that you use the BIOS Update Job to update a BIOS.
  • BIOS Update Stand-alone Package—When you run the BIOS Update stand-alone package, the computer will be restarted in 2 minutes by default.
 
BIOS password restrictions

BIOS Passwords set in a BIOS policy have the following restrictions:

  • Only alphanumeric passwords are supported.
  • Spaces may not be used. Using spaces will result in incorrect passwords. For example, if you specified the BIOS password as "qwe 123", the password will be set as "qwe".
  • The maximum length is dependent on the computer model. For example, on Dell Latitude notebooks, the maximum is eight characters. When using the Real-Time view to provide a password with more than the maximum characters, the password will be truncated to the first number of characters allowed. For example, if the maximum is eight characters and you provide a 12-character password, only the first eight characters are used. You will need to use that truncated password to use or clear the BIOS password.

These restrictions apply to both setting passwords and password verification.

  
BIOS password numeric values

When using a computer's BIOS configuration utility (after a start or restart), a BIOS password entered from the numeric keypad on the keyboard (under the NumLock key) doesn't match a similar password entered by using the numeric keys under the F1...F10 keys. Dell Client Manager does not recognize the format from the numeric keypad in the BIOS.

If you use the numeric keypad in the BIOS, you cannot match the password using Dell Client Manager.

Scenario 1:
  1. In the BIOS, you turned on NumLock and provided a password from the numeric part of the keyboard (under the NumLock key).
  2. Using a task, Dell Client Configuration Utility (DCCU) stand-alone package, or the Real-Time view, attempt to modify this password (or apply some BIOS Settings on the computer where you need to provide a password to change them). Your password (the same as you entered in the BIOS) will not be accepted. It doesn't matter which kind of number keys you use in Dell Client Manager; it won't match.
Scenario 2:
  1. Using a Dell Client Manager policy, stand-alone package, or the Real-Time view, set the BIOS password using numbers (either form of numbers).
  2. Enter BIOS and attempt to enter the same password using numeric keypad keys—it will not match. It will work only if you enter this from the numeric keys (under F1...F10 keys).
Solution:

When using a computer's BIOS configuration utility (after a start or restart), to enter the BIOS password, always use the numeric keys under the F1...F10 keys.

  
Extracting .hdr file from non-packaged BIOS upgrade .exe file

When using DOS-based BIOS upgrade files, you must extract the .hdr file from the downloaded .exe file. You can do this by running filename.exe –writehdrfile.

Some files may not extract correctly. This occurs because the extraction process requires more memory than it's allocated by default. If this occurs, right-click the .exe, click the Memory tab of the .exe file properties, and modify memory allocation values to maximum values for all settings. Then close the Properties dialog box and re-execute the extraction process.

  
Asset tag length limitations

When setting the Asset Tag value in the BIOS Settings Task, there is a 10-character limit. If you have more than 10 characters, this will cause the changing of an Asset Tag (of more than 10 characters) to fail.

For example, if you use a %systemname% macro as a value for the Asset Tag, and if %systemname% is more than 10 characters, the set operation will fail.

  
Asset tag macro limitations

When you use a %username% macro as a value for the Asset Tag when no user is currently logged on the target computer, the set operation will fail.

  
Boot order limitations
 
Drive type limitations

The current boot order functionality cannot distinguish between different hard drive types (IDE, SATA, SCSI) and multiple hard drives of the same. If you have multiple hard drives, you cannot configure a specific hard drive to boot from.

  
RAID volumes not recognized for boot order

RAID volumes are not recognized for boot order configuration. RAID volumes are also ignored if boot order configuration is imported using the Import feature of BIOS Profile Editor.

 
BIOS upgrade not automatically performed with password-locked screen saver

When using the BIOS Update Job for a client computer that has a password-locked screen saver, by default the screen saver will prevent the computer from automatically restarting and flashing the BIOS. (If the computer is manually rebooted, it will then flash the BIOS.) In the Restart by Power Control task, there is the Force applications to close without prompting option that is cleared by default. If you select this option, the computer will restart and flash the BIOS.

  
Hyperthreading settings management not possible on some models

Hyperthreading status on Dell OptiPlex 745 and 745C computers is displayed as Disabled or Enabled, but in fact, the settings are not supported by the BIOS and cannot be changed.

On Dell Latitude D420, D520, D620, D820, Dell Precision Workstation M65, and M90 notebooks, changing Hyperthreading settings (using the BIOS Settings task or the Real-Time view) changes MultiCore settings instead.

  
You must upgrade BIOS on Dell Latitude 131L before managing the computer

Hardware inventory collection, monitoring policies, and stand-alone packages fail to run on Dell Latitude 131L computers with BIOS version 1.7 or earlier. To manage the computers, manually upgrade the BIOS to version 2.1 or later by running Dell's BIOS upgrade package on the client computer.

The BIOS upgrade package can be obtained from the Dell Web site (http://support.dell.com/).

  
BIOS cannot be upgraded on Dell Latitude 131L

You cannot upgrade the BIOS to versions 2.1 or earlier on Dell Latitude 131L remotely, using the BIOS Update Task. You have to upgrade the BIOS manually by running Dell's BIOS upgrade package on the client computer.

Dell is currently working on resolving the issue. Check the Dell Web site if a newer version of BIOS is available (http://support.dell.com/).

  
BIOS settings cannot be changed on Dell Latitude 131L

BIOS settings on Dell Latitude 131L cannot be changed, either by using the BIOS Settings Task or the Real-Time view.

  
BIOS cannot be upgraded on Dell OptiPlex 740

You cannot upgrade the BIOS to versions 1.0.5 or earlier on Dell OptiPlex 740 remotely, using the BIOS Update Task.

Dell is currently working on resolving the issue. Check the Dell Web site if a newer version of BIOS is available (http://support.dell.com/).

  
ASF out-of-band power management limitation

Dell Latitude D531, D630, D631, and D830 notebooks with ASF 2.0 capability do not support the Reboot/Reset power action (see the Real-Time Console Infrastructure's Power Management task) using ASF technology—only Power On and Power Off power actions are supported.

  
ASF Configuration takes an excessive amount of time to complete or times out on Vista x64

ASF Configuration/Inventory tasks take a long time to complete or times out completely.

 
Not possible to create dynamic filters

Currently, it is not possible to create dynamic custom filters.

  
How to turn on the Dell Client Monitoring Policy

If you turn on the policy by right-clicking Dell Client Monitoring Policy in the left pane and then clicking Enable, the automated action that is defined in the policy (By default: Email Automated Action for Dell Client Manager Alert) will not work.

Instead, turn on the policy using the On/Off button on the upper-right of the Dell Client Monitoring Policy page, and then click Save changes.

  
Dell Client Monitoring Policy automated action issue

When you click Edit input parameters on the Dell Client Monitoring Policy page, the Edit Job/Task Input Parameters virtual window appears. If you click Cancel or close this virtual window, the pre-populated Data Source fields can be lost. Instead, click OK, even if you did not change anything in the virtual window. If you did click Cancel, then navigate away from the Dell Client Monitoring Policy page without saving anything. Then come back to the page—the lost Data Source fields should be now restored.

 
Power Scheme Tasks conflict with Dell Control Point software

When you run a power scheme task on a Dell computer with the Dell Control Point software installed, the power scheme settings take effect, but the values in the Power Options Properties dialog box on the Dell client computer do not change.

 
Where to look for the WSMAN event descriptions

WSMAN event messages in the Event Console do not contain a description of the event. To understand the event, you must refer to the Standard Message Registry. This registry is not provided in the Help documentation. The registry is attached to article 43656.

  43656
Do not use Dell Client Configuration Utility on computers with BitLocker

Do not use the stand-alone Dell Client Configuration Utility to update BIOS version or change BIOS settings on the computers that have BitLocker drive encryption enabled. If you make changes to the BIOS without disabling BitLocker first, the computer will fail to start. A TPM recovery code is needed to start the computer again.

To manage computers with BitLocker, use the BIOS jobs that are included with Dell Client Manager.

  
The "Reboot after change" option on the BIOS Settings and Boot Order pages does not work

The "Reboot after change" option on the BIOS Settings and Boot Order pages in the Resource Manager's Real-Time view does not work. After you click Save changes, the changes that you made apply to the target computer, but the computer does not restart.

Changing some BIOS settings requires the target computer to be restarted. You can use the Real-Time Console Infrastructure's Power Management task to reboot the computer remotely.

 
Real-Time Console Infrastructure known issues in this release

This product installs Real-Time Console Infrastructure 7.0 SP2.

For the list of Real-Time Console Infrastructure known issues in this release, see article 47197.

 47197

Where to get more information

The product installation includes the following documentation:

Document Description Location

User's Guide

Information about how to use this product, including detailed technical information and instructions for performing common tasks.

This information is available in PDF format.

Help

 Information about how to use this product. This information is the same as in the User's Guide.

Help is available at the solution level and at the suite level.

This information is available in HTML help format.

The Documentation Library, which is available in the Symantec Management Console on the Help menu.

Context-sensitive help is available for most screens in the Symantec Management Console.

You can open context-sensitive help in the following ways:

  • The F1 key.
  • The Context command, which is available in the Symantec Management Console on the Help menu.

For more information, you can use the following resources:

Resource Description Location

Implementation Guide

Information about how to install, configure, and implement this product.

This information is available in PDF format.

Symantec Management Platform Release Notes

 Information about new features and important issues in the Symantec Management Platform.

This information is available as an article in the knowledgebase.

https://kb.altiris.com/article.asp?article=45141&p=1

You can also search for the product name under Release Notes.

Installing the Symantec Management Platform products

 Information about using Symantec Installation Manager to install the Symantec Management Platform products.

This information is available as an article in the knowledgebase.

https://kb.altiris.com/article.asp?article=45732&p=1

Altiris 7 Planning and Implementation Guide

 Information about capacity recommendations, design models, scenarios, test results, and optimization best practices to consider when planning or customizing an Altiris 7 Infrastructure for your organization.

This information is available as an article in the knowledgebase.

https://kb.altiris.com/article.asp?article=45803&p=1

Knowledge Base

 Articles, incidents, and issues about this product.

http://kb.altiris.com/

Symantec Connect (formerly the Altiris Juice)

 An online magazine that contains best practices, tips, tricks, and articles for users of this product.

http://www.symantec.com/connect/endpoint-management-virtualization

Online Forums

 Forums for users of this product.

http://forums.altiris.com/

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Imported Document ID: DOC1826
Legacy ID: 47200

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