Task Server is not registering to itself automatically

Products

IT Management Suite Client Management Suite

Issue/Introduction

Some Task Servers are not registering to themselves but rather they are registering to the SMP itself or other Task Server. The Task Servers are listing themselves as available Task Servers in the agent logs but still, they go to register to the SMP or other Task Server.

Environment

ITMS 8.x

Resolution

The assumption that a Task Server will register to itself automatically is incorrect. The Client Task Agent knows nothing about the Task Server plug-in, even if they both installed on the same box. So, the Task Server selection algorithm is always used to find the Task Server to assign an agent to.

For example, here are some agent log entries (top entries are the most recent ones) while trying to register to a Task Server. smp71206.domain.com is the SMP and ts72206.domain.com is the Task Server that we want to register to itself:

6/14/2018 7:57:52 AM	Client Task Agent	client task agent.dll	7852
Attempting to register on Task Server [<TaskServer>.<Domain>.com] over [http].
6/14/2018 7:57:52 AM	Client Task Agent	client task agent.dll	7852
CTaskServerNetCommsConnection::_buildTaskServerUrl(): url: http://<NSserver>.<Domain>.com:80/Altiris/ClientTaskServer
6/14/2018 7:57:52 AM	Client Task Agent	client task agent.dll	7852
CTaskServerNetCommsConnection::_buildTaskServerUrl(): Server: [<NSserver>.<Domain>.com, Http: [80], Https: [443], Use Https: [false]
6/14/2018 7:57:52 AM	Client Task Agent	client task agent.dll	7852
Pending Task Server Registration - initial timeout 15 sec, max timeout 300 sec, max retries 5.
6/14/2018 7:57:52 AM	Client Task Agent	client task agent.dll	7852
Task Server: [<TaskServer>.<Domain>.com], Active: [false], Http: [80], Https: [0], Value: [0], Shares: [100]
6/14/2018 7:57:52 AM	Client Task Agent	client task agent.dll	7852
Task Server: [<NSserver>.<Domain>.com], Active: [false], Http: [80], Https: [443], Value: [0], Shares: [94]
6/14/2018 7:57:52 AM	Client Task Agent	client task agent.dll	7852
Registering with Task Server list:
6/14/2018 7:57:52 AM	Client Task Agent	client task agent.dll	7852
Ordering servers by task server load shares
6/14/2018 7:57:52 AM	Client Task Agent	client task agent.dll	7852
CTaskServerNetCommsConnection::_readServerListDocument(): Task Server: [<NSserver>.<Domain>.com], Http: [80], Https: [443], Active: [false]
6/14/2018 7:57:52 AM	Client Task Agent	client task agent.dll	7852
CTaskServerNetCommsConnection::_readServerListDocument(): Task Server: [<NSserver>.<Domain>.com], Http: [80], Https: [0], Active: [false]
6/14/2018 7:57:52 AM	Client Task Agent	client task agent.dll	7852
CTaskServerNetCommsConnection::_readServerListDocument(): Found [2] servers.

So, here is what is happening:

The Task Server is asking for a list of available Task Servers:

CTaskServerNetCommsConnection::_readServerListDocument(): Found [2] servers.

Then it checks which one has fewer connections/shares:

Ordering servers by task server load shares
Task Server: [<NSserver>.<Domain>.com], Active: [false], Http: [80], Https: [443], Value: [0], Shares: [94]
Task Server: [<TaskServer>.<Domain>.com], Active: [false], Http: [80], Https: [0], Value: [0], Shares: [100]

And then attempt to connect to the one with fewer shares, which in this case is <NSserver>.<Domain>.com

In this scenario, the SMP itself had only 94 connections/shares at that point of time, while the Task Server itself had already 100 connections/shares established. The SMP was the available one to be selected with fewer connections.

Method I:

Note: If someone wants to specifically select a Task Server to register to itself, the manual assignment will be the best method.

Go to Settings>Notification Server>Site Server Settings>Site Servers
Select the desired Site Server
Select "Manually Assigned Agents">New
Select a pre-existing target that contains the Site Server itself or create one
After assigning/creating the desired target, that specified client machines or Task Server will be registering to that Task Server itself

The manual assignment should help to tie the agent to the specific Task Server (but if the agent won't be able to register to this Task Server then it will stay in not-registered state).

Method II:

Another method is from the Site Server:

Stop the Symantec Management Agent from services.
Delete the key of the server it is connect to in: \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Altiris\Communications\Servers ( ex: http:ns-20.epm.local:443 )
Restart the Symantec Management Agent in services

Additional Information

KB 150990 "Client Task Agent Connectivity"