Important information about Landesk 9.6

Overview

Official user manual

http://help.landesk.com/docs/help/en_US/LDMS/9.6/Default.htm

LANDesk 9.6 Official Landing Page

https://community.landesk.com/support/docs/DOC-31597

https://community.landesk.com/support/docs/DOC-34796

Landing page for all Landesk components

https://community.landesk.com/support/docs/DOC-23842

Changes to Landesk 9.6

http://cswebtools.landesk.com/downloads/LDMS96/LDMS96Readme.htm

http://cswebtools.landesk.com/downloads/Readme/Pages/96SP2Readme.html

List of "defects"

Important changes for Tufts Landesk

Provisioning

https://community.landesk.com/support/docs/DOC-33694

Provisioning has been simplified with version 9.6. Working provisioning templates will be made available from Support Systems at launch. These are standard templates for Windows machines, and they will be available under Provisioning Templates ->Public->TTS

Groups that use their own provisioning templates can follow the link below to make them “compatible” with the new core

https://wikis.uit.tufts.edu/confluence/display/exchange2010/How+to+fix+Provisioning+Templates+in+LANDesk+9.6

Packages

All packages available in the current core will be migrated to the new core

Packages for Mac can now be scheduled for self service via Landesk Workspace (aka Software portal, aka Fuse)

Delivery methods

Delivery methods are deprecated in 9.6 and above. All settings are moved to Agent settings now.

More details on using custom agent settings (Reboot, user notifications, defer options, etc) - https://tufts.service-now.com/kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KB0011403 (you need to be logged in to TechConnect to see the article)

Scopes and Permissions

Scopes and permissions will be revisited before launch. It’s not expected for scopes to change at this point , however the number of security groups (permissions) will be adjusted to ease the process for onboarding support technicians, and grant permissions over creating content in Landesk (packages, templates, etc.)

Agent configuration

Support Systems revisited the agent configurations to allow flexibility and control over Landesk managed computers. The following agent configurations will be available for  both Windows and Mac machines:

Default client – prompt for user consent only when user is logged in, no permission necessary if client is not logged in. Client machine will be patched when patches become available and approved on the core server

No permission client – login permissions allowed at any time– for kiosk machines, infoscreens, etc.

Deepfreeze client – same permissions as above , but with designated patch window – 2am to 6am

No patch client –same as default client , but no software patching will be allowed - for lab machines, sensitive equipment, etc

During the migration from Landesk 9.5 SP2 to Landesk 9.6 SP1, Support Systems will be upgrading the clients according to the following mapping matrix

Patching

The LANDesk agent will automatically patch outdated software from list of applications. Support Systems will be responsible for approving patches for the applications on the list. For more information: https://wikis.uit.tufts.edu/confluence/display/exchange2010/Applications+patched+by+Landesk+agent

Additional information

Devices that have not checked or been seen by Landesk within 180 days will be deleted. Devices that are off campus will still report back through the Landesk cloud appliance.

Policies

In addition to new features, there are several important configuration and policy changes that IT groups need to be aware of. These were communicated with all IT groups and implemented during the previous migration from 9.5 to SP1. The same policies apply with this upgrade.

• Support Systems reserves the right to deploy packages, collect inventory and software data, and use any other function of Landesk for University purposes. Any changes that have a client impact will be communicated to the appropriate groups.
• A certificate for required for the Landesk Cloud Services Appliance is automatically installed on all computers.
• Devices that have not checked or seen by Landesk within 180 days will be deleted. Please note that devices that are off campus will still report back due to the certificate mentioned above.
• All scopes set through active directory will include the PXE objects scope. This will ensure that everyone is able to image machines via Provisioning without issues.
  
  

There are a few changes within the default Landesk agent:

• The remote control session will time out after 15 minutes (instead of 10).
• The landesk agent will automatically patch outdated software from the Applications patched by Landesk agent. This will only install minor and security updates. It will not force users to different major versions of software. For example, this will not upgrade anyone from Adobe Reader 10 to Adobe Reader 11. It would only patch Adobe Reader 10 to the latest version of Adobe Reader 10.
• Any computer with the landesk agent can be remote controlled via it's IP address on port 4343 from on or off campus.