In the coming months I will post changes and features made into ITMS that are documented but mostly unknown or overseen. This will be a multi part series.
In this series I will show what changes are made in the different RUs and how to make “real-world” usage of the newly introduced features.
Starting with 8.5 RU3 – Silverlight is gone and many other new features
Since Microsoft decided not to go forward with Silverlight, Symantec starts to remove the dependency of Silverlight in the SMP Console. First steps are done since the introduction of 8.x where some areas in the SMP Console don´t rely on the Silverlight anymore and can be used with other Browsers (Patch Management). While this wasn´t really a 100 % solution, the decision was made to remove 99%* of the Silverlight Technology in 8.5 RU3!
With the release of 8.5 RU3 a major step forward is done by Symantec to get rid of the legacy Silverlight dependency of the SMP Console. The Console now runs nearly 100% HTML 5. From my personal point of view this unnecessarily took too long but anyway it´s now done with some exceptions.
The drag and Drop functionality is now supported within a singel tree component only. You can drag and drop to reorganize items in a tree. You cannot use drag and drop to move items across different views. Symantec created a KB for design changes in ITMS 8.5 RU3 caused by Microsoft Silverlight removal.
*There is still a requirement for Silverlight if you are using Event Console which will be installed when using Server Management and / or the whole ITMS.
The update is about 1.3 GB in size for the whole ITMS Suite – maybe a little bit smaller for CMS or AMS.
Symantec Installation Manager gets an update to 8.5.5006 (didn´t see any changes in the UI).
During the Upgrade SIM reported that IIS World Wide Web Service are not installed on the Server and some Roles and Features (ASP and IIS Compatibility Mode) are not installed. Check the following KB: https://support.symantec.com/us/en/article.TECH256729.html
Some other areas where Symantec made changes are:
Symantec Management Platform (SMP)
- Support for SQL Server 2017
- Support for Windows 10 1903 and Windows 10 1909
- Enhancement for Task and Patch Management in the ASDK
- Changed Views (HTML5) for Software View, Computers View, Policies View and Jobs and Tasks
- New Targeted Site Settings
- Installation Readiness Check doesn´t check for Silverlight (you can uninstall Silverlight after the Upgrade to 8.5 RU3 😊).
- Google Chrome browser support
- Symantec Management Agent allows to create “Support Packages”
Deployment Solution
- Deployment Solution – new Icons show the actual status of the WinPE Configuration
- New PECTAGENT for WinPE – now you can use Communication Profiles in WinPE and any Version of WinPE 10
- Better Error Handling for Deployment Solution
Jobs / Task Management
- New Jobs and tasks management -> check running and recently completed Tasks
- New Task-type for Patch Management (Windows Software Update Assessment)
Patch Management
- New Superseded Setting in Patch Management
Inventory Solution / Application Mertering
- Enhanced Software Management and Software usage tracking
Others
- Many fixed issues in: AMS, CMDB, Monitor, Workflow, Patch Management, Software Management, Inventory Solution, SMP Server, Task Server, SMA and Deployment Solution
For a complete list of changes take a look at the Release Notes: DOC11603
Endpoint Management 