Download Settings in Software Management Solution

The download settings let you define how the packages and command lines are downloaded for a policy or a task in Software Management Solution.
These settings appear in the following places:
On the
Managed Delivery Settings
page
Lets you define the default settings for all new Managed Software Delivery policies. You can override these settings for a specific policy.
In the
Advanced Options
dialog box that you can access when you edit a Managed Software Delivery policy.
Lets you change the settings for any specific software resource that the policy contains. The changes that you make for a specific policy do not change the defaults for other policies.
In a Software Management Solution task, these settings appear in the
Advanced Options
dialog box, on the
Download Options
tab.
Lets you change the default settings for a specific Software Management Solution task.
You cannot change the default settings in a Software Virtualization task.
Download settings
Option
Description
Destination download location
Lets you define the directory on the client computer in which to place the package file. The package downloads to and runs from this location.
Options for the download location are as follows:
  • Symantec Management Agent cache
    Places the package files in the default directory for software packages. The default location is as follows:
    installation_path
    \Altiris\Altiris Agent\Agents\SoftwareManagement\Software Delivery\
    package_GUID
    \cache
  • Location on destination computer
    Lets you override the default directory and download the package directly to a directory that you specify.
    This option applies to Windows computers only. On UNIX, Linux, and Mac computers the package files are always downloaded to the default location.
Use the default Symantec Management Agent settings to download
Lets you download and run the package with the default
Download
and Execute settings that are defined in the targeted Symantec Management Agent settings. These settings determine whether the package runs from the server or on the client computer.
The Software Management Solution tasks do not support the multicasting option, even if it is selected in the global Symantec Management Agent settings.
Use the following settings to download and run
(Windows only)
Lets you override the default download settings that are defined for the Symantec Management Agent.
The download settings that you can use are as follows:
  • Run from the server
    Runs the package directly from the Notification Server computer.
    This option only works on a local network and not on the Internet-managed computers that use Cloud-enabled Management.
    If a UNC codebase error occurs, then the package is downloaded to a local computer.
  • Download and run locally
    Downloads the package or the command line and runs it locally.
  • Allow multicasting for package delivery
    Uses a multicast download for the package. For this option to work, multicasting must be enabled in the Symantec Management Agent settings.
    This check box is not available in the Software Management Solution tasks because they do not support multicasting.
    This option only works on a local network and not on the Internet-managed computers that use Cloud-enabled Management.
Delete package from client computer
Deletes the packages downloaded to the client computer if the packages are expired and not used for the amount of time you select in the
If unused for
drop-down list.
Starting from 8.5 RU1, the package is defined as in use in the following cases:
  • A patch or plug-in installation policy with the package is running, scheduled to run in future, set up to run for each user, or failed and the user can run it manually.
  • A Quick Delivery task with the package is running.
  • Any component of a Managed Software Delivery policy with the package is set up to run for each user.
  • A Managed Software Delivery policy with the package is scheduled to run in future, or not compliant and the user can run it manually.
In all other cases, the package is defined as expired. The Software Management Solution plug-in checks for the expired packages every hour or each time when the plug-in wakes up (i.e., when the plug-in receives a new or changed delivery policy).
For example, you can configure a Managed Software Delivery policy to run once and delete the unused packages. If the policy fails to run, the downloaded packages are marked as expired, and then get deleted from the client computer in the specified amount of time.