Altiris for Power Management

From Provider Wiki

Jump to: navigation, search The Division of Human Resources has successfully deployed Altiris as a power management tool which automatically shuts down users' computers on nights and weekends, saving the niversity an estimated !",### annually in energy costs$ The "% computers are in & different locations across campus$ Here are some of the technical details of their installation:

Altiris is installed on a 'irtual (ron server$ )asic *indows +erver ,##& +-. /0press ,##" Altiris server 1et &$#

Installation Notes from David Chau

(nstall method was done thru the Altiris server agent push which was a silent install to the user$ *orkstations are 23## Dell with models as old as 45,6# to 7ptiple0 "%%$ *e have on8oard (ntel or )roadcom network cards$ +hutdown is completed 8y the *9( method and power on is done using 9agic :acket *7. since we need to cross over to different su8nets and routers$ This seemed to 8e the 8est method vs$ the Altiris power agent since older 45,6# and 45,;# did not work across our network for some reason ( couldn<t resolve$ The 9A= num8er>ipaddress information collected 8y Altiris to 9agic :acket *7.'s group power up schedule were e0ported (f all the workstations were in the same location it would 8e easier to use the Altiris power agents$ :ower control was ?ust an added plus to the Altiris system, the system allows us to track and run inventory reports, system state, and complete )(7+ management which is rarely updated in (T +upport unless something 8reaks$ The support for Altiris is mostly forum 8ased with many good tips on setting the system up$ The only software we pay for is the /A license for +erver ,##& as the rest is freeware$ ( recommend agent push 8e done in limited groups and tested 8efore moving to the ne0t group of workstations$ )eing a +ymantec product and working with older model workstations can 8e a large challenge since the different health states of each workstation can vary$ @irewall rules, (:+ec Rules, 4roup policy, location, correct D1+ entry and )(7+ settings can all affect the workstations results$ 9ost users do not mind having their workstations shutdown at night and turned 8ack on 8y 6am$ (t has actually reduced helpdesk volume since workstations are

no longer logged on for weeks at a time and sometimes improves the speed of the workstation$ 7ur *+ + server gets the re8oot from the workstations automatically for update which gets installed 8efore most Aam users come in$ Again you will always have a handful of users that want their := on all the time, 8ut that doesn't mean we can't re8oot them for software updates$ Aside from the power savings, we gain a 8etter sense of security for many workstations at night since we are sure they get powered down$ @or those who want to roll out the Altiris system, ( recommend you use the +3 power setting in Dell's 8ios and ena8le *7.$ A+@,A9T and ':ro works great on newer machines 8ut if your working with old 45,6#>,;#'s B the *7. works fine if you also run a power on ?o8 on Altiris a8out 3% mins after *7. to verify *7. powered on the machines since there is no logging in *7.$ +o it's like having redundant power on commands sent to the workstations$ 7ne of the real reasons ( wanted to setup Altiris on our network was to never do inventory 8y sneaker net again, as an (T +upport C +pecialist that alone was enough reason to do this$ 7nce the server is up and running, administrating it is not that much more as pushing out the agent to a new or reBimaged machine to keep the inventory up to date$ Dou can automatically run it using rules, 8ut ( prefer to push out agents manually$ The network discovery Altiris does will tell you if you have any 8ad D1+ entries to (:addresses as it would also cause reporting issues, so it let<s us know which workstation D1+ entry to update$ All and all the product works 8ut it has errors all the time which is fi0ed with uninstalling and reinstalling the agent to fi0 it which is a nuisance 8ut an indicator to check the workstation for other possi8le issues$ At least that<s what ( use it forE there are many other agents to install, may8e too many so it<s up to you what you use it for$

Energy Savings

A8out F# systems get shut down after hours, daily on work days from Apm to 6am$ ,F hours on weekends for 3#F days weekends$ A hours a day 0 ,63 days G ,&FA hours weekday per year ,F hours 0 3#F weekend days G ,FA6 hours weekend per year Total F;F% hours per year per workstation, we can gain more hours off if we moved the hours to "pm to "am$ Average =ommericial cents per kilowatthour in ,##;G 3# cents total Adding !,% smart strips to the workstation can give (T greater control of power usage and savings centrally$ An idea ( had was to connect some of our old tank siHed printers to a smart strip slaved to the nearest workstation to control power since many of the old H: printers here can't sleep or power down$ H: ?etadmin lacks power control on 2A# of our printers so this would 8e good workaround$

Retrieved from Ihttp:>>prowiki$isc$upenn$edu>wiki>AltirisJforJ:owerJ9anagementI