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KACE Systems Management Appliance 13.0 Common Documents - Administrator Guide

About the KACE Systems Management Appliance Getting started
Configuring the appliance
Requirements and specifications Power-on the appliance and log in to the Administrator Console Access the Command Line Console Tracking configuration changes Configuring System-level and Admin-level General Settings Configure appliance date and time settings Managing user notifications Enable Two-Factor Authentication for all users Verifying port settings, NTP service, and website access Configuring network and security settings Configuring Agent settings Configuring session timeout and auto-refresh settings Configuring locale settings Configuring the default theme Configure data sharing preferences About DIACAP compliance requirements Configuring Mobile Device Access Enable fast switching for organizations and linked appliances Linking Quest KACE appliances Configuring history settings
Setting up and using labels to manage groups of items Configuring user accounts, LDAP authentication, and SSO Deploying the KACE Agent to managed devices Using Replication Shares Managing credentials Configuring assets
About the Asset Management component Using the Asset Management Dashboard About managing assets Adding and customizing Asset Types and maintaining asset information Managing Software assets Managing physical and logical assets Maintaining and using manual asset information Managing locations Managing contracts Managing licenses Managing purchase records
Setting up License Compliance Managing License Compliance Setting up Service Desk Configure the Cache Lifetime for Service Desk widgets Creating and managing organizations Importing and exporting appliance resources
Managing inventory
Using the Inventory Dashboard Using Device Discovery Managing device inventory
About managing devices Features available for each device management method About inventory information Tracking changes to inventory settings Managing inventory information Finding and managing devices Registering KACE Agent with the appliance Provisioning the KACE Agent Manually deploying the KACE Agent Using Agentless management Adding devices manually in the Administrator Console or by using the API Forcing inventory updates Managing MIA devices Obtaining Dell warranty information
Managing applications on the Software page Managing Software Catalog inventory
About the Software Catalog Viewing Software Catalog information Adding applications to the Software Catalog Managing License assets for Software Catalog applications Associate Managed Installations with Cataloged Software Using software metering Using Application Control Update or reinstall the Software Catalog
Managing process, startup program, and service inventory Writing custom inventory rules
Deploying packages to managed devices
Distributing software and using Wake-on-LAN Broadcasting alerts to managed devices Running scripts on managed devices Managing Mac profiles Using Task Chains
Patching devices and maintaining security
Using the Security Dashboard About patch management Subscribing to and downloading patches Creating and managing patch schedules Managing patch inventory Managing Windows Feature Updates Managing Dell devices and updates Managing Linux package upgrades Maintaining device and appliance security Manage quarantined file attachments
Using reports and scheduling notifications Monitoring servers
Getting started with server monitoring Working with monitoring profiles Managing monitoring for devices Working with alerts
Using the Service Desk
Configuring Service Desk Using the Service Desk Dashboard Managing Service Desk tickets, processes, and reports
Overview of Service Desk ticket lifecycle Creating tickets from the Administrator Console and User Console Creating and managing tickets by email Viewing tickets and managing comments, work, and attachments Merging tickets Using the ticket escalation process Using Service Desk processes Using Ticket Rules Run Service Desk reports Archiving, restoring, and deleting tickets Managing ticket deletion
Managing Service Desk ticket queues About User Downloads and Knowledge Base articles Customizing Service Desk ticket settings Configuring SMTP email servers
Maintenance and troubleshooting
Maintaining the appliance Troubleshooting the appliance
Appendixes Glossary About us Legal notices

About patch packages

About patch packages

Patch packages are the files required to install patches.

Patch packages are downloaded from Quest according to the subscription and download options you select. In some cases, patch packages are also downloaded directly from vendors, such as Microsoft and Adobe.

There are two options for downloading patch packages:

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Downloading only those patches that you need: You can choose to download only those packages that have been detected as required by managed devices. Downloading this way reduces download time and disk space. In addition, you can choose to automatically remove patches after a specified time if detect results show that the patches are not needed.
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Maintaining a full cache of patches: You can choose to maintain a full cache of packages regardless of whether the patches are required by managed devices. This method keeps packages available for quick deployment, but it requires more download time and disk space than downloading only those packages that you need.

For more information about package download options, see Select patch and feature update download settings.

About patch testing and security

About patch testing and security

About the patch testing environment

Quest provides safe, timely, and high-quality patch signatures for Windows and Mac operating systems, and many popular applications.

Before patch signatures are made available to the appliance, Quest performs the following security checks:

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Verification of patch metadata produced by each content development team.
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Validation of patch installation and uninstallation processes.
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Confirmation that the patch does not disrupt the stability of the targeted operating systems and applications.

About the patch testing environment

About the patch testing environment

Quest uses VMware® ESX®, VMware® vCenter™, Microsoft® Azure®, and custom hardware bench testing.

Testing methods include verification that patch-naming conventions comply with Quest policies.

About assessment testing

Assessment testing verifies that the Patch Management component is performing properly.

The testing verifies that:

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An applicable non-patched device shows as applicable and not patched.
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A patched device shows as installed and not applicable.
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No false positives exist in the detection of the digital fingerprint.
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Patch content is compliant with mandatory baselines.
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Vulnerability is correctly displayed in the Update Server.
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All Smart Label, sorting, and other visual features are functioning properly.

About deployment testing

Deployment testing verifies that patches are being deployed appropriately.

The testing verifies that:

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The package is deployable.
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The suppress-reboot functionality works.
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The uninstallation functionality works.
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On-demand package caching works.
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Automatic deployment scheduling works.
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Agent package download works.
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SHA1 checksum ensures package integrity.
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The Agent automatically runs assessment after patch deployment.
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The Agent restarts automatically after reboot.

About the patch quality assurance process

About the patch quality assurance process

Quest provides Patch Management customers more value through the content development and quality assurance processes. The quality assurance teams verify the patch install and uninstall processes as well as the patch metadata produced by the content development team. Providing quality content to our customers is a high priority. To ensure successful delivery of content, Quest executes test cases covering the following test components.

Testing environment

Quest invests heavily in testing infrastructure. The content development and quality assurance teams have access to a virtual enterprise environment representing nodes of various configurations. Quest uses a mix of virtual desktops and servers in addition to custom physical bench testing to ensure that our testing infrastructure is state of the art.

Application testing

Quest tests with various applications as necessary to ensure the requirements of the patch are satisfied.

Testing strategy

Quest uses the following types of testing:

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General testing verifies the following:
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Patch-naming convention complies with the Quest policies.
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Assessment testing verifies the following:
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An applicable non-patched system shows applicable and not patched.
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An patched system shows installed and not applicable.
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False positives in the detection of digital fingerprint.
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The content complies with mandatory baselines.
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The patch is correctly displayed in Patch Server, including all filtering, sorting and other visual functionality.
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Deployment testing verifies the following:
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The package can be successfully deployed.
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The suppress reboot functionality works correctly.
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The uninstall functionality works correctly.
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On-demand package caching works correctly.
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Automatic deployment scheduling works correctly.
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Agent package downloads.
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The package hash ensures the package integrity.
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The agent automatically runs assessment after each patch deployment.
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The agent restarts automatically after a reboot.

Trusted delivery and flexibility

Quest processes are designed and implemented to maximize global availability through a secure content distribution network. All communications with Quest are conducted through encrypted, secure channels to ensure the integrity of security content.

Using a best practice approach, critical security patches are automatically downloaded to customer locations, based on their subscription options. Additional security patches may be downloaded, as necessary, to create a customized version of the KACE Patch Content Repository within the customer’s own secure enterprise environment.

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