Client Connectivity And Network Adapters - Symantec DEPLOYMENT SOLUTION 6.9 SP4 Manual

Client connectivity and network adapters

Altiris Deployment Solution™ from Symantec User's Guide
Automation Agent. Install on any Windows desktop, notebook, or server
computer. See Installing the automation agent
Deployment Agent on XP, 2003, Vista (Business) and 2008 Server. Install
the Deployment Agent on the selected Windows computers.
Altiris supports all standard network adapter cards and includes many drivers with the
installation of Deployment Solution. However, sometimes outdated drivers (including
default drivers that come with the hardware) cause problems when clients are in
automation mode. To avoid these problems, you should check the manufacturer's Web
site for your network adapter to ensure you use their latest driver in your pre-boot
operating system configuration file.
Some common client problems that can be solved by updating drivers are:
Locking when loading drivers or failing to connect to the server
Locking when imaging (downloading, uploading, or multicasting)
Microsoft client drivers
The Boot Disk Creator is set up to work with drivers that follow a certain standard.
Because not all NIC drivers follow that standard, you may have to move the files to a
different location. Ensure that the following files are in the same directory:
The DOS driver for your card (drivername.dos)
The sample protocol.ini that comes with your driver (protocol.ini)
The OEM setup file that specifies the DOS driver (oemsetup.inf)
Example: The OEM setup file may contain lines similar to the following:
[netcard]
NGRPCI="NETGEAR FA310TX Fast Ethernet PCI
Adapter",0,ndis,ethernet,real,NGRPCI,NGRPCI_NIF
[NGRPCI] (This header must be the sixth item listed in the line
above)
Device=NGRPCI.DOS (If this line is missing, add it. The syntax is
device=drivername.)
If there is no protocol.ini file, create a text file that contains the following command:
DriverName=drivername
Novell client drivers
The Boot Disk Creator performs the following functions:
Searches all subdirectories for a directory that contains *.ins, *.com, and net.cfg
files. (These files must be in the same directory.) The .INS file is opened to get
information about the network card.
Searches the file for a line starting with a carat (^). This line must have at least two
values listed, separated by a comma. The two values needed are the description of
the card (value1) and the .com driver file name (value2).
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