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Question/Issue:
You need additional information about creating and managing Symantec Client Security client groups in Symantec System Center 5.0.

Symptoms:
Creating and managing Client Groups in Symantec System Center 5.0 You need additional information about creating and managing Symantec Client Security client groups in Symantec System Center 5.0.

Solution:
Introduction
Symantec System Center 5.0 allows you to create groupings of Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 8.0 clients and Symantec Client Firewall computers within a Server Group. This is an enhancement over previous releases of Norton AntiVirus Corporate Edition, where all clients under a single parent server shared an identical configuration set.

Client Groups share configuration, and these settings take precedence over configurations made at the parent server level. Note, however, that after you have configured a Client Group, any settings configured at the Server Group level will replace any client group configuration.

Client Groups can only be part of a single Server Group. In other words, computers from different Server Groups cannot be members of the same Client Group. You can create as many server groups as you need to manage your clients efficiently.

How to create new client groups
All Server Groups contain a single Groups folder that contains all of its Client Groups. When you create a new Client Group, that Client Group appears inside the Groups folder.

To create a new client group:

1. In the left pane of the Symantec System Center console, right-click the server group to which you want to add the client group, and then click Unlock Server Group.
2. Right-click the Groups folder, then click New Group.
3. In the New Client Group dialog box, in the Enter name of the new client group text box, type the name for the new client group. The name cannot have more than 15 characters.
4. If you want to apply the settings from an existing client group to the new client group, then select the name of the existing client group from the ClientGroup Template drop-down list.
5. Click Create.

How to add or remove clients to/from a client group
Computers that are running Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition client, and legacy versions, can be added to client groups. Both clients are treated identically. If a Norton AntiVirus legacy client does not have the feature for which a configuration option setting is set, the setting is ignored.

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Note:

• Only Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition servers support client groups; legacy Norton AntiVirus Corporate Edition servers do not.
  Symantec System Center 5 can manage legacy Norton AntiVirus Corporate Edition servers as long as their primary server is running Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 8.0.
• A client can belong to only one client group.

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To add a client to a client group

1. In the left pane of the Symantec System Center console, click the server that contains the client.
2. In the right pane, move the client to the client group by dragging it.

By default, you will not see a list of clients under a client group. The following steps make the clients visible:

1. Pull down Tools, click the SSC Console Options.
2. Click the Client Filter tab.
3. Select "Show client machines when viewing Groups."

To remove a client from a client group

1. In the left pane of the Symantec System Center console, click the server that contains the client.
2. Click the plus next to any client groups to show the list of clients.
3. Right-click the client you wish to remove and select "Remove from client group," or drag and drop the client into another client group.

How to configure settings and running tasks at the client group level
You can set configuration options and run tasks at the client group level. The settings will be applied to, or the task run on, all clients in the client group.

To configure settings and run tasks at the client group level

1. In the left pane of the Symantec System Center console, right-click the client group.
2. Click All Tasks.
3. Click the product for which you want to set options.
4. Click the type of settings that you want to configure or the task that you want to run.

How to find client group settings
Client group settings are stored in the primary server's registry, under the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTEL\LANDesk\VirusProtect6\CurrentVersion\Groups

Settings are rolled out to each server in a client group configurations file (Grcgrp.dat). The primary server packages all client group settings into the client group configurations file, then copies it to each secondary server in the server group. The secondary server rolls out the settings to the clients that it manages.

How to move clients in client groups
You can move clients from one client group to another by dragging them. Once you move the client, it receives the new client group's configuration settings.

How to view client groups
When you view client groups, you can do the following:

• View a single client group
• View information about client groups
• Filter the client group view to show only the information that interests you

Single client group viewing
You can view the contents of client groups one group at a time.

To view a single client group

1. In the left pane of the Symantec System Center console, right-click the server group that contains the client group, and then click Unlock Server Group.
2. Double-click the server group.
3. Double-click the Groups folder.

The client groups appear nested beneath the Groups folder.

How to view information about client groups
When the Groups folder is selected in the left pane and Default Console View or a Symantec product view is selected from the View menu, the client groups appear in the right pane along with information specific to the view. For example, when the Default Console View is active, the number of clients in each client group appears.

Client group filtering must be enabled for the clients to be enumerated. When you select the Groups folder, the number of clients reported for each client group may not be accurate until a client group is selected.

How to filter the client group view
Filtering improves client viewing performance in the Symantec System Center console. However, if there are many clients in the server group, filtering may have a performance impact. The clients must be enumerated to display the client groups accurately.

To filter the client group view

1. On the Tools menu of the Symantec System Center console, click SSC Console Options.
2. In the SSC Console Options Properties dialog box, on the Client Filter tab under Group Options, click Show client machines when viewing Groups.
3. Under Server Options, click the following options as desired:
   • Build client lists when the Server Group is unlocked: Enumerates all clients in the server group when it is unlocked. When this option is unchecked, clients are not added to their client groups until the server is selected. The number of clients in a client group is not accurate until all the servers in the server group have been selected.
   • Cache all client info (including clients in locked Server Groups):
     Enumerates clients in both unlocked and locked server groups that are discovered by the Topology Service.
     These options may impact performance if there are many clients and servers in the server group.
4. Click OK.
5. On the Action menu, click Refresh.

How to rename client groups
Symantec System Center does not support renaming client groups directly. If you need to change the client group name, you must complete the following tasks:

• Create a new client group, importing settings from another client group if desired.
• Move clients from the old client group to the new client group by dragging it.
• Delete the old client group.

How to delete client groups
Before you delete a client group, you may want to reassign the clients to another client group. When a client group is deleted, the clients that are assigned to it retain the settings of the deleted client group. The clients are not assigned new settings until one of the following actions occurs:

• The client checks in with its parent server. The client is then assigned the server's default settings for unassigned clients.
• The client is assigned to another client group. The client is then assigned the settings of the new client group.

If you delete a client group, and then recreate it before the clients check in with their parent servers or are reassigned, the clients resume membership in the group automatically. They continue to assume the settings of that group.

To delete a client group

1. In the left pane of the Symantec System Center console, unlock the server group from which you want to delete the client group.
2. Double-click the server group.
3. Double-click the Groups folder.
4. Right-click the target group, and then click Delete Group.
5. Click Yes.
6. Click Delete.

 

Document ID: 2002082909033348
Last Modified: 03/21/2007
Date Created: 08/29/2002
Operating System(s): Windows NT 4.0 SP6a, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows Server 2003 32-bit Edition, Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP Professional
Product(s): Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 8.0, Symantec Client Firewall 5.0
Release(s): SAV 8.0, SAV 8.0 [All Releases], SAV 8.01, SCF 5.0, SCF 5.x [All Releases], Symantec Client Firewall 5.0 [All Releases]

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