Client Task Management

Client Task Overview

Client tasks automate system management activities, such as product deployment, upgrades, and updates.

1. Client Task Catalog

   Applies the concept of logical objects to ePO client tasks. You can create client task objects for a variety of purposes without the need to assign them immediately. You can treat these objects as reusable components, when assigning and scheduling client tasks.

2. Client Tasks

   Can be assigned at any level in the System Tree and are inherited by groups and systems lower in the tree. As with policies and policy assignments, you can break the inheritance for an assigned client task.

3. Client Task Objects

   Can be shared across multiple registered ePO servers in your environment. When client task objects are set to be shared, each registered server receives a copy after your Share Client Task server task runs. Any changes made to the task are updated each time it runs. When a client task object is shared, only the owner of the object can modify its settings. An administrator, on the target server that receives a shared task, is not the owner for that shared task. None of the users on the target server is the owner for any shared task objects that the target receives. If modifications are necessary, the administrator can duplicate the task, and then make modifications on the duplicated task.

You can export and import client tasks for use with other ePO servers.

Note: The product extensions installed on ePO server determine which client tasks are available for a specific application.

Client Tasks

Menu > Client Tasks

• Client Task Catalog: View and create client tasks

• Client Task Assignments: Assign and manage client tasks from the System Tree group/subgroup levels

• Client Task Comparison: Compare client tasks with similar characteristics

Client Task Catalog

Use the Client Task Catalog to add and manage client tasks. A client task must be enabled and assigned to your managed systems to be available to be used in the ePO environment.

Some commonly used client tasks for Trellix Agent include:

• Trellix Agent Statistics: Collects network bandwidth saved by the RelayServer, Peer to Peer, and SuperAgent hierarchical features

• Trellix Agent Wakeup: Triggers an immediate Agent-Server Communication; this applies to Windows operating systems only

• Mirror Repositories: Specifies a location on the managed system to replicate contents from the repository; this applies to Windows operating systems only

• Product Deployment: Install a product on managed systems

• Product Update: Update a product on managed systems

Menu > Client Task Catalog

As additional products are checked into ePO, client tasks for those products will be added. Example: Endpoint Security Threat Prevention will add the On-Demand Scans and Restore from Quarantine client tasks.

Client Task Assignments

From the Client Task Assignments page, you can view and manage client task assignments. You can also get to this page from the System Tree > Assigned Client Tasks tab.

Menu > Client Task Assignments or System Tree > Assigned Client Tasks tab

Client Task Comparison

The Client Task Comparison tool is used to compare client tasks that are similar. This allows you to determine which settings are different and which are the same.

Menu > Client Tasks > Client Task Comparison

Client Task Approvals

With ePO - On-prem, the administrator has the option to require an approval process before a new or updated client task is pushed out, reducing the risk of an error and assuring quality control.

As an administrator you can create permission sets for different policy user levels. You can choose client task management users need approval to make task changes The Permission Sets allow some client task users not only to create and modify client tasks, but also to approve or reject client tasks created by other users. To manage client task creation, you can create permission sets for users who can create and modify specific client tasks. For example, you can create permission sets that allow one user to change tasks and another user permission to approve or reject those changes.

Client Task Approvals: Server Settings

As an administrator, you can lock down creation access for client tasks by configuring user accounts to require approval first when attempting to create client tasks.

Select Menu > Configuration > Server Settings.

Navigate to and select Approvals under the Setting Categories column and click Edit.

Select the Users need approval for client task changes option and click Save.

Summary

The client task approval step is now completed. Next, we need to create a permission set that forces user accounts to have an administrator review the client task creation.

Client Task Approvals: Permission Sets

Now you can create and assign the newly created permission set rules for the user account.

Select Menu > User Management > Permission Sets.

Click New Permission Set to create a new default entry. For this example, we are creating the permission set named Client Task Approver.

On the Permissions Set page, navigate to Client Task Management and click Edit.

Select the No Permission – Users cannot approve or decline task change requests option and click Save.

Navigate to a product entry in the list and click Edit. For this example, we will use Trellix Agent.

Select the View and change settings option for the Trellix Agent: Tasks entry and click Save.

Summary

Once you have created the permission set, you can edit it to either assign it to an existing user or create a new user and assign it to that user.

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Sharing Client Task Objects

Client task objects can be shared across multiple registered ePO servers in your environment. When client task objects are set to be shared, each registered server receives a copy after your Share Client Tasks server task runs. Any changes made to the task are updated each time it runs.

When a client task object is shared, only the owner of the object can modify its settings. Administrators on the target server that receives a shared task are not owners for that shared task. None of the users on the target server are owners for any shared task objects the target receives.

Deleting Client Tasks

To delete client tasks:

1. In the left pane of the Client Tasks Catalog, select a Client Task Type. Example: McAfee (Trellix) Agent > Product Update.

2. In the right pane, select a client task.

3. Click the Delete link for the selected task.

4. When prompted, ensure you understand how this will affect other systems and click OK. Note: This also removes the task from where it was assigned in the System Tree.

Managing Client Tasks from the System Tree

You can also manage client tasks from the System Tree.

From the Assigned Client Tasks tab, you can:

• Reset Inheritance: The Broken Inheritance shows which systems or groups do not inherit task. From this column, you can also reset the inheritance for a specific System Tree object. To do this, click the blue hyperlink from the Broken Inheritance column, select an entry in the Node Name column, then click Reset Inheritance.

• Edit Assignment: Click the Edit Assignment link to launch Client Task Assignment Builder within the Client Task Catalog.

• New Client Task Assignment: Select Actions > Edit Assignment to launch Client Task Assignment Builder within the Client Task Catalog or click the default link to the right of the Actions drop-down.

From the Systems tab, you can:

• Modify Tasks on a Single System: Edit tasks for selected system

• Run Client Task Now: Run a client task for a selected system