Endpoint Protection

Hello all,

I know there will be numerous documents on the subject above, but I am just looking for a quick advice from the experts here.

Our setup is as follows.

we have 2 sites replicating, each site has a sql2005 DB and 2 SEP app servers. all servers are dual processor, latest hardware with windows 2003 std. 64 bit with sp2.
site one has 2500 clients, site two has 700 clients.
we have GUPs for remote offices and location-based liveupdate policies are defined.

the SEP manager version is 11.0.2000.1567

the setup is working quite well but we observe lot of network traffic and update issues at times. Also it is imperative to keep the product up-to-date to take advantage of all the new fixes and features.

hence it is now my job to upgrade the systems to the latest MR4 MP2  as soon as possible. What i would like to know is.


1 ) can i upgrade the systems directly from mr2 to mr4 mp2?
2)  if not, then what is the correct path and procedure to do it?
3)  is MP2 stable enough?
4)  if mp3 is due very soon, does it make sense for me to upgrade to mp2 right now or should i wait till September?

thanks in advance for ur guidance.

Ravi

1 ) can i upgrade the systems directly from mr2 to mr4 mp2?
Yes its is possible to upgrade...
2)  if not, then what is the correct path and procedure to do it?
We have installed in many pc's it worked fine....(SEPM and SEP clients Upgrade without any problem)
3)  is MP2 stable enough?
Few problem which are not resolved will be addressed in new releases so i cant conclude that MP2 is stable.  It is working fine in our setup without any problem.

Refer these for more info...

FAQ
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/ent-security.nsf/docid/2007071909500548
 
Discussion
https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/forums/migratin-mr2-mr4-mp2

MR4 Upgrade
http://service1.symantec.com/support/ent-security.nsf/854fa02b4f5013678825731a007d06af/2bec0308fcd83d2f882575220071b968?OpenDocument

MR4 MP2 Upgrade
http://service1.symantec.com/support/ent-security.nsf/854fa02b4f5013678825731a007d06af/42ba1f162fe0652f882575bb0047cea4?OpenDocument

Prepare for Disaster Recovery before upgradation.
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/ent-security.nsf/docid/2007082112135948
 

Hello Ravi,

As per the Symantec recommendation you should migrate your existing setup to MR4 first and then to MR4MP2 as there are major changes  involved in the database schema for MR2 and MR4. A direct upgrade to MR4MP2 may cause issues like database corruption, lost client - SEPM communication, corruption in dll files etc.

Also, MR5 is soon due to be released sometime towards end of September 2009 so if you can wait till that time you may migrate to MR5 directly rather than going for MR4, MR4MP2 and then MR5 which would be a bit of tedious job in your given environment.

Hope this helps :-)

Hello Amol,

Thanks for the reply. I guess in this case i shall upgrade to MR4 and then wait for MR5? I am guessing there will not be a path from MR2 direct to MR5?

As you rightly said, it is a complex environment and i would like to minimise the upgrade phases if possible,

thanks and best regards

Ravi

We upgraded to MR4 from MR2 also with no problem (to my surprise) so I suggest you go for it :)

Hi Ravi,

You can directly migrate from MR2 to MR5 . Just as we can from MR2 to MR4. But to save on the pain of multiple upgrades, may be you can wait until MR5 is out and go for it directly.

Thanks :-)

Yes you should upgrade to MR4 MP2 there are minimal problem encountered in this release than the previous, We need to test it first the MR5 before we migrate to this

Here is a way to go directly from MR2 to MR4 MP2--or any other combination of existing & upgrade versions--if you're using Group Policy for SEP installs.

https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/articles/mp-upgrade-path-compliance-using-group-policy

If you didn't use Group Policy to install MR2, you'll have to make your next install MR4 or MR5/RU5 to stay within Symantec's supported upgrade path. (Well, there are other approaches using startup scripts and/or WMI filters, but they're separate articles in themselves!) 

But whether you next install MR4 or MR5/RU5, it might be a good opportunity to start using GP installs going forward so you don't have to worry about this situation any more.