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NightWatchman Enterprise 7.3

Upgrading to 1E NightWatchman Agent 7.3
Before you start

Please review Upgrading NightWatchman Enterprise: Common Backup Tasks to ensure that any Nightwatchman agent customizations such as non-standard shutdown scripts are backed up (or included in the upgrade package source) before you run the upgrade.

All standard NightWatchman client settings are preserved during an upgrade, therefore, only the new NightWatchman 7.3 license key is required as a command line option.

There are installers for both x86 (1ENightWatchmanAgent.msi) and x64 (1ENightWatchmanAgent-x64.msi) so ensure you choose the correct one for your operating system.

For readability, we have broken down the command line into separate lines but when you run it, ensure that it is in a single line.

The basic command-line is:

msiexec /i 1ENightWatchmanAgent-x64.msi PIDKEY=XXXXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX /l*v %temp%\NWMAgent.log /qn

The following default paths are set by the installer

  • Installation directory – "%PROGRAMFILES%\1E\NightWatchman"

  • Log file path – C:\ProgramData\1E\Agent"

Following a successful upgrade, any client customization can be re-applied using a post installation script – copying additional or modified shutdown scripts to %PROGRAMFILES %\1E\NightWatchman\Scripts

This command-line and the 1ENightWatchmanAgent.msi installer should be incorporated into the production software distribution tool and run on all clients. (The verbose logging options are optional, but recommended to troubleshoot installation problems).

The recommended approach to the client upgrade is to develop a process (for example Configuration Manager Package, GPO, or scripted installation) that is repeatable and deploy on a representative pilot group of computers. The pilot group should include at least one computer of each hardware type (for example desktop and laptop) and one computer of each operating system version.

Validation

Once deployed, you are recommended to carry out validation tests to verify functionality before upgrading the remainder of your production client environment. You should run the following tests:

  • NightWatchman clients continue to receive power management settings by chosen method (e.g. power policies via NightWatchman console, NightWatchman GPO template imported into Active Directory or NightWatchman.exe command-line options.

  • On-demand wake up for an individual computer from the NightWatchman Console.

  • On demand wake up for an individual computer from the Configuration Manager Administrator Console.

  • Scheduled wake ups for collections of computers from wake up enabled mandatory assigned Configuration Manager advertisements, software updates and task sequences.

  • On demand wake up for an individual computer from Web WakeUp (if installed).

Once functionality has been verified, install the Agent to the rest of your production environment to complete the process. We recommend you do a phased upgrade so that speed of upgrade is balanced with any impact on operational systems.

Upgrading the 1E Agent for Windows

First, upgrade the NightWatchman Management Center server-side components. These include the NightWatchman Management Center Web service and database and the WakeUp Server sever-side components. If you are only licensed for WakeUp, you will not be able to take advantage of NightWatchman features and vice versa.

1E NightWatchman Agent removes the legacy WakeUp Agent if it was enabled using the legacy 1E Agent. It will uninstall WakeUp Agent but retain registry settings for WakeUp. Use 1E Client to upgrade the WakeUp component of 1E Agent as described in 1E Client - Upgrading 1E Client.

You can use the 1E Client Deployment Assistant (CDA) to assist with deployment of 1E Agent and 1E NightWatchman Agent using Configuration Manager.

When upgrading 1E Agent that has both WakeUp and NightWatchman enabled and you require continuity of WakeUp features, then first deploy the 1E Client with WakeUp client module enabled, and then deploy the 1E NightWatchman Agent.

The legacy 1E Agent installer is replaced by two new installers:

  • WakeUp Agent component of legacy 1E Agent is replaced by 1E Client (with its WakeUp client module enabled)

  • NightWatchman Agent component of the legacy 1E Agent is replaced by 1E NightWatchman Agent

The following occurs when upgrading a computer that has a legacy version of 1E Agent installed (with NightWatchman and/or WakeUp Agent enabled):

New client

What happens to the existing client when upgraded

1E NightWatchman Agent

Deploying 1E NightWatchman Agent upgrades the legacy NightWatchman Agent component of 1E Agent and uninstalls the legacy WakeUp Agent component if installed. This process maintains the WakeUp registry, to be used by the WakeUp client module of the 1E Client if installed later.

The 1E NightWatchman Agent can only be installed on Windows workstation OS and not on server OS.

1E Client

Deploying 1E Client (with its WakeUp client module enabled) causes the legacy 1E Agent WakeUp component to be uninstalled the first time the 1E Client is started, leaving intact the NightWatchman Agent component if that was installed.

The 1E Client (with WakeUp client module enabled) can be installed on Windows workstation OS and on server OS. It must also be installed on WakeUp Server servers, which must be upgraded to WakeUp Server 7.3 or later.

Upgrade command-lines

To upgrade to 1E NightWatchman Agent, use the following command-line. The PIDKEY is required for the license key. The /i Windows Installer property will either install components should they not already exist or upgrade components that are already there.

msiexec /i 1ENightWatchmanAgent-x64.msi PIDKEY=ACMECO-1234-5678-ABCD-4321 /qn
Changes to the install folder

During an upgrade, the installation folders are moved to a new folder.

C:\Program Files\1E\NightWatchman

Existing batch files or Configuration Manager programs that reference this location will require updating. Alternatively, add the path to the executable into the Windows PATH variable.

Changes to the scripts

During an upgrade, customized power down scripts are handled as follows. As the scripts are just text files, Windows Installer cannot evaluate if the scripts contained within the installer should be kept or if the existing scripts should be used in preference.

  • Customer PreRun.vbs and RunAlways.vbs scripts are retained, regardless of customizations

  • New scripts (those not currently provided within the msi) are retained, for example myapp.vbs

  • Scripts stored in any sub folder are retained, for example .\scripts\sub1\excel.vbs

  • Customized scripts in the root of the scripts folder are moved to the following location, and the 1E versions will be used in preference, for example winword.vbs 

    C:\Program Files\1E\NightWatchman\Scripts\Old
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