Systems Management

Ive opened numerous tickets for similar issues and just get the run around.  In the end, Dell is always blamed somehow.  Right now I have a qualcomm driver (just as ONE example) where on the device profile in kace it shows as NOT INSTALLED under detect stats but then under deploy status it is saying SUCCESS.  When I spoke to the tech from kace on this he strategically was able to make my head spin with his explanation for this behavior.  

So of course, as a result, reporting is useless. Further more, for this particular driver, when I enter the service tag on the dell site it says Qualcomm-QCA61x4A-QCA6174A-XR-QCA9377-Wi-Fi-and-Bluetooth_7114X_WIN_12.0.0.926_A25_02.EXE is the correct driver.. and it is indeed installed on the relevant PC(s).     

Now granted, we have people running Dell Command on some machines.. but who cares? It shouldnt make a bit of difference. Is it there or is it not?  

What I get back from kace support is oh you should only be running Kace for Dell drivers if you are going to use it.  Well, let me clue Kace in on something.. when you are troubleshooting a machine in the real world you need dell command there to make sure everything is up to date.. it is a tool everyone likely uses.  Having said that, who cares?   

What I understand is kace moved the catalog to pull from the enterprise catalog at Dell. Im told (by kace) that this is not always up to date as dell command library.. oh that's nice.. and this was an upgrade?

Furthermore (yeah Im not done yet), Im told due to this sort of thing they suggest setting retries to one, otherwise users are going to get prompted to install at every scheduled detect.  This indeed happen to us.. I really peeved off some people, lucky we are still in a small test group.  

Im also told, that if you are going to use Dell updates from KACE you should use windows updates from KACE.  This is likely due to the fact the MS updates inherently looks at dell drivers before applying patches.. if not there, no zero day patch for you!    So what they are saying is, eh we dont keep things up to date like Dell Command does.. so better use our windows updates deploy because we dont use the MS "machine learning" to decide on patch deploy.

Im just really let down, I thought this was KACE SMA strongpoint (patches) but it doesnt seem so.  

And yes, we have changed over completely to the "kace best practices" for detect and deploy.  

And another thing... (yep still not done)...  Over and over we see a thunderbolt driver as required but "failed"  But yet when we go to the dell site, enter tag, it is the wrong driver.  Intel-Thunderbolt-Controller-Driver_TBT75_WIN64_1.41.987.0_A09.EXE is correct and current but yet see screenshot.

How can I look my cto in the eye and say. yep we are good!  I cant.

Now you might ask, why are you trying to use KACE SMA you clearly think it is horrible. 1. We dont run SCCM. 2. Dell Command has zero ability eventually FORCE a restart to install.. we have users clicking the later button for months and months.. they do not want to restart. Well, one thing KACE SMA will do is restart. However, I dont know why they did not work ACTIVE HOURS into the schedule. So even though I can send 20 notifications to restart, eventually I can wind up with a VIP restarting while in a zoom call.  Im willing to take that chance but the rest is just not coming together.  We run vmware workspace one as well, but it just leverages Dell Command (no restart enforcement).

Look, Im not perfect, I make mistakes.. but this should be simple and require some sort of carefully crafted configuration.. Detect, Deploy, end of story..

Quest, this is a mature product and you are so close, please just finish it.

If you have not already submitted the Agent logs from one or more of these devices with the reported issue, please run the KAT ( Kace Agent Toolkit) to collect the logs to submit to support.

https://support.quest.com/kace-systems-management-appliance/kb/263376/using-the-kace-agent-toolkit-kat-kaptu

Is the exact Dell model in the list of models on the Update Detail page for this driver?

Does the Update Detail page show that the driver is downloaded to the SMA?

Hi Kevin

Thanks for replying so quickly but I have already submitted a ticket which has been open for months and submitted multiple KAT files to support.

My model machines are Dell Precision 3630 and Dell Precision 7820 with a Nvidia Quadro P2000 and P5000 video cards.

As per the first screen grab the Update Detail page does show that the driver is not downloaded although marked as active and multiple detect and deploy schedules run.

Can you comment on the behavior of recommended drivers as opposed to critical/urgent drivers from the Dell feed? 

How are the download settings configured in Settings › Control Panel › Dell Update Download Settings?

What is the support request number?

Dell Update Downloads > Configure File downloads is set to 'Files detected as missing'

My Support reference is 4889599