This article is an introduction to reference configuration documents, and also answers frequently asked questions. We strongly recommend that you review this article before following any of the reference configurations. This review ensures a smooth transition during product upgrade procedures or new installation sequencing.
Reference configurations are our recommended deployment scenarios. They have undergone extensive testing to ensure proper sequencing and improve ease of execution. Each reference configuration document contains a product mix that has been validated to work together properly for a specific type of customer profile. If a specific product set is missing from this list, it doesn't mean that there are compatibility issues; it just means that the configuration hasn’t yet been tested. Reference configuration documents are updated regularly as new product versions are released.
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this shared search link for a list of all reference configuration documents.
Reference configuration documents include tables that list the specific product versions that are exercised in parallel. They show the specific deployment order to install or upgrade products in your environment. There are two kinds of documents aimed at customers in different kinds of environments:
- Early adopter customers who might be seeking to deploy the latest Window release and are creating a gold image for deployment. For these customers, the reference configuration describes a fresh install sequence. Early adopters can be our new customers who are in the preliminary or early stages of deploying our products. Existing customers who want to remove all currently installed products and start with a fresh deployment scenario can also use the fresh installation reference configurations.
- Customers who already have our product deployments that remain on the system and are replaced by a sequence of upgrades to newer product versions. These reference configurations might not precisely match your exact environment. But, the reference configuration should be close to your current deployment state and useful in your upgrade scenario.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are the reference configurations created?
The reference configuration documents are created using extensive telemetry. The telemetry is gathered from current customer deployments to represent a set of products that are common within our current customer set. Using the most common product versions as a baseline, our engineers analyze what product deployments our customers try, to identify common system upgrade scenarios. The documents provide:
- Guidance on recommended upgrade paths to successfully deploy those new products
- Suggestions on product checkpoints to confirm proper deployment of those products
- Known issues that customers might encounter and how to address them
Reference configurations provide an upgrade path, or new installation path, to help customers with proper sequencing of product deployments.
Who can use reference configurations?
The audience is assumed to be an administrator in your environment. This person is assumed to have ePO administrative ability and knowledge to manage the product set needed by your company. This assumption also applies to new customers who are preparing to deploy multiple products offered by us. These customers might need a reference for the proper sequencing when they perform those deployments.
What if I have a different product mix?
Not all of our products are included in the documents. Reference configurations represent products that are commonly used but don’t cover all customers. Other products are being tested and new reference configurations will be released over time as integration testing continues. If your product mix is a subset of a configuration, you can skip any product deployment that doesn't apply to your needs. If you have other products not included in the list, have questions about how to deploy those products, or have questions about how to use the reference configurations, contact Technical Support.
What if my currently installed product mix is older than versions listed in the reference configuration?
We have implemented major code changes in products such as Trellix Agent. These code changes and the large number of products in our portfolio make it difficult to provide an upgrade path for every version that customers might currently use. If you use older versions and haven’t upgraded in more than a year, we strongly recommend that you uninstall the existing products. To begin with a clean environment, restart the system, and then follow the reference configuration using the recommended product versions.
Do I need to plan for restarts (reboots) during the upgrades?
Yes. Some operating system driver modules installed during product upgrades are loaded into memory at runtime. A restart is needed to load the new drivers. Also, operating system limitations require that only one version of these drivers be loaded at a time. These drivers are shared across multiple products. As new driver versions are incorporated into different products, the specific driver version changes over time. Depending on which products you install, it might require multiple restarts. Consider a system with driver version 1 currently loaded. If product X installs driver version 2, and then product Y installs driver version 3, two restarts would be needed. But, the drivers are backward compatible. So, if the client system is upgraded by deploying product Y first, only one restart would be needed. The reference configuration documents have been optimized to minimize the number of restarts needed.
Are there any known issues to be aware of before I follow the upgrade path?
Yes. We strongly recommend that you review the known issues articles for each upgraded or installed version in a reference configuration. For your convenience, these articles are linked from the reference configuration documents. You can also access the release notes for the versions from the known issues articles. Reviewing and becoming familiar with the known issues before product deployment increases the overall success rate of the deployments. It will also help the administrator understand issues that might occur after a successful deployment.
What do I do if I have a problem after following the reference configuration sequence?
Contact Technical Support and open a new Service Request.
