Operating System Management

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Admin Page
• 3. Scan for New Operating System
• 4. Unmanaged Operating Systems
• 5. Managed Operating Systems
• 6. Legacy Migrations

1. Introduction

Since Windows 10, the focus has shifted from major Operating System versions and service packs to continuous, build-based updates, further standardized with Windows 11.

While part of the same Operating Systems, builds can differ in features, compatibility, and lifecycle, requiring targeted management.

Operating System Management lets you control which versions are deployed and which software packages are allowed to be installed on them.

2. Admin Page

The features are available on the Admin page under Operating Systems:

• Scan for new Operating Systems
• Convert Operating Systems to managed status (enables Software Distribution)
• Make Operating Systems available for OS Deployment, allowing build-specific Provisioning Templates

3. Scan for New Operating System

Before we can manage your operating systems we need to know which OS builds are in use in your environment. five(9)s Console helps you by scanning the Ivanti Endpoint Manager Database for Operating Systems and their build versions that aren’t managed yet.

These Operating Systems and Builds discovered in your environment will be added to the list of Unmanaged Operating Systems.

4. Unmanaged Operating Systems

This site is similar to the Distribution Packages site. Select one of the OS and click the Convert to Managed Operating Systems button to allow this OS to be used in SWD and OSD (optional).

5. Managed Operating Systems

OS in this list are always approved for SWD (Software Distribution) and can be approved for OSD
(Operating System Distribution) by using "Edit Selected Operating System". This is important if you want to do OS or software distributions. If you no longer need to distribute a specific OS any longer, just select it and click the "Set To Unmanaged" button.

If the Option Selectable for OS is checked in the modal, you have to define a provisioning template that will be used for that specific OS during distribution.

A Custom Name can be used to rename your OS to something you can remember more easily.

After setting the OS to managed, it will appear in the lists of Managed Operating Systems:

Here, you can edit the OS configuration in a similar way by clicking Edit Managed Operating System Details:

6. Legacy Migrations

five(9)s Console Versions prior 4.2 had only one OS entry per operating system type with no specific build number. They will be migrated in the newest version. An OS entry will be converted into multiple entries if different build numbers are found, with all OS-related configurations and software assignments being taken over from the original OS entry to the new entries.