Duplicate systems in the System Tree after a McAfee Agent force installation over an existing version

Technical Articles ID: KB86879
Last Modified: 2/10/2020

Environment

McAfee Agent (MA) 5.x
McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO) 5.x

Problem

You observe the following when you use the switch /FORCEINSTALL to force a new agent installation over an existing version of the agent:

A new entry for that system is duplicated in the ePO System Tree

Cause

The conditions that lead to the duplicate entry:

The McAfee Agent installer forces the creation of a new agent GUID when the switch /FORCEINSTALL is used.
The McAfee Agent later communicates back to the McAfee ePO server, it sees the new GUID.
When the new GUID does not match the known MAC address for that system, a new entry is added on the System Tree. At this point, a duplication of the system occurs.

Solution

Scenario 1:
When the current McAfee Agent can communicate with the ePO, use a client task to upgrade the agent instead of using the switch /FORCEINSTALL.

Scenario 2:
If you use the switch /FORCEINSTALL and a system is duplicated, use one of the following options to remove the duplicate entry:

Delete the system with the oldest Last Communication time.
Execute the default query Duplicate Systems Names to identify and delete the appropriate duplicate nodes in the System Tree.

Solution

A new feature has been introduced with the release of McAfee Agent 5.6.3. A switch is now available to force the installation over the existing version of the agent and keep the current GUID. Use the switches below to complete this task:

FramePkg.exe /forceinstall /install=agent /keepguid

Affected Products

ePolicy Orchestrator 5.9
ePolicy Orchestrator 5.10.x
McAfee Agent 5.6.x
McAfee Agent 5.5.x
Upgrade/Migrate

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Duplicate systems in the System Tree after a McAfee Agent force installation over an existing version

Environment

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Solution

Solution

Affected Products

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Duplicate systems in the System Tree after a McAfee Agent force installation over an existing version

Environment

Problem

Cause

Solution

Solution

Affected Products

Languages:

Glossary of Technical Terms

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