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

Technical Articles ID: KB86879
Last Modified: 3/21/2022

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.

IMPORTANT:

The McAfee Agent /forceinstall switch must not be used unless indicated in a KB article to resolve an issue.
Using the /forceinstall switch as a regular process can cause issues with the McAfee Agent, which leads to duplicate entries in the ePolicy Orchestrator system tree. It might lead to systems getting an incorrect policy assignment.

The standard use case as mentioned in the McAfee Agent product guide is to use the /forceinstall switch only to either:

Change the installation directory
Or
Downgrade the McAfee Agent

Solution 1

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 used 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 2

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 command and switches below to complete the task:

FramePkg.exe /forceinstall /install=agent /keepguid

Affected Products

ePolicy Orchestrator 5.10.x
McAfee Agent 5.7.x
McAfee Agent 5.6.x
Upgrade/Migrate

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Knowledge Center

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

Environment

Problem

Cause

Solution 1

Solution 2

Affected Products

Languages:

Title

Title

Knowledge Center

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

Environment

Problem

Cause

Solution 1

Solution 2

Affected Products

Languages:

Choose your region

Title

Title