Provisioning Template Process: Online vs Offline Compared
Ivanti Endpoint Manager Provisioning functions through the creation of Provisioning Templates. By default, the device being provisioned will download the template itself and all related files during the provisioning process. Sometimes it may be desirable to provision offline devices or devices that do not have a direct network connection to the core server. In such cases, you can build a Disconnected Provisioning Template that can be deployed via DVD disk or USB drive.
For more information on Provisioning in general as well as Offline Template Creation, see the following docs:
Ivanti Endpoint Manager and Endpoint Security - Provisioning Landing Page
Startnet.cmd
When a provisioning template begins, the startnet.cmd script is executed. This script sets up the WinPE environment for OS Provisioning. A sample script is attached to this document, and can also be viewed within your Boot.wim or in WinPE itself. In WinPE it's located here:
x:\windows\system32\startnet.cmd
Offline Check
One section of the script executes a utility called OfflineCheck. OfflineCheck scans all the mounted volumes looking for offline_task.xml. Offline_task.xml is essentially the offline version of the template and actions to be executed, and should only exist in offline templates. If the file doesn’t exist it is assumed that this is not an offline template and provisioning proceeds in online mode.
When Online
The startnet.cmd script is running in online mode and tries to resolve the Core Server's IP address. If it fails to resolve, the template fails. If it's able to resolve the IP it next attempts to ping the core by name. If this fails, the template will still continue. The startnet.cmd script then continues with standard actions such as an inventory miniscan, starting the remote control client, and eventually provisioning.
When Offline
All of the online processes are skipped and the device begins provisioning according to the offline_task.xml.
Troubleshooting
On occasion an offline template may run in online mode. To troubleshoot this, we will want to compare the startnet.cmd script in WinPE with a known good copy such as the attached. Next, check to see the offline_task.xml exists. Its possible the Offline Provisioning Media did not create successfully or was modified post creation.
If all the above looks correct, watch the execution of the startnet.cmd script when WinPE first loads with the assumption that some action within is failing. This process will generate an offlinecheck.log that is fairly verbose and should identify the problem. One common failure is when copying some files to the ramdisk (X: drive).
In extreme cases you could mount the boot.wim and modify the startnet.cmd script to remove the “@echo off” from the beginning, in order to get better visibility to exactly where it is failing.