Smart Group Management

Note: This article is relevant only if using JetPatch 4.2.2 and above.  If using an earlier version, read this article instead.

Smart Group Management allows you to create and manage groups of endpoints based on logical definitions, such as Operation System, Tags, or Hostname. Once the group is defined and a new endpoint with the same characteristics is created, it will automatically added to the relevant smart group!

View Smart Groups

By default, all endpoints are grouped in a default Smart Group - Default for Patching. In case WSUS is in use additional groups WSUS Server and WSUS Replicas will be created by default. Default groups can't be removed or edited.

Column Filters presents the filters that are a logical base of the Smart Group, as in the image Operating Systems or Tags.

Smart Groups Statuses

• Ready  -  A group that is working properly with no issues
• Creating Group  -  A new group is currently created, which includes Windows endpoints (hence a group needs to be created in WSUS as well)
• Synchronizing Group  -  After the group creation, JetPatch will need to synchronize between Replica and to main WSUS (relevant only if Replica exists).
• Creation Failed  -  Unsuccessful creation of the group will only happen if there are Windows endpoints in the group
• Synchronize Failed  -  Synchronization between Replicas and Primary WSUS failed
• Deleting Group  -  JetPatch is in the process of deleting a new Computer Group
• Deletion Failed  -  Deletion Failed

Create Smart Group

To Create a new Smart Group click on the 'Add' button in the top right of the Smart Group page.

Add a group name and description and click on Add Filter button to select a filter for the group.

Example: as in the image above select to add endpoints based on Operating Systems and then select the relevant OSs.

Once the filter has been added the list of all endpoints that the filter applies to is presented for review.

To finish the group creation process click on the 'Save' button in the upper right corner of the screen.

Back on the Smart Groups screen the Status column presents the status of the group, during the creation process the status is Creating Group, once the group is created the status is changed to Ready. 

The group is available for patching once it is in status Ready(only if the option "Support patch activities" was selected for this group).

View and Manage Smart Groups

Once the group has been created it can be Edited or Deleted, but only from point the group creation process has been completed.

Delete Smart Groups

Note: if you try to delete a smart group that is used for RBAC, you first need to remove the RBAC dependency.

In 4.2.4 and before, you would receive a message like this

[SmartGroup_Name] Smart group can’t be deleted due to user permission definitions.
This Smart Group is Used as a Server Scope for Some Users.

To delete this [SmartGroup_Name] smart group change user permissions related to this smart group.

In 4.2.5 and above, you will receive the following message

[SmartGroup_Name] Smart group can’t be deleted.
This Smart Group is Used as a Server Scope for Some Users.

Upgrade to Smart Groups

On upgrade to version 4.2.2:

• Computer Groups migration
  • A new tag is created for every Computer Group defined in the JP system, the tag name format is "[computer group name] group".
  • Based on all these Computer group tags  JP system automatically creates new Smart Groups, this way all existing Computer Groups are converted to Smart Groups.
• Existing Intigua Filters migration
  • Only the most common filters from the Intigua filters list are available on Jetpatch
• Existing Intigua Smart Groups migration
  • All Smart groups that were defined on Intigua are now available in JetPatch, the limitation is that groups that are based on filters that are not available on JP UI are not "supporting patch activities" groups.

Additional Information

Please note that Smart Groups in JetPatch are intended for patching only. While Smart Groups created in JetAgent that include filters not relevant for patching, will still be visible in JetPatch, those Smart Groups cannot be used for patching and will be marked with a red X.

While creating a new Smart Group with JetPatch, the user can see interactively which endpoints are currently going to be included in the group. Each time a filter is selected, all the available endpoints are being filtered and presented to the user. If more than one filter is used, the filtering principle is AND, meaning that only endpoints that meet all the filtering criteria will be shown.  If a matching windows endpoint has an X, it will not be added to the group.

In addition, in JetPatch, System > Smart Groups, each Smart Groups has a bar representing the group status. This is especially important for Smart Groups that contain endpoints with Windows OS that are connected to WSUS.

Note: These processes may take time and require synchronization of JetPatch with WSUS. During the sync, each relevant Smart Group shows the appropriate status and if necessary, temporarily prevents any modifications of the Smart Groups until it is fully synchronized with WSUS.

Another feature that was introduced in 4.2.2 is that each Smart Groups not only shows how many endpoints it currently has, but also that number is clickable and leads to the Endpoints > Management page where the user can see all the endpoints participating in the group.