Heartbeat Parent topic

OfficeScan clients send heartbeat messages to notify the server that connection from the client remains functional. Upon receiving a heartbeat message, the server treats the client as online. In the client tree, the client’s status can either be:
  • Online: For regular online clients
  • Unreachable/Online: For online clients in the unreachable network
Note
Note
OfficeScan clients do not update components or apply new settings when sending heartbeat messages. Regular clients perform these tasks during routine updates (see OfficeScan Client Updates). Clients in the unreachable network perform these tasks during server polling.
The heartbeat feature addresses the issue of OfficeScan clients in unreachable networks always appearing as offline even when they can connect to the server.
A setting in the web console controls how often clients send heartbeat messages. If the server did not receive a heartbeat, it does not immediately treat the client as offline. Another setting controls how much time without a heartbeat must elapse before changing the client’s status to:
  • Offline: For regular offline OfficeScan clients
  • Unreachable/Offline: For offline OfficeScan clients in the unreachable network
When choosing a heartbeat setting, balance between the need to display the latest client status information and the need to manage system resources. The default setting is satisfactory for most situations. However, consider the following points when you customize the heartbeat setting:

Heartbeat Recommendations

Heartbeat Frequency
Recommendation
Long-interval heartbeats (above 60 minutes)
The longer the interval between heartbeats, the greater the number of events that may occur before the server reflects the client’s status on the web console.
Short-interval Heartbeats (below 60 minutes)
Short intervals present a more up-to-date client status but may be bandwidth-intensive.