The following sections cover procedures to prepare workstations for imaging. The procedures that are applicable to you depend on your imaging deployment strategy. (See Imaging Deployment Strategies.)
Because the ZfD imaging engine is a Linux* application, in order to image a computer you must boot it to Linux temporarily while the imaging engine runs. The bootable device or method you use can be any of the following:
PXE (Preboot Execution Environment) is an industry-standard protocol that allows a workstation to boot up and execute a program from the network before the workstation operating system starts. PXE uses DHCP and TFTP protocols. The PXE environment is loaded from either the NIC (Network Interface Card) in flash or ROM, or in the same memory as the system BIOS.
Before you can use PXE, you need to install the ZfD 3.2 Imaging and Preboot Services (PXE Support) components on your imaging server and enable PXE on the workstation. A standard DHCP server must already be installed-either on the same server where you are installing ZfD Preboot Services or on another server in the network-before you install the ZfD Preboot Services Proxy DHCP server. If the standard DHCP server is on the same server where you are installing the Proxy DHCP, you must set option tag 60 in DHCP services. For more information, see the ZfD 3.2 Preboot Services Administration guide at the ZfD 3.2 Preboot Services documentation Web site. See Workstation Imaging in Getting Started for PXE system requirements.
When a PXE-enabled workstation is booted, it looks for the server where PXE is installed. Using a DHCP request, it checks the server to see if there is any imaging work to do. If there is imaging work to do, it downloads the Linux imaging environment from the server so that the workstation can be booted to Linux. Then the image is downloaded to the workstation. If there is no imaging work to do, these three files are not downloaded and the workstation proceeds to boot to its operating system.
Finding Out If a Workstation Is PXE Capable: To image a workstation using PXE, you need to find out if the workstation is PXE capable, and then make sure that PXE is enabled. (When PXE is enabled, it can lengthen the time of the boot process slightly, so most NICs have PXE turned off by default.) To do so, enter the computer system BIOS and look at the boot up options. These typically include Floppy Disk, Hard Disk, and CD-ROM. If PXE is not listed and the NIC is embedded in the motherboard, refer to the integrated devices section of the BIOS. In the integrated devices section, you may have an option to activate PXE. It may be called by another name, such as MBA (Managed Boot Agent) or Pre-Boot Service. Once you have activated it, it will become available in the Boot section of the BIOS. If the computer system does not have an integrated NIC, you may need to use NIC management software to configure your NIC to support PXE. Refer to your NIC documentation for support of PXE.
If a Workstation Is Not PXE Capable: If the workstation is not PXE capable, you may be able to make it capable by updating your BIOS version or NIC driver, using a PXE boot disk, or purchasing a PXE capable NIC and installing it in your computer. To create a PXE boot disk, use the PXE-On-Disk utility that is installed as part of Preboot Services (PXE Support) in ZfD 3.2. You can access the utility with the Create PXE Disk button in Imaging Boot Disk Creator. (To start this utility from ConsoleOne®, click Tools > ZENworks Utilities > Imaging > Create or Modify Boot Diskette.)
Refer to the PXE-on-Disk User Guide for information about creating a PXE boot disk. To access this guide, on a Windows* machine that has ZfD 3.2 PXE components installed on it, click the Start button > Programs > ZEN Preboot Services > PXE on Disk > PXE on Disk Manual. You can also find this guide at the ZfD 3.2 Preboot Services product documentation Web site.
If You Have Previously Installed a ZfD (Linux) Imaging Partition: If you are using a PXE-enabled workstation but have previously installed a Linux imaging partition on the workstation, you can disable or delete the partition. You can disable (and enable) the imaging partition when you boot to Linux using any imaging boot device or method. You can delete the partition only when you are putting an image on the workstation using standard imaging, and only when you boot the workstation from an imaging boot device or method other than the Linux imaging partition.
IMPORTANT: After you have deleted the partition, you need to make sure that the image you put on the workstation was made on a computer without a Linux imaging partition. Otherwise, the wrong MBR (Master Boot Record) is restored, and the computer will fail to boot. In addition, if you remove the Linux imaging partition from a Windows NT or Windows 2000 machine, Windows will no longer be able to boot. You should only remove the Linux imaging partition if you are going to restore an image to the workstation.
Refer to the ZfD 3.2 Preboot Services Installation guide for information about installing and configuring PXE. To access this guide, start the ZfD 3.2 installation > click English > click Preboot Services Installation Guide. You can also find this guide at the ZfD 3.2 Preboot Services documentation Web site.
Detailed product documentation about configuring PXE is included in the ZfD 3.2 Preboot Services Administration guide, which is available at the ZfD 3.2 Preboot Services documentation Web site.
If you are unable to use PXE, diskettes are an easy device to prepare. Three diskettes are required, four if you need to image computers that have non-English keyboards. The basic steps to create the diskettes are given in Creating Imaging Boot Diskettes in Preparing for Basic Imaging Operations in Getting Started. Once you have created the diskettes, you can customize them for the particular imaging tasks for which you will use them, such as one set of diskettes for connecting to a server that holds Windows 95 images, another set for connecting to a server that holds Windows NT* images, and another set for installing ZfD imaging partitions. To customize the diskettes, edit the SETTINGS.TXT file on the third diskette as explained in Imaging Utilities and Options in Workstation Imaging in Administration.
If you have CD-burning software, you can create a bootable CD for performing imaging operations. This is a bit harder than preparing diskettes, but you have more room to store any custom files that you might want to add, such as images and Linux device drivers. See Preparing a Bootable CD for instructions.
If you want to set up a computer for unattended imaging operations and are unable to use PXE, you must create a small ZfD imaging (Linux) partition on the hard disk. If you make the partition big enough, you can even store an image of the computer's hard disk, which can be useful if (for example) the computer becomes hopelessly misconfigured or corrupted. To create a ZfD imaging partition, you must first create imaging diskettes and boot the computer from them. Then, proceed with Step 4 of Enabling a Workstation for Unattended Imaging Operations in Testing Basic Imaging Operations in Getting Started.
The following sections contain additional information:
If you have CD-burning software, you can use the BOOTCD.ISO image available on the ZfD imaging server to create a ZfD imaging boot CD.
To create a bootable CD:
In a temporary working area, create a SETTINGS.TXT file containing the settings you want for the imaging bootup process. For instructions, see Imaging Utilities and Options in Workstation Imaging in Administration.
Use the Add Linux Drivers button in the Imaging Boot Disk Creator (ZIMGBOOT.EXE) to copy the Linux drivers to a diskette. Copy the A:\DRIVERS directory from the diskette to the temporary working area mentioned above.
For more information about adding Linux drivers, see the online help for the Imaging Boot Disk Creator or see Using ZIMGBOOT.EXE to Add Linux Drivers in Imaging Boot Disk Creator (ZIMGBOOT.EXE) in Imaging Utilities and Options in Administration.
In the temporary working area, add any ZfD image files you want to store on the CD.
Use your CD-burning software to burn the BOOTCD.ISO image onto the CD. This image is located in the ZENWORKS\IMAGING folder in your ZfD installation (on the imaging server).
Use your CD-burning software to add the contents of your temporary working area to the root of the CD, including the SETTINGS.TXT file, any Linux network drivers, and any ZfD image files.
NOTE: Adding these files makes the CD a multisession CD. To boot a workstation from such a CD, the CD drive must support multisession CDs. For example, in our testing, we successfully booted an HP* vectra VL, a Compaq* Prosignia, and a Dell* Optiplex, but some other workstations failed, including an IBM* PC 300PL, a Dell Dimension XPS T450, and an IBM clone with an Intel* motherboard.
Use your CD-burning software to finalize the CD.
For information on how to use the CD to perform disconnected imaging operations, see Setting Up Disconnected Imaging Operations.
If you need to, you can add Linux device drivers to your boot device or method.
To obtain a Linux driver for your particular hardware, you should visit the Web site of the hardware vendor and check for a download site.
There are also some other Web sites where you can obtain drivers:
You can also get additional Linux drivers at the Novell® ZENworks Cool Solutions Web Community.
To learn more about drivers, including the loading parameters you need to specify, see the Linux Documentation Project and visit the following HOWTO sites:
For instructions, see Using ZIMGBOOT.EXE to Add Linux Drivers in Imaging Boot Disk Creator (ZIMGBOOT.EXE) in Imaging Utilities and Options in Administration.
For instructions, see Preparing a Bootable CD.
It is unlikely that you will need to add Linux drivers if you are using a ZfD imaging partition. If you want to update the Linux drivers, however, follow this procedure:
Boot the workstation using imaging boot diskettes, an imaging boot CD, or if it is PXE-enabled, boot it from the PXE server.
Enter manual at the boot prompt or select to start in Maintenance Mode from the PXE menu.
Enter the following to mount the hard drive:
mount /dev/hda1 /mnt/harddisk
Enter the following to mount the diskette that contains the driver files:
mount /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
Enter the following to copy the files to the appropriate directory on the ZfD imaging partition:
cp /mnt/floppy/*.o /mnt/harddisk/lib/modules/2.4.3/drivers/net
Type reboot > press Enter.
To add Linux drivers for use with PXE, you must have a working Linux workstation capable of mounting a loop device. Red Hat* 7 has this ability compiled in the distribution kernel.
On the TFTP server on your PXE server, locate the linux.2 file in \PUBLIC\ZENWORKS\IMAGING\TFTP. Make a backup copy of this file.
On the Linux workstation, create a working directory for linux.2.
Using a transfer method such as FTP, transfer linux.2 to the directory created in Step 2.
Enter the following to rename linux.2 to linux.gz:
mv linux.2 linux.gz
Enter the following to extract linux.gz:
gzip -d linux.gz
This will replace the linux.gz file with a file named linux. This file is a MINIX file system that can be mounted and changed.
Enter the following to create a mount point:
mkdir /mnt/loop
Enter the following to mount the file system:
mount -o loop linux /mnt/loop
Copy the driver files to the appropriate directory in the /mnt/loop directory structure.
Enter the following to unmount the updated file system:
umount /mnt/loop
Enter the following to zip the file:
gzip --v9c linux
Enter the following to rename the file:
mv linux.gz linux.2
Using a transfer method such as FTP, transfer linux.2 to the TFTP server.
If you will image computers that have non-English keyboards, the imaging boot device or method must include additional support for that language, in the form of a language diskette. (When booting a computer from the imaging device or method, you will be prompted for this diskette.) For information on preparing this diskette, see the online help in the Imaging Boot Disk Creator (ZIMGBOOT.EXE) utility.
If the Language/Country drop-down list in the Imaging Boot Disk Creator utility doesn't have the keyboard language you need, you can close the utility and reconfigure it to support the additional language. This assumes you can find Linux keyboard support files somewhere on the Web.
Get the Linux .GZ files that contain the keyboard mappings, fonts, and Unicode* mappings for the language that you want to add.
From the folder containing the ZIMGBOOT.EXE file, browse to the BOOTDISK folder > copy the .GZ files for the new language to the following subfolders:
Add a section to the ZIMGLANG.INI file using the format illustrated for German in Imaging Bootup Languages (ZIMGLANG.INI) in Imaging Utilities and Options in Workstation Imaging in Administration.
For the bracketed section heading, specify the language or country name that you want shown in the Imaging Boot Disk Creator utility.
On the KEYMAP, FONT, and ACM parameters, specify the names and locations (relative to the BOOTDISK folder) of the keyboard map, font, and Unicode map files, respectively.
Save your changes to the ZIMGLANG.INI file.
Restart the Imaging Boot Disk Creator utility and verify that the new language appears in the Language/Country drop-down list.
When you lay down a new base image on a Windows workstation, the workstation receives the same identification data as the computer from which the image was taken, including such settings as the IP address and computer (NETBIOS) name. To work around this, you can install the ZfD Imaging Agent (ZISWIN.EXE) on the target workstation before reimaging it. This saves the workstation's current identity settings to an area on the hard disk that's safe from reimaging. When the workstation reboots after being reimaged, the agent restores the original settings.
IMPORTANT: The imaging agent does not save or restore any Windows NT/2000 Domain information. If you change a workstation's domain and then restore an image, the workstation will receive whatever domain is embedded in the new image.
The table below lists the different ways you can install the imaging agent, along with the location of the installation instructions.
| Installation Method | See |
|---|---|
Do a custom Novell Client installation and choose the Imaging Services option |
Overall Software Requirements in Hardware and Software Requirements in Installation and Setup in Getting Started |
Run the ZISD-9x or ZISD-NT application object on the workstation |
Distributing an Application in Application Management in Getting Started |
Manually install the imaging agent |
Step 3 in Enabling a Workstation for Unattended Imaging Operations in Testing Basic Imaging Operations in Workstation Imaging in Getting Started |
When you boot a Windows workstation from an imaging device or method and allow the bootup process to proceed in auto-imaging mode, the imaging engine runs on the workstation and contacts a ZfD imaging server. In order for the workstation to actually be imaged in this mode, you must either define an NDS policy for the ZfD imaging server, or you must do the following before booting the workstation from the imaging device or method:
For instructions on how to do this, see Automatic Workstation Import in Getting Started.
For instructions on how to do this, see Triggering an Unattended Imaging Operation in Testing Basic Imaging Operations in Workstation Imaging in Getting Started.