Deploying Automatic Workstation Import and Removal

When installing ZfD, you will be able to specify import and removal roles for selected servers. Therefore, before running the ZfD installation program, you should determine which servers you want to run the import service, the removal service, or both.

To deploy Automatic Workstation Import and Removal, we recommend the following sequence:

1. Install the Automatic Workstation Import and Removal service software.
2. Set up the Automatic Workstation Import and Removal policies.
3. Set up DHCP and DNS names and customize logging.

   Using NDS names is preferable to using HOSTS files for registering workstations because HOSTS files must be managed manually at each workstation.

4. Update the Novell Client on the workstations using ACU.

   ACU is the preferred method. For information on other methods, see Upgrading Specific Files with Policy Packages or Distributing Client Updates with an Application Object.

After you have completed this sequence, Automatic Workstation Import and Removal will be functional.

The following sections contain steps to help you deploy Automatic Workstation Import and/or Removal:

• Installing Automatic Workstation Import and Removal
• Setting Up the Automatic Workstation Import and Removal Policies
• Setting Up Automatic Workstation Import and Removal to Run on the Servers
• Upgrading the Novell Client
• Verifying that Automatic Workstation Import and Removal are Working

Installing Automatic Workstation Import and Removal

To install Automatic Workstation Import and Removal on NetWare or Windows NT/2000 servers:

1. Select a workstation where you can run the ZfD installation program and later run ConsoleOne to administer ZfD.

   IMPORTANT:  Make sure that this workstation and all other administrative workstations are not running ConsoleOne while the ZfD installation is running.

2. At the workstation, insert the ZENworks for Desktops product CD.

   The WINSETUP.EXE program will auto run. If it does not auto run, run it from the root of the CD.

3. To launch the NIS setup program, click English > Install ZENworks.

4. To display the User License Agreement for the ZfD software, click Next > read the agreement > click Accept if you agree with the terms of the agreement.

   If you do not agree with the terms of the software agreement, do not install the software.

5. In the ZENworks Install Types dialog box, select Custom > click Next.

6. Deselect all options except for Automatic Workstation Import > click Next.

   Selecting this option allows you to set up the import and removal roles for your servers in a later dialog box.

7. If you have already extended the schema on the current tree for ZfD, deselect Schema Extensions > click Next.

   Keep the other two options selected, because both files and application objects need to be installed for Automatic Workstation Import and Removal.

8. In the ZENworks List of Trees dialog box, click the name of the NDS tree where you want to install Automatic Workstation Import and Removal.

9. In the ZENworks List of Servers dialog box, click the names of the servers where you want to install Automatic Workstation Import and/or Removal.

10. In the Languages dialog box, click the language of the files that you have chosen to be installed to the server > click Next.

    English is chosen by default and must be installed in addition to any other language you choose.

11. In the Automatic Workstation Import Management dialog box, select one of the following roles for each server:

    None: You will generally use this option when you are installing other components in addition to Automatic Workstation Import or Removal and do not want a server to run the import or removal service.

    Import: Select this option for each server where you want to run only the import service.

    Removal: Select this option for each server where you want to run only the removal service.

    Import/Removal: Select this option for each server where you want to run both the import and removal services.

12. In the Summary dialog box, review the list of the products to be installed and how much disk space each product will consume when installed > click Finish to begin the installation process.

Setting Up the Automatic Workstation Import and Removal Policies

The following sections will help you to configure and associate the necessary policies:

• Configuring the Automatic Workstation Import Policy
• Configuring the Automatic Workstation Removal Policy
• Associating the Server Package

Configuring the Automatic Workstation Import Policy

For Automatic Workstation Import to work, you must configure the Workstation Import policy. This policy determines how the workstation objects will be named and placed in NDS.

To configure the Workstation Import Policy for ZfD:

1. If you have not created a Server Package, in ConsoleOne, right-click the server container where your server object is found > click New > click Policy Package > select Server Package > click Next > name the package > click Next > click Finish.

2. Right-click the Server Package > click Properties.

   The Policies tab with the General page is displayed. We recommend you use the General policies for your test system. General policies will apply to all valid platforms (NetWare and Windows NT/2000).

3. On the General page, check the box under the Enabled column for the Workstation Import policy.

   This both selects and enables the policy.

4. Click Properties.

5. On the Containers tab, click Add.

6. Select valid workstation containers where rights are needed to create workstations > click OK.

   These are containers where you plan to import Workstation objects. This establishes the rights that make importing possible.

   These rights are inherited by all subcontainers.

7. Click the Platforms tab.

   The General page with its Location tab is displayed.

8. To select where to create workstation objects, click the Create Workstation Objects In drop-down list > select one of the following:

   Selected Container: The selected path is displayed (recommended). You may need to create the container before you can select it here.

   Server Container: Uses a server container, or enter a relative DS path.

   User Container: Uses a user container, or enter a relative DS path.

   Associated Object Container: Uses an associated object container, or enter a relative DS path.

9. Click the Naming tab.

10. To change the default workstation naming syntax, do one or more of the following:

    • Click Add to add name field items (Computer+MAC Address defaults). You can select from the following: User, Container, DNS, Server, OS, CPU, IP Address, or user-defined.
    • Click an item, then click either the up-arrow or down-arrow to change the item's position in the syntax.

11. Click the Groups tab > select the groups where the workstations will automatically be imported.

    You may need to create the Workstation Group objects.

    IMPORTANT:  If workstations are to be imported to a workstation group, the container for that group object must be in the container list of the Workstation Import policy (see Step 6). Otherwise, newly imported workstations will not be added to the group.

12. To set login limits, click the Limits page > do any of the following:

    • Select the user login number if relative to a user container, or if "user" is part of the workstation's name. This number represents how many times you will allow a user to log in before importing the workstation.
    • To limit the number of workstations that can be imported per hour, check the box.
    • Specify the upper limit for the number of Workstation objects that can be created in an hour.

13. Click OK to save your changes.

14. To configure Workstation object removal, continue with Configuring the Automatic Workstation Removal Policy; otherwise, skip to Associating the Server Package.

Configuring the Automatic Workstation Removal Policy

For Automatic Workstation Removal to work, you must configure the Workstation Removal policy. This policy determines when unused Workstation objects will be removed from NDS.

To configure the Workstation Removal policy for ZfD:

1. In ConsoleOne, right-click the Server Package > click Properties.

2. Click the Policies tab > click one of the following pages:

   General

   NetWare

   WinNT-2000

   The following steps are the same for all platforms. If this policy is set for a specific platform, it will override the policy set for General.

3. Check the check box under the Enabled column for Workstation Removal policy.

   This both selects and enables the policy.

4. Click Properties > Add.

   The Containers page is displayed.

5. Select a valid workstation container where rights are needed to delete workstations.

6. Click the Limits page > specify the number of days for removing a Workstation object.

   This is a consecutive number of days that the workstation has not registered.

7. Click the Schedule page.

8. Select the year > select the date (month and day) > select when to start the policy (start and duration times).

   This establishes when this policy can first be in effect.

9. To set how often this policy should be repeated (how frequently to remove Workstation objects), specify the frequency in days.

10. To limit the number of Workstation objects that can be removed in one session, specify the number.

    This option is provided to help in load-balancing the server that is doing the Workstation object removal work.

    Each session is started when the policy is started again (see Step 9).

11. Click OK > continue with Associating the Server Package.

Associating the Server Package

The import and removal policies you configured and enabled cannot be in effect until you associate their Server Package with a Container object.

To associate the Server Package containing the import and removal policies you have configured:

1. In ConsoleOne, right-click the Server Package > click Properties.

2. Click the Associations tab > Add.

3. Browse for the container for associating the package > click OK.

Setting Up Automatic Workstation Import and Removal to Run on the Servers

The steps in the following sections assume that you selected the Import, Removal, or Import/Removal option as part of Automatic Workstation Import installation:

• Setting Up Automatic Workstation Import
• Customizing Logging for the Import and Removal Services

Setting Up Automatic Workstation Import

The most important item to remember when deploying Automatic Workstation Import is to use DHCP for TCP/IP addresses so that DNS names can be found automatically for simplified workstation importing. This is preferable to setting up and maintaining HOSTS files on every workstation.

To set up Automatic Workstation Import, do the following for each import service server:

1. Set up a DNS name for Automatic Workstation Import to use.

   This can be either a DNS entry or an entry in a local HOSTS file. An example of a DNS name is www.novell.com.

   The following is an example of the text you would add in a HOSTS file for Automatic Workstation Import:

   151.155.155.55 zenwsimport

   In this example, the TCP/IP address is for the server where you are running the Automatic Workstation Import service. "zenwsimport" is not the name of a server, but a DNS name that resolves to this TCP/IP address. In other words, zenwsimport is a label to identify the server as the one running the Automatic Workstation Import service.

   For Windows 95/98, the HOSTS file's location should be:

   Win95-98_drive:\ Win95-98_directory\HOSTS

   IMPORTANT:  The default host file in Windows is named HOSTS.SAM. Do not use the .SAM extension with your host filename. Rename HOSTS.SAM to HOSTS, or make a copy and rename the copy. Remember that by default, Windows 95/98 hides filename extensions that are of a known type. Therefore, make sure filename extensions are being displayed so that you can correctly rename the HOSTS.SAM file to HOSTS.

   For Windows NT/2000, the HOSTS file's location should be:

   WinNT-2K_drive:\WinNT-2K_directory\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\
   ETC\HOSTS

   HOSTS as shown above is a filename, not a folder name. By default, Windows 95/98 will hide a filename extension (such as .SAM) because it is a known file type.

2. To verify the DNS name or TCP/IP address, type the following at the workstation command prompt:

   ping zenwsimport

Customizing Logging for the Import and Removal Services

To customize logging for the import and removal services, do the following for each import and removal service server:

• NetWare Servers: To change logging to a higher level, modify the following line in ZENWSIMP.NCF or ZENWSREM.NCF:

  -Dlogfile=sys:\zenworks\zenwsimp.log -Dlogfilelevel=1

  by changing the logging level from 1 (brief) to 2 (medium) or 3 (verbose).

  For the removal service, the log file is named ZENWSREM.LOG.

• NetWare Servers: If you want logging to also display on screen, do the following:

  • In ZENWSIMP.NCF or ZENWSREM.NCF, add the following line before the class names:

    Java -ns

  • In ZENWSIMP.NCF or ZENWSREM.NCF, locate the -Dloglevel=0 line and change the number to 1 (brief), 2 (medium) or 3 (verbose).

• NDS for NT/2000 Servers: To change logging to a higher level, run ZENWSIMP.REG on the server.

  ZENWSIMP.REG is located on the ZENworks for Desktops product CD.

  This will modify the workstation's registry for both services. The following registry key will be added:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Novell\ZENworks\AutoWSImport

  The added strings are:

  zenwsimportCmdLine

  zenwsremovalCmdLine

  The log files will be located and named according to the following entries:

  -Dlogfile=c:\zenwsimp.log -Dlogfilelevel=1

  -Dlogfile=c:\zenwsrem.log -Dlogfilelevel=1

  You can edit both the filename and location and the logging level. The available logging levels are:

     0 = None

     1 = Brief

     2 = Medium

     3 = Verbose

Upgrading the Novell Client

You must update each workstation that you want to import with the latest Novell Client (shipped on the ZENworks for Desktops Companion CD). This is required to place Workstation Manager on the workstations.

Make sure Workstation Manager is enabled on each workstation.

You can update or upgrade the Novell Client using three different methods. We recommend that you use ACU to upgrade the client. Review the following sections for detailed information on each method:

• Upgrading the Client with ACU
• Upgrading Specific Files with Policy Packages
• Distributing Client Updates with an Application Object

Upgrading the Client with ACU

Novell Automatic Client Upgrade (ACU) provides a way to upgrade from earlier Novell Client software to the latest Novell Client software. On Windows NT workstations, you can also upgrade the operating system. This upgrade happens when users log in.

HINT:  Novell recommends using this method to upgrade the Novell Client software.

The ACU process requires the following tasks:

1. Create an ACU folder on the NetWare server.
2. Copy the Novell Client files to the ACU folder.

   Workstations read these files during login.

3. Grant rights to all users to the ACU folder.
4. Update the appropriate .CFG, .INI, or unattended file for each platform-specific client.
5. Modify the appropriate login script.

Extensive documentation about the ACU process is available at the Novell Client Documentation Web site for each platform, including specific requirements and examples to assist you. Read this documentation before establishing an ACU process for your network.

The client documentation is also available on the ZENworks for Desktop product CD. See the following documents:

• Novell Client for Windows 95 (see ACU Install)
• Novell Client for Windows NT (see Automatic Client Upgrade)

You can also create a script that upgrades the clients on four different operating systems.

Upgrading Specific Files with Policy Packages

You can use ZfD features to routinely update files you specify. You can create a policy package and then add an action to the policy package that updates a certain file each morning, for example. Then when you associate that policy package with a Workstation object, Workstation Group, or Container object where the Workstation object resides, the file will be updated each morning on that workstation.

Distributing Client Updates with an Application Object

You can distribute client updates to workstations by using NAL. For more information, see Application Management.

Verifying that Automatic Workstation Import and Removal are Working

At this point, if the scheduler is working, registration should happen automatically when any of these events occur:

• Scheduler service startup (95/98 and NT/2000)
• User login (95/98 and NT/2000)
• User logout (NT/2000 only)
• System shutdown (95/98 and NT/2000)

To verify that Automatic Workstation Import and Removal are working:

• For each NetWare import or removal service server, type the following at the server console:

  java -show

  and look for:

  com.novell.application.zenworks.autowsmanagement...

• For each Windows NT/2000 import or removal service server, check services for:

  ZENworks Workstation Import

  or

  ZENworks Workstation Removal

If Automatic Workstation Import or Removal is not running, restart the server.

If WSREG32.LOG shows problems or no activity, registration can be forced to run (without event logging) by running WSREG32.EXE, which is located on the workstation at:

windows_drive:\windows_directory\windows_system_directory

To stop an import or removal service, you can use the following commands in place of using the process IDs displayed by the java -show command. Type the following at the server console:

   java -killzenwsimp

   java -killzenwsrem

These commands are also contained in the following .NCF file:

   SYS:\SYSTEM\ZFDSTOP.NCF