Once you have completed the preparations outlined in the previous section, you can begin testing the basic imaging operations listed below. We recommend that you conduct the tests in the order listed.
| Test | What It Is | What It Involves |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Taking an image of the workstation by booting from the imaging diskettes and entering a particular imaging command. The image will be stored on your imaging server. |
|
2 |
Putting an image on the workstation by booting from the imaging diskettes and entering a particular imaging command. The image will be retrieved from your imaging server. |
|
3 |
Registering the workstation as an object in your NDS tree, installing a ZfD imaging agent on the workstation, and installing a permanent ZfD imaging partition on the hard disk. The imaging agent stores certain unique data about the workstation, such as its NETBIOS name and its NDS distinguished name, in a safe place on the hard disk so it can be restored when the workstation is reimaged. |
|
4 |
Setting a flag in the Workstation object that says to take or put an image on the workstation the next time it is booted, and then verifying that the imaging operation occurs as expected. |
|
5 |
Defining a Workstation Policy for Unattended Imaging Operations |
Creating a Workstation Imaging Policy object (within a Workstation Policy Package) that specifies which image to put on a workstation during an unattended imaging operation, based on factors such as the workstation's chipset type, hard drive type, and so on. |
Insert the first imaging diskette and reboot the workstation.
At the boot prompt, type manual > press Enter.
When prompted, insert the second diskette > press Enter.
When prompted, insert the third diskette > press Enter.
If you are prompted for a language diskette, insert it > press Enter.
(Optional) At the bash prompt, type img dump > press Enter.
This displays a list of the partition slots on the workstation. For your reference, note the number and type of partitions and which one is active.
or
Type img to display a menu > select Dump > No Geometry.
To take an image of the workstation, you have two choices:
img makep serverIPaddr_or_DNSname [comp=comp level] //uncpath/newimg.zmg
The makep parameter stands for "make on proxy," or in other words, create an image and store it on the imaging (proxy) server. The IP address or DNS name should be that of your imaging server, and the UNC path specifies the location and filename where the new image is to be stored. comp level is the amount of compression used when creating the image. Specify any number from 0-9. 0 means no compression. 1 is the same as Optimize for Speed and is used by default if you do not specify this parameter. 6 is the same as Balanced. 9 is the same as Optimize for Space. See below for more information.
For example:
img makep 137.65.95.127 comp=6 //xyz_srv/sys/imgs/cpqnt.zmg
IMPORTANT: Make sure to use forward slashes in the UNC path as shown above. Backslashes aren't recognized by Linux. Alternatively, you can use backslashes and enclose the entire UNC path in quotes. The path you specify must exist on your imaging server.
For details on this and other related img command parameters, see Imaging Engine (img: Command Line and Menu) in Imaging Utilities and Options in ZENworks for Desktops 3.2 Administration Guide.
Depending on the amount of data on the hard disk, the image might take several minutes to create. If the screen goes blank, just press any key. (Linux enters a screen-saving mode after a few minutes.)
When the image has been created and the bash prompt reappears, remove any diskettes from the drive and reboot the workstation.
(Optional) Verify that the image file was created on your imaging server. You might also want to check its size.
If you haven't already done so, create the image that you will put on the workstation, as instructed in Manually Taking an Image of a Workstation.
Make sure the image is of the same type of workstation (same hardware configuration) and is stored on your imaging server. You can use a previous image of the same workstation.
IMPORTANT: If you are putting an image on a workstation without a Linux imaging partition, make sure the image was made on a workstation without a Linux imaging partition. Otherwise, the wrong MBR (Master Boot Record) is restored, and the workstation will fail to boot.
(Optional) Boot the workstation from a Windows startup disk and run FDISK to remove all partitions from the hard disk.
HINT: Running FDISK is not required, but it is recommended for purposes of comparing the workstation's partitions before and after the imaging operation.
Insert the first imaging diskette and reboot the workstation.
At the boot prompt, type manual > press Enter.
When prompted, insert the second diskette > press Enter.
When prompted, insert the third diskette > press Enter.
If you are prompted for a language diskette, insert it > press Enter.
(Optional) At the bash prompt, type img dump > press Enter.
This displays a list of the partition slots on the workstation. For your reference, note the number and type of partitions and which one is active. If you removed all partitions using FDISK, each slot should be empty and none should be active.
or
Type img to display a menu > select Dump > No Geometry.
To put the new image on the workstation, you have two choices:
img restorep serverIPaddr_or_DNSname //uncpath/newimg.zmg
The restorep parameter stands for "restore from proxy," or in other words, retrieve an image from the imaging (proxy) server and put it on this workstation. The IP address or DNS name should be that of your imaging server, and the UNC path specifies the location and filename where the image is to be retrieved from. For example:
img restorep 137.65.95.127 //xyz_srv/sys/imgs/cpqnt.zmg
IMPORTANT: Make sure to use forward slashes in the UNC path as shown above. Backslashes aren't recognized by Linux. Alternatively, you can use backslashes and enclose the entire UNC path in quotes. The server portion of the path must be the name of your imaging server.
For details on this and other related img command parameters, see Imaging Engine (img: Command Line and Menu) in Imaging Utilities and Options in ZENworks for Desktops 3.2 Administration Guide.
Depending on the size of the image, it might take several minutes to lay down. Images actually take slightly longer to lay down than they do to take. If the screen goes blank, just press any key. (Linux enters a screen-saving mode after a few minutes.)
(Optional) When the image has been laid down and the bash prompt reappears, type img dump > press Enter.
or
Type img to display a menu > select Dump > No Geometry.
As before, this displays a list of the partition slots on the workstation. You should now see information about the new partitions that were created and activated by the image that you just laid down.
At the bash prompt, type lilo.s > press Enter.
Remove any diskettes from the drive and reboot the workstation. Verify that it boots to the operating system that was installed by the new image.
If you have enabled PXE on the workstation and have installed PXE support on your imaging server, this procedure is not a prerequisite to performing unattended imaging operations. 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 files LINUX.1, LINUX.2, and LOADLIN.EXE so that the workstation can be booted to Linux. Then the image is downloaded to (or taken of) the workstation.
Follow this procedure if you are not using PXE. This procedure needs to be performed only once on your test workstation, prior to performing the unattended imaging operations covered in the next two sections. It is not a prerequisite to performing manual imaging operations or other automated imaging operations that you might want to perform in a production environment. For more information, see Other Things You Can Do.
If you haven't already done so, install the Novell® ClientTM required by ZfD on the workstation. For instructions, see Overall Software Requirements.
If you haven't already done so, register the workstation as an object in your NDS tree. For instructions, see Automatic Workstation Import.
You don't need to complete all the tasks mentioned in the instructions. Just create a server policy package that contains a minimal workstation import policy (use the defaults for naming, groups, and limits), and then associate the server package with the container where you want the Workstation object to be created. Then, configure the workstation to communicate with the import service on the imaging server, and reboot the workstation. Before proceeding with the next step, check your NDS tree to make sure the Workstation object was created.
Install the ZfD imaging agent on the workstation.
NOTE: The ZfD imaging agent has already been installed on the workstation if in Step 1 you did a custom Novell client installation and chose the Imaging Services option. If this is the case, skip to Step 4. Otherwise, proceed with Step 3.a to install the ZfD imaging agent.
Browse to the ZENWORKS\IMAGING folder in your ZfD installation (on the imaging server).
Complete the steps that correspond to the type of workstation:
Reboot the workstation.
Take an image of the workstation again as instructed in Manually Taking an Image of a Workstation.
IMPORTANT: Do this even if you have taken an image of the workstation previously. This ensures that the new image captures the changes you made in the preceding steps.
When the image has been created, reboot the workstation with the first imaging diskette > type install at the boot prompt > press Enter.
This starts the process of creating the ZfD imaging (Linux) partition in the first partition slot. It also destroys all existing partitions, even if slot 1 is empty and available. By default, the ZfD partition size will be 15 MB.
HINT: If the ZfD imaging partition already exists, it will be upgraded, and your existing Windows partitions will be left intact. For more information on installing or upgrading the ZfD imaging partition, see Setting Up Workstations for Imaging in Workstation Imaging in Deployment.
When prompted, reinsert the first imaging diskette > press Enter.
(Optional) When the ZfD imaging partition has been created and the bash prompt reappears, type img dump > press Enter.
This displays a list of the partition slots on the workstation. Unless you were upgrading your ZfD imaging partition, each partition slot should be empty and none should be active. The ZfD imaging partition is hidden from the list, so the number of partition slots in the list should be one less than before.
or
Type img to display a menu > select Dump > No Geometry.
At the bash prompt, restore the image you took in Step 4. Use the img restorep command or select Restore an Image > Proxy Image from the menu as instructed in Step 9 of Manually Putting an Image on a Workstation.
(Optional) When the image has been restored and the bash prompt reappears, use the img dump command to redisplay the list of the partition slots on the workstation.
or
Type img to display a menu > select Dump > No Geometry.
You should now see information about the Windows partitions that were restored and activated. There should still be one less partition slot than before because the Linux partition is still hidden (and will continue to be).
At the bash prompt, type lilo.s > press Enter.
When the bash prompt reappears, remove the diskette and reboot the workstation.
The workstation should boot to Windows. If the bash prompt reappears, enter the lilo.s command again and reboot a second time.
From this point on, whenever the workstation is rebooted, the imaging engine will gain control and check the imaging server to see if an imaging operation should be performed. If you have not configured the Workstation object (in NDS) to trigger an unattended imaging operation, the imaging engine will simply exit and automatically reboot the workstation to Windows.
If the imaging operation that you want to trigger is to put an image on the workstation, do the following. Otherwise, skip this step.
If you haven't already done so, create the image to be put on the workstation. Make sure to store it on your imaging server. For instructions, see Manually Taking an Image of a Workstation.
In ConsoleOne, create a Workstation Image object in your NDS tree. Configure the object to point to the image file that is to be put on the workstation. For details on pointing to the image file, click Help in the Image File Location dialog box.
In ConsoleOne, right-click the Workstation object > click Properties.
On the ZENworks Imaging Configuration page, do either of the following:
Click OK to save the imaging configuration settings.
HINT: Once the imaging operation has been performed on the workstation, ZfD will clear these imaging configuration settings automatically so that the imaging operation won't keep recurring.
Verify that the imaging operation occurs as expected when you reboot the workstation.
In ConsoleOne, right-click the container that holds the Workstation objects that you want to create the policy for > click New > Policy Package.
Click Workstation Package > Workstation Imaging Policy > Next.
Enter a name for the policy package (such as Workstation Policies for This Container) > click Next.
Select Define Additional Properties > click Finish.
Enable the Workstation Imaging Policy > click Properties.
On the Image Selection Rules page, click Add > select a Workstation Image object > use the drop-down fields and operators to specify the conditions under which the selected image should be used (click Help for details) > click OK.
Repeat this step as many times as needed to specify the particular images that should be used under different conditions.
HINT: These rules will be used by your imaging server to determine which image to put on workstations during unattended imaging operations. The various hardware configuration data specified in the rules are compared against the actual hardware configuration data detected by the ZfD imaging engine on the workstation. To see this data for a particular workstation, boot it with the ZfD imaging diskettes in manual mode and issue the img info command or type img > select Information from the menu.
Click OK to save the policy.
On the Associations page of the policy package, add the container that holds the Workstation objects that you want the policy to apply to > click OK.
Test the policy by configuring the Workstation object to receive an image on its next boot as instructed in Triggering an Unattended Imaging Operation. Be sure to choose the option to use the effective policy image.
Verify that the imaging policy selects the correct image when the unattended imaging operation is triggered on the workstation (the next time it boots).