1.0 Primary Server Requirements

Ensure that the server where you install the Primary Server software meets the following requirements:

NOTE:The operating systems listed below are the ones on which the ZENworks Primary Server software can be installed. The list does not necessarily represent the operating systems that ZENworks Patch Management can update. For this list, see the ZENworks Patch Management Content Report.

Item

Requirements

Additional Details

Server Usage

Your server might be capable of handling tasks in addition to the tasks that a Primary Server performs. However, we recommend that any server where you install the Primary Server software be used only for ZENworks.

For example, you might not want the server to do the following:

  • Host NetIQ eDirectory

  • Host Active Directory

  • Host Terminal Services

Operating System Windows

  • Windows 2012 Server x86_64 (Foundation, Essential, Standard, and Datacenter editions)

  • Windows 2012 Server R2 x86_64 (Foundation, Essential, Standard, and Datacenter editions)

  • Windows 2016 Server x86_64 (Essential, Standard, Datacenter and Storage editions)

Installation on a server in a clustered environment is not supported.

Operating System Linux

  • SLES 11 SP3 x86_64

  • SLES 11 SP4 x86_64

  • SLES 12 x86_64

  • SLES 12 SP1 x86_64

  • SLES 12 SP2 x86_64

  • SLES 12 SP3 x86_64

  • SLES 12 SP4 x86_64

IMPORTANT:

  • SLES 12 requires the libXtst6-32bit-1.2.2-3.60.x86_64.rpm to install ZENworks Server. This rpm is available on the SLES 12 media.

  • Remote management is not supported on Linux devices at runlevel 3 (text-only, no X server).

  • If ZENworks is already installed on the system, do not perform a major in-place upgrade of the operating system (for example, from SLES 11 SP4 to SLES 12) as this might cause issues and the Primary Servers might have to be replaced.

    For information on how to replace the servers, see Replacing Primary Servers in the ZENworks Disaster Recovery Reference.

Processor

Speed:2.0 GHz or faster

Type: Quad-core or faster

 

RAM

8 GB minimum; 12 GB and above recommended

8 GB for the first 3000 devices

Add 1 GB RAM for every 3000 additional devices

Disk Space

20 GB for installation. Depending on the amount of content you need to distribute the space.

For ZENworks database add 10 GB for every 1000 devices and for Audit database add 10 GB for every 5000 devices.

500 MB is recommended for the tmp directory. This disk space is required for rebuilding and editing the packages.

Patch Management file storage (downloaded patch content) requires at least 25 GB of additional free disk space. All content replication servers also require this same amount of additional free disk space if Patch Management is enabled. If you use Patch Management in additional languages, each server also requires this additional amount of free space for each language.

Because the ZENworks database file and ZENworks content repository can each become very large, you might want a separate partition or hard drive available.

For information on changing the default content repository location on a Windows server, see Content Repository in the ZENworks Primary Server and Satellite Reference.

For Linux servers, you might want the /var/opt directory to be located on a large partition. This is where the database (if embedded) and content repository are stored.

The /etc directory requires less space.

Display Resolution

Video Adaptor: 256 colors

Screen Resolution: 1024 × 768 minimum

 

File System

If you have installed embedded Sybase on your device, ensure that the file system of the drive where you have installed ZENworks Configuration Management supports files larger than 4 GB.

 

DNS Resolution

The servers and workstations in the Management Zone must use properly configured DNS to resolve device hostnames; otherwise, some features in ZENworks will not work properly. If the DNS is not properly configured, the servers cannot communicate with each other, and the workstations cannot communicate with the servers.

Server names must support DNS requirements, such as not including underscores; otherwise, ZENworks login fails. Acceptable characters include the letters a-z (uppercase and lowercase), numbers, and the hyphen (-).

NOTE:If the host name of a Linux Primary Server contains upper case characters, the server host name should be included in the /etc/hosts file located on that server.

 

IP Address

The server must have a static IP address or a permanently leased IP address in the case of DHCP configuration.

An IP address must be bound to all NICs on your target server.

Installation hangs if it is trying to use a NIC that does not have an IP address bound to it.

Microsoft .NET (Only for Windows)

The Microsoft.NET 4.5 Framework and its latest updates must be installed and running on the Windows Primary Server in order to install ZENworks 2017.

Ensure that the full.NET 4.5 Framework is installed on the device and not the.NET 4.5 Client Profile.

On Windows Server 2012, .NET 4.5 is available by default. However, you need to enable it. You are given the option to enable .NET during the ZENworks installation. If you select the option, .NET is automatically enabled.

Firewall Settings: TCP and UDP Ports

Many TCP and UDP ports are opened by the ZENworks Installer during installation. If a port required by ZENworks is in use, the ZENworks Installer prompts you to configure an alternate port.

IMPORTANT:If the firewall is disabled during installation or upgrade, ensure that you manually open the ports in the firewall settings when the firewall is enabled.

For the list of TCP and UDP ports and how ZENworks uses them, see TCP and UDP Ports Used by ZENworks Primary Servers in the ZENworks Primary Server and Satellite Reference.

Supported Hypervisors

Primary server software can be installed in the following virtual machine environments:

  • XEN on SLES 11 SP4, SLES 12 and SLES 12 SP1, SP2, SP3

  • VMware ESXi 6.x

  • Microsoft Hyper-V Server Windows 2012, 2012 R2 and 2016.

  • Only released versions of guest operating systems (VMs) are supported. Experimental guest operating systems are not supported.

  • The guest operating system must match the operating system specified when creating the VM. For example, if during creation of the VM, the guest operating system is specified as Windows Server 2012, the actual guest operating system must be Windows Server 2012.