The following table provides descriptions for the ZENworks terms used in this overview.
Term |
Description |
---|---|
bundle |
A collection of software files and instructions to be applied to a device. ZENworks can distribute bundles to Windows, macOS, and Linux managed devices. For more information, see the ZENworks Software Distribution Reference. |
content |
The bundles, policies, system updates, and patches that are available for distribution to managed devices in the zone. |
content repository |
The directory structure on a Primary Server or Satellite Server that contains the content available to be distributed to managed devices. The content is compressed and encrypted. Content can be available as pre-cached content (static) or on-demand content (act as proxy and download on demand). For more information, see |
inventoried-only device |
An unmanaged device (no ZENworks Agent) that has been inventoried by the Inventory Only Module or the Portable Collector. For more information, see |
Inventory Only Module |
The software installed on a device that enables it to be inventoried. The module is normally installed on devices running operating systems that are not supported by the ZENworks Agent. |
managed device |
A Windows, macOS or Linux device that has the ZENworks Agent installed and is registered in the Management Zone. In addition, all devices that are enrolled through Modern Management. |
Management Zone |
The group of Primary Servers, Satellite Servers, and managed devices that are supported by one ZENworks database and one ZENworks Audit database. A zone is managed via ZENworks Control Center. |
policy |
An Android, iOS, iPadOS, macOS or Windows device that is managed using embedded management options that exist within the operating system. macOS and Windows devices can be managed by Modern Management and/or the ZENworks Agent. For more information about policies, see the ZENworks Configuration Policies Reference, the ZENworks Endpoint Security Policies Reference, and the ZENworks Full Disk Encryption Policy Reference. |
Primary Server |
A Linux server that contains the ZENworks services and content repository. Optionally, it might also contain the ZENworks databases, but on only one of the Primary Servers per zone. A Management Zone can have multiple Primary Servers. |
Portable Collector |
A software utility that can inventory any device and create a file that is accessible in ZENworks Control Center as if it were a device. This file is then used for obtaining inventory data about the device. For more information, see |
Satellite Server |
A Satellite Server is a managed device that can perform certain roles that a Primary Server normally performs. Any Windows or Linux managed device can be configured as a Satellite Server. When you configure a Satellite Server, you specify which roles it performs (Authentication, Collection, Content, Imaging, and JoinProxy). For more information, see |
ZENworks Agent |
The software installed on a Windows, macOS, or Linux device that enables it to be managed by a Primary Server. The ZENworks Agent consists of modules that support software delivery, policy enforcement, imaging, remote management, inventory, and so forth. For more information, see the ZENworks Discovery, Deployment, and Retirement Reference. |
ZENworks Control Center |
The web-based console used to administer a Management Zone. For more information, see the ZENworks Control Center Reference. |
ZENworks databases |
The Management Zone has two main databases: the ZENworks database and the ZENworks Audit database. In addition to these two databases an additional database will be created if Anti-malware is used and for very large environments (above 10.000 devices) an optional Vertica database can be enabled to enhance reporting performance. The ZENworks database stores information about devices, users, software bundles, policies, hardware and software inventories, centralized system messages, license tracking and usage data, and other transactional data. It also stores information about the actions scheduled to take place within the zone. The ZENworks Audit database stores information for audited events. This includes changes made to the zone configuration and actions that occur on managed devices. Both databases reside on the same server, which can be a Primary Server or another server that is not a Primary Server. For the databases, you can use the embedded PostgreSQL database software included with ZENworks, or you can use external PostgreSQL, Oracle, or Microsoft SQL database software. For detailed information about the supported database versions, see ZENworks Server Installation. For information on supported databases, see ZENworks Server Installation. For more information on the ZENworks database, see the ZENworks Database Management Reference. |
zman |
A command line interface for managing your ZENworks system. The zman utility is useful for automating tasks (through scripts) and performing mass management tasks that might be tedious to perform in ZENworks Control Center. For example, configuring settings for a large number of devices, or adding an action to a large number of bundles. The zman utility is available on all Primary Servers. For more information, see |
zac |
A command line interface for managing the ZENworks Agent. The zac utility can be used to perform management tasks on the ZENworks managed device, including installing and removing software bundles, applying policies, and registering and unregistering the device. For more information, see |