Article

(View Disclaimer)

Name: SVV Satyanarayana

Acknowledgments: Thanks to P.Silpa, SRM, India who helped me providing details about ZENworks 10 Configuration Management and how to use it.

Introduction:

ZENworks 10 Configuration Management is a Novell product which is a configuration management tool to automate software setup, updates etc., for desktop computers.

iFolder is a storage solution that can enable you to manage and access your files/folders from anywhere at any time. It also allows you to take back-up of your data automatically. AutoAccount creation is a feature of iFolder where a filled-in xml file (that contains required and mandatory details apart from some default fields) is used to create the account automatically without going through the wizard to create an account to use it. For this purpose, during installation using ZENworks 10 Configuration Management, this xml file must also be pushed to a Windows machine in a specific directory.

Prerequisites:

1. Windows XP (Vista is also supported, but this Appnote is prepared keeping in Windows XP as reference)
2. Confirm that Windows DotNet 2.0 is installed on Windows XP
3. Login to iFolder server admin console with admin credentials, Click "System" Tab, make sure that "Passphrase Based Encryption" is not checked.
4. Keep the executable of iFolder and filled/updated AutoAccount.xml in a folder and share it so as to access it over the network.
5. ZENworks 10 Configuration Management

Procedure:

From "Internet Explorer" browser, login to ZENworks Control center. The URL will be "http://<ipaddress_of_ZENworks _server>/zenworks"

On the left-side pane, click on the link "Bundles" and click New->Bundle. Select Windows Bundle and click Next. Select "Empty Bundle" and click Next. Enter Bundle name, select folder, icon for bundle, enter description and click Next. (Only Bundle Name and Folder are mandatory)

Click to view.

Click to view.

Click to view.

I selected bundle name as "iFolder_Latest". Click Next and then Finish.

Click to view.

Step 1: To install the iFolder executable:

In the web page now shown, click on iFolder_Latest. Click Actions Under Install Tab, click Add->Launch Windows Executable. A small dialog will appear:

Click to view.

Enter the network path of the iFolder executable available under "Command" (\\system-name\path\to\ifolder\windows\installable)

Provide the following Optional details if a silent install on Windows is needed:

The arguments for iFolder silent install is /S /v"/qb"

Click to view.

Click OK and then Apply.

Step 2: To put the AutoAccount.xml on the workstation:

Click Actions. Under Install Tab, click Add->Install File(s). A dialog comes up. Enter some action name. In the same dialog click "Add". In new dialog named "Add Action - Install File(s)", click the "Add" button. Select Files "dialog" appears and in that, browse to the file "AutoAccount.xml" with all the parameters set as needed by admin and click "OK". Now enter the "Destination directory" as "%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\ApplicationData\simias".

Click to view.

Select the "Copy Option" as needed and click OK. Click OK and close the dialog "Add Action - Install File(s)". Click Apply.

Click to view.

Step 3: To force the re-start of the workstation:

Click Actions

Under the Install Tab, click Add->Reboot/Shutdown

In the new dialog, enter the wait time before reboot as "300" i.e., 5 minutes.

Click to view.

Click to view.

Click "OK" and then click "Apply".

Step 4: Increment the version:

Click the "Summary" tab and then click the link "Increment Version". Now refresh the ZENworks agent (i.e., on client ).

Click to view.

Step 5: Select the workstations where we want to install iFolder:

Click "Relationships" tab. Now configure "Device Assignments" or "User Assignments" accordingly and create a shortcut for the bundle. Following are the steps for device assignment:

Click Add, click the Down arrow next to Workstations (i.e., Expand workstations), select the workstation and click OK and then Click Next.

A new page for schedules will come up, now schedule it by selecting "Distribution Schedule" and "Launch schedule" and click Next. In "Bundle Distribution schedule", select Schedule Type as "now" and click "Next". In "Bundle Launch Schedule" change the schedule type to "recurring" and click "Next". Now click "Finish".

Click to view.

Now refresh the ZENworks agent on windows if it won't install automatically.

Now start iFolder, it asks only for the password and doesn't proceed with the Account creation wizard.

Conclusion:

By following the above mentioned procedure, iFolder can be installed on Windows workstations using ZENworks 10 Configuration Management, and an account in iFolder can be configured to use it immediately.

Known Issues:

If, during the installation of iFolder on Windows, it shows a dialog of "Unknown Publisher", the user must click "Yes".

Disclaimer: As with everything else at Cool Solutions, this content is definitely not supported by Novell (so don't even think of calling Support if you try something and it blows up).

It was contributed by a community member and is published "as is." It seems to have worked for at least one person, and might work for you. But please be sure to test, test, test before you do anything drastic with it.