Automatic Workstation Import includes Automatic Workstation Removal and provides management of the entire life cycle of a workstation, from the creation of its object to its removal.
The following sections will help you to understand Automatic Workstation Import and Removal:
After you have installed Automatic Workstation Import, importing workstations is a one-step process. The Workstation Registration program in the Novell ClientTM accesses the Automatic Workstation Import service, which creates the Workstation object and registers the workstation.
The following sections provide information on importing and registration:
The Automatic Workstation Import service creates network traffic; however, the import service is used only when one of the following occurs:
This would normally be the first time the workstation is registered. The Automatic Workstation Import service initially creates the Workstation object in the tree, populates the object with default values, and updates the properties with the current registration information.
The Workstation Import policy is used to determine where the Workstation object is created and how it is named.
The registration program calls the import service to synchronize the workstation with its Workstation object.
At all other times when a workstation is logged in to the network, the Workstation Registration program in the client registers the workstation and updates the Workstation object. The import service is not contacted for these operations, so network traffic to and from the Workstation Import service is not an issue. (Workstations that authenticate and update Workstation objects will still generate some network traffic.)
After a workstation has been imported, it only needs to be registered each time it logs in to the tree. The registration program updates the Workstation object when one of the following occurs:
After the workstation has been imported, the client's registration program updates the workstation's registration time, network address, last server, and last user information.
Network traffic is minimized because the Workstation Registration program doesn't need to access the import service.
You should periodically remove unused Workstation objects so that inventory reporting is more accurate.
Automatic Workstation Removal uses the Workstation Removal policy to determine when Workstation objects are considered to be unused so that they can automatically be removed from NDS.
Workstation objects can be automatically removed when a workstation has not been registered within the time frame specified by the effective Workstation Removal policy.
You can specify any number of days for how long a workstation can go without registering before it is considered unused.
You should consider the following information before setting up Automatic Workstation Import and Removal:
Consider the following when setting up the server portion of Automatic Workstation Import and Removal:
Generally, more workstations will be imported than are removed. Therefore, you will want to have more servers set up with the Automatic Workstation Import service than with the Automatic Workstation Removal service.
To minimize network traffic, you should install the Automatic Workstation Import service on at least one server per WAN. Automatic Workstation Removal does not generally produce a lot of network traffic, so it can be used across WAN links.
In setting up Automatic Workstation Import, you should use DHCP for TCP/IP addresses so that DNS names can be found automatically, instead of setting up and maintaining a HOSTS file on every workstation.
Using DHCP and DNS names in your network provides you with automated management of workstation importing. You should coordinate with your DNS administrator to set up IP addresses for your workstation import services according to physical location in order to allow workstations to contact the import service locally, rather than across WAN links.
You can differentiate IP addresses according to domain or zone by using multiple domains or by using primary and secondary zones. For example, you could have a DNS entry for Automatic Workstation Import using the following syntax:
zenwsimport.context_string.com
HOSTS files can be used to handle exceptions, such as when you want a specific client to resolve to a specific workstation import service. A HOSTS file is useful for manually importing a workstation, such as in a test environment.
You should schedule workstation removal so that it is performed periodically when the network is least busy, such as during non-work hours.
Consider the following when setting up the client portion of Automatic Workstation Import and Removal:
The registration method for ZfD is not backwards compatible with previous versions of ZENworks. Workstation importing is server-centric in ZfD; it was user-centric in ZENworks 2.
Much of the work that was done manually in ZENworks 2 is now automated. Workstation registration has become a one-step automatic process.
For example, to import a workstation in ZENworks 2:
Result: The object is created the first time it is registered.
Result: If the object was created, the workstation is placed into the registry.
To import a workstation in ZfD:
Result: The object is created the first time it is registered and the workstation is placed into the registry each time it is registered.
ZfD is backwards compatible with the policies in previous versions of ZENworks. Therefore, the old and new policies can co-exist. This allows you to continue using ZENworks 2 policies after you have installed ZfD policies, which is useful for performing an incremental transition to the newer policies.
Because of the new ZfD registration method, the Search policy becomes very important. After you have installed ZfD and updated workstations with the newer Novell Client, the ZENworks 2 Search policy must be used for ZENworks 2 policies to be found. By using ZENworks 2 Search policies, you can have backwards compatibility between the ZfD Novell Client and the ZENworks 2 policies.
For example, if you want a container and its objects to recognize existing ZENworks 2 policies, you must create a ZENworks 2 Search policy in ConsoleOne® and associate it with that container. Then the newer Novell Client will find the older policies. However, when both a ZENworks 2 Search policy and a ZfD Search policy are associated with the same container, ZfD policies take precedence.
If you have no Search policy associated with an object, ZfD will search the tree for ZfD policies. In this case, ZENworks 2 policies are ignored by the ZfD Novell Client.
You can upgrade the Novell Client, then install Automatic Workstation Import, or you can install the import service then upgrade the client. Either way, once both have been done, Automatic Workstation Import can become functional.