3.2 Understanding Deploying Updates

You have the following options for deploying an update:

  • Deploy the update to all devices without using deployment stages.

  • Deploy the update by using deployment stages where one stage automatically starts after the previous one has completed, unless you have configured stages to pause the deployment and send email notifications to the administrator.

  • Deploy the update by using deployment stages with e‑mail notification to allow manual control for starting the next stage. You can use this option to test the update before deploying it to all devices in your production environment.

  • Deploy the update to specific devices (selected individually and by device groups) without using deployment stages. You can use this option to test the update before deploying it to all devices in your production environment.

When you retire a device in ZENworks Control Center the device gets into the retired state only after the ZENworks Agent is refreshed on the device. You can either wait for the default device refresh to complete (the default device refresh interval is set to 12 hours) or you can manually refresh the agent. After the agent is refreshed and the device has moved to the retired state, you can deploy the update to the remaining devices in the zone. If you deploy the update before the agent is refreshed, the update is applied to the retired device as well.

Although the retired device will show the system update assignment on the device details page in ZCC, the agent update service will not apply the assignment as long as the device is retired.

The Deploying System Updates panel displays the progress and results of deploying an update.

Updates are removed from this panel when the entire update process completes. You can view the Deployment History panel on the Release Details page for information on deployed updates.

NOTE:Actions on this page are available only to administrators with the following rights:

  • Deploy Update rights

  • View Leaf rights

The following table explains the column information. For some columns, you can sort the listed information by clicking a column heading. Click it again to reverse the sorting order.

Table 3-1 Deploying System Updates column descriptions

Column Heading

Explanation

Update Name/ Stage Name

Displays the name of the system update, or name of the stage in which the System Update was deployed.

Following are the various stage names:

  • stage_name: The update is being deployed to the managed devices that are members of the current stage that is listed.

  • Selected Devices Stage:The update is being deployed to selected managed devices without the use of stages.

  • All Devices Stage: The update is being deployed to all managed devices in the Management Zone without the use of stages.

    After the system update is deployed to all devices in the Deployment Stages, the update will be deployed to the remaining devices (devices that are not a part of any deployment stage) in the zone. While deploying the update to the remaining devices, the Update Name /Stage Name will be All Devices Stage.

If stages are being used, then click a stage name to view the device status for each stage member.

All Devices Stage is displayed after the last stage has completed, which means any devices left in the Management Zone that were not part of a completed stage are then receiving the update. In other words, managed devices are not allowed to skip a system update.

Start Schedule

Displays the current schedule, if any has been set. Use the Reschedule Deployment action to reschedule the update. For more information, see Section 3.5, Rescheduling a Deployment.

Each device can have its own schedule.

Reboot Behavior

Displays the reboot behavior of devices after the update is deployed.

Some updates do not require a device to be rebooted after they have been deployed to a device. However, if a reboot is required to complete the update process, the deployment is not completed until the device is rebooted.

You have the following reboot options:

  • Prompt User to Reboot When Update Finishes Applying: After the update has been applied, a request to reboot is immediately displayed. If the user initially rejects rebooting, the user is periodically requested to reboot the device, until the device is rebooted. This is the default.

    • Reboot device when no user is logged into the system: Select this option to reboot the device even if no user has logged into the system.

    • Reboot device when the device is locked (only on Windows 8.1 and earlier): Select this option to reboot the device if the device is locked. Prompt will not be displayed before rebooting the device.

    The above options are applicable on agents only when they are upgraded to ZENworks Update 2 or later version.

  • Do Not Reboot Device: The device does not reboot; however, the user is periodically requested to reboot the device, until the device is rebooted.

  • Force Device to Reboot: After the update has been applied, the device is automatically rebooted without user intervention, if a reboot is required by the update.

Stage

Indicates the deployment state. The possible entries are:

stage_name: The update is being deployed to the managed devices that are members of the current stage that is listed.

Selected Devices Stage: The update is being deployed to selected managed devices without the use of stages.

All Devices Stage: The update is being deployed to all managed devices in the Management Zone without the use of stages.

All Devices Stage is displayed after the last stage has completed, which means any devices left in the Management Zone that were not part of a completed stage are then receiving the update. In other words, managed devices cannot skip an update.

If stages are being used, click a stage name to view the device status for each stage member. For more information, see Section 3.10, Viewing Status by Device.

Status

Indicates the status of the update being deployed (for the current stage, if stages are being used). For information on the possible statuses, see Section 6.0, Update Statuses.

Click an item in the Status column to view a message explaining the current status.

When the status for an update reaches either the APPLIED or BASELINE status, the update deployment item is no longer displayed in this panel, but is displayed in the Deployment History panel. For more information, see Section 3.10, Viewing Status by Device.

Pending

Displays the number of devices for which the update deployment process is pending. A device can be pending if it is a member of a stage when stages are not automatically started after another stage completes.

Click the number to view the Status by Device page, which displays the devices that have a pending deployment of the update. For more information, see Section 3.10, Viewing Status by Device.

Successful

Displays the number of devices for which the update deployment process is complete.

Click the number to view the Status by Device page, which displays the devices that successfully received the update. For more information, see Section 3.10, Viewing Status by Device.

Failed

Number of devices for which the update deployment process has failed.

Click the number to view the Status by Device page, which displays the devices that failed to receive the update. For more information, see Section 3.10, Viewing Status by Device.

For failed deployments, you have the option of ignoring the error and continuing, or you can redeploy the update if the error has been resolved.