When you boot a workstation from an imaging method and allow the bootup process to proceed in auto-imaging mode, the imaging operation that is performed on the workstation is determined by policies and settings that you define in eDirectory.
In order to make an image available to such operations, you must expose it as a Workstation Image object in eDirectory. Otherwise, when you define imaging policies and settings in eDirectory, you won't have any way to refer to the image.
Creating a Workstation Image object also allows you to combine a base image and one or more add-on images into a single entity that can be put down on target workstations. You can specify a standard image file to put down, or you can create a script to further customize your imaging operation. You can also specify that a particular variant of an image be used.
The sections that follow give instructions for performing these tasks:
Create the base image that the Workstation Image object will refer to. For more information, see Creating a Workstation (Base) Image.
Although it isn't typical, you can create a Workstation Image object that refers only to one or more add-on images. However, if you want a base image to be put down in the same operation as the add-on images, you should include both types of images in the Workstation Image object.
Copy the image file to a Desktop Management Workstation Imaging server that is accessible as a server object in your eDirectory tree.
In ConsoleOne, open the eDirectory tree and browse to the container where you want to create the Workstation Image object.
Right-click the container, click New, click Object, select Workstation Image from the list of object classes, then click OK.
Specify a name for the new object.
Example: Dell Image
Click Define Additional Properties, then click OK.
Click Use Standard Imaging.
or
Click Use Scripted Imaging, then specify the script you want to use. See the online help for examples of how you can use scripts. Skip to Step 10.
NOTE: You can perform scripted imaging operations from the bash prompt by using the imaging.s command.
Under Base Image File, click the browse button next to the field, select the Imaging server where the image resides, select or specify the path and filename of the image, then click OK.
For details on selecting or specifying the path and filename, click Help in the Image File Location dialog box.
If the Workstation Image object will consist only of add-on images, leave the Base Image File field blank, and skip to Step 5 of Associating an Add-On Image with a Base Image.
(Conditional) If you are using Preboot Services but formerly booted from Desktop Management Workstation Imaging (Linux) partitions on workstations, you can delete the Desktop Management imaging partition at the same time you put down an image. To do so, select the Delete the ZENworks Imaging Partition, If It Exists, When Bringing Down The Base Image check box. You can delete the Desktop Management imaging partition only when the workstation is booted from an imaging boot device or method other than the Desktop Management imaging partition.
IMPORTANT: After you have deleted the Desktop Management imaging partition, you need to make sure that the image you put on the workstation was made on a workstation without a Desktop Management imaging partition. Otherwise, the wrong MBR (Master Boot Record) is restored, and the workstation will fail to boot. In addition, if you remove the Desktop Management imaging partition from a Windows 2000/XP machine, Windows cannot boot. You should only remove the Desktop Management imaging partition if you are going to restore an image to the workstation.
Click OK to save the Workstation Imaging object.
Create the add-on image that you will associate with the base image. For more information, see Creating an Add-On Image.
Copy the image file to a Desktop Management Workstation Imaging server that is accessible as a server object in your eDirectory tree.
You might want to copy the add-on image to the same location as the base image.
In ConsoleOne, open the eDirectory tree and browse to the Workstation Image object that refers to the base image. If you haven't created this object yet, do so as instructed in Creating a Workstation Image Object.
Right-click the object, then click Properties.
Under Add-on Image Files, click the Add button, select the Imaging server where the add-on image resides, select or specify the path and filename of the image, then click OK.
For details on selecting or specifying the path and filename, click Help in the Image File Location dialog box.
You can associate more than one add-on image with a base image. The add-on images are put down after the base image in the order listed on this page.
Click OK to save the Workstation Imaging object.
As explained in Using Image Explorer to Customize an Image, you can exclude individual files and folders from any of 10 possible filesets (variants) of an image. The variants exist merely as internal attributes of the same image archive.
Because creating an image of a workstation can take a fair amount of time, it is more efficient in some cases to just create an image of a few workstations and customize those images to get all the variants you need. Even though the variants do not all exist as separate, physical image files, you can access them as though they were. How you do this depends on whether you are performing a manual or automated imaging operation, as explained below.
| Type of imaging operation | How to specify the variant to use |
|---|---|
Automatic (eDirectory-based) |
In the Workstation Image object, specify the number of the variant in the Use File Set field. All eDirectory policies and settings that specify that Workstation Image object use the specified variant. You can create multiple Workstation Image objects that point to the same base image but to different variants. |
Manual (command-line or menu) |
Use the s parameter on the img restore command. For example, to specify variant number 3: img restorel dellnt4.zmg s3 or You can enter img at the bash prompt to display a menu, select Restore an Image, then select Local Image. Specify sfileset (for example, s3) in the Advanced Parameters field. For details, see Imaging Engine (Img: Command Line and Menu). |