16.7 SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Policy

The SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop policy is used to configure the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop settings on a device.

To configure the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop policy:

  1. In the ZENworks Control Center, click the Policies tab.

  2. In the Policies list, click New, then click Policy to display the Create New Policy page.

  3. In the Policy Type list, click SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Policy, then click Next to display the Policy Name page.

    Policy Name page
  4. Fill in the fields:

    • Policy name: (Required) Provide a unique name for the policy. The name you provide displays in the ZENworks Control Center interface, which is the administrative tool for ZENworks Linux Management.

      For more information, see Section C.0, Naming Conventions in the ZENworks Control Center.

    • Folder: (Required) Type the name or browse to the folder that this policy will be created in. Folders display in the ZENworks Control Center.

    • Description: Provide a short description of the policy. This description displays on the policy's Summary page in the ZENworks Control Center interface.

  5. Click Next to display the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Main Menu Settings page.

    SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Main Menu Settings page
  6. Select the desired options (by default, all options are disabled).

    Selecting an item from the list disables or removes the associated feature on the user's desktop. The user cannot access menu items or controls associated with the feature.

    Remove Search from Main Menu: Lets you remove Search from the main menu of the user's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop.

    Remove Recently Used Applications from the Main Menu File Area: Lets you remove the recently used applications from the main menu file area of the user's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop.

    Remove Recent Documents from Main Menu File Area: Lets you remove the recent documents from the main menu file area of the user's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop.

    Favorite Applications Configuration: Lets you configure the following settings:

    • Remove Favorite Applications from Main Menu File Area: Lets your remove favorite applications from the main menu file area of the user's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop.

    • Configure Favorite Applications: Lets you to add or remove items from the Favorite Applications list. Selecting this option locks its setting. To unlock it, click SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Main Menu Settings page.

      To add an application to the list, specify the application name and click Add. You can also add from the default list.

      To remove an application from the list, select the application you want to delete, and click Remove.

    Remove Application Browser from Main Menu: Lets you remove the application browser from the main menu of the user's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop.

    System Area Configuration: Lets you configure the following settings:

    • Remove System Area from Main Menu: Lets you remove the system area from the main menu of the user's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop.

    • Configure System Area: Lets you to configure items in the system area of the main menu of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop. In the Included Items list, select an item you want to remove from the user's System menu, and move it to the Excluded Items list.

    Remove Status Area from the Main Menu: Removes the status area from the main menu of the user's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop.

  7. Click Next to display the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop General Lockdown and Control Center Action List Settings page.

    SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop General Lockdown and Control Center Action List Settings page
  8. Select the desired options (by default, all options are disabled).

    Selecting an item from the list disables or removes the associated feature on the user's desktop. The user cannot access menu items or controls associated with the feature.

    Remove Panel Configuration: Lets you prevent users from configuring a panel. If you select this option, users cannot add and remove the icons on the panel.

    Disable Launcher Creation: Lets you prevent users from creating application launchers.

    Remove Computer Icon from Desktop: Lets you remove the computer icon from users' desktops.

    Remove Trash Icon from Desktop: Lets you remove the trash icon from users' desktops.

    Remove User's Home Icon from Desktop: Lets you remove the Home icon from users' desktops.

    Configure Control Center Action List: Lets you to add or remove items from the Control Center action list. Selecting this option locks its setting. To unlock it, click SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop General Lockdown and Control Center Action List Settings page.

    To add an item to the list, specify the application name and click Add. You can also add from the default list.

    To remove an item from the list, select the application you want to delete, and click Remove.

  9. Click Next to display the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Proxy Settings page.

    SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Proxy Settings page
  10. Select the desired options (by default, all options are disabled).

    For each option you enable, provide a value. When you enable an option, it is locked by default. You can unlock the option by clicking Lock icon. The options that are not enabled are excluded from the policy and are not applied to the device.

    Background Image Filename: Lets you specify the filename and complete location of a background image. This image file is displayed as a background on users' desktops. The file should exist on the managed device at the specified location.

    Background Position: Lets you specify background image display options. Center displays an image in the center of the screen, Fill Screen stretches the image to cover the entire screen, Scaled enlarges the image until the image meets the screen edges, and Tiled repeats the image over the screen. Select No Background to prevent the image from being displayed on the desktop.

    Background Shade: Lets you choose an available shade to decorate the background. Select Solid to have the background image uniform across the desktop. Select Vertical to have the image become darker as you go up, and select Horizontal to have the image become darker as you go from left to right.

    Theme Filename: Lets you specify a theme file name and its complete location. The appearance of the windows, icons, buttons, and other graphical user interface controls are changed according to the selected theme.

    Proxy Settings: Specify a proxy setting:

    • Direct Internet Connection: Lets users connect to the Internet without using the proxy server.

    • Manual Proxy Configuration: Lets you manually configure the proxy. Specify the HTTP Proxy value, HTTP Secure Proxy value, FTP Proxy value, Socks Proxy value, and corresponding port numbers.

      To authenticate the user before proxy configuration, click Authentication. In the HTTP Proxy Authentication dialog box, select Use Authentication, specify the username and password, then click OK.

    • Automatic Proxy Configuration: Lets you automatically configure the proxy from a certain URL by specifying the URL.

  11. Click Next to display the Default System Requirements for the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Policy page.

    Default System Requirements for the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Policy page
  12. Specify the minimum version of SLED Linux Enterprise Desktop required for all policy settings to be effective. Policy settings are applied only if a device has the same version or a newer version of the SLED Linux Enterprise Desktop. If a device does not have SLED Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 or newer, the policy does not apply correctly.

    Even if you do not include this setting in the policy, the system checks for SLED Linux Enterprise Desktop. If it does not find SLED Linux Enterprise Desktop, an error message is generated and the policy is not applied.

  13. Click Next to display the Summary page.

  14. Click Finish to create the policy as configured according to the settings on the Summary page. If you click Finish, the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop policy is created but it does not have devices assigned or a schedule specified. At some point in the future, you need to configure additional options for the policy by continuing with Section 17.4, Assigning Policies.

    or

    Click Next to display the Policy Assignment page to perform the following tasks:

    • Specify assignments for this policy

    • Specify the schedule for this policy

    • Specify groups for this policy

    Policy Assignments page
  15. Assign the policy to the devices.

    1. Click Add to browse for and select the appropriate Server or Workstation objects.

      You can also select Folder or Group objects.

    2. Click the down-arrow next to Servers or Workstations to expand the list, then click the underlined link in the Name column to select the desired objects and display their names in the Selected list box.

      Assigning a policy to a Group object is the preferred method of assigning the policy. Assigning the policy to a large number of objects (for example, more than 250) might cause increased server utilization.

    3. Click OK.

  16. Click Next to display the Policy Schedule page.

  17. Select the schedule to apply to the assignments from the drop-down list, then select the desired options, which vary, depending on the schedule type you select.

    The settings you configure on this page determine when the policy is applied to devices.

    See Section 15.3, Schedules for information about the available schedules and their options.

  18. Click Next to display the Policy Groups page.

    Policy Groups page
  19. (Optional) Click Add to open the Select Groups dialog box, then click the underlined links in the Name column to select the desired policy groups and display their names in the Selected list box.

    Using policy groups eases administration efforts by letting you group several policies so you can use common assignments, schedules, and so forth, rather than configuring these settings for each policy you create. For more information, see Section 17.3, Creating Policy Groups.

  20. Click Next to display the Finish page.

  21. Review the information on the Finish page, making any changes to the policy settings by using the Back button as necessary. Click Finish to create the policy as configured according to the settings on the Finish page.