The first time a device registers, it is added to a folder. By default, it is added to either the /Servers folder or the /Workstations folder, depending on the device type.
You can use registration keys and registration rules to override the default folder assignment and specify another folder, and to assign the device to groups. Although you can manually move a device to another folder and add it to groups after the device registers, this can become burdensome if you have a large number of devices or if you are consistently adding new devices. The best way to manage a large number of devices is to use registration keys and rules to automatically add them to the correct folders and groups during registration.
Registration key: A registration key is an alphanumeric string that you manually define or randomly generate. During deployment of the ZENworks Adaptive Agent on a device, the registration key must be provided. When the device connects to a ZENworks Server for the first time, the device is added to the folder and groups defined within the key.
Registration rule: A registration rule is a set of predefined criteria (for example, operating system type, CPU, or IP address) that you define. If the device meets the criteria, the rule is used for registration. You can create multiple rules; all rules are checked before the default folder is used. Registration rules are applied only if a registration key is not used.
The following sections provide instructions for creating registration keys and rules:
The steps in this section explain how to create a registration key. After you’ve created a key, you can use the key in the following ways:
Include the key in a deployment task so that it is used during installation of the ZENworks Adaptive Agent. See Section 10.4, Using a Task to Deploy the Agent.
Add the key to a deployment package so that when the package is used in either a deployment task or a manual installation, the registration key is applied. See Deployment Packages.
Use the key with the ZENworks Adaptive Agent command line utility (zac) to initially register a device within a zone (zac register command), or to manually reregister the device with an additional key (zac add-reg-key command). See Section 9.7, Manually Registering a Device.
To create a registration key:
In ZENworks Control Center, click the
tab, then click the tab.In the Registration Keys panel, click
> to launch the Create New Registration Key Wizard.Complete the wizard by using information from the following table to fill in the fields.
Wizard Page |
Details |
---|---|
Basic Information page |
Define the registration key’s name and folder location, add information to describe the key, and specify the number of times the key can be used. Key Code: Provide a key code for the registration key. When devices register during installation, this is the key code the device provides to be assigned to the folder and groups associated with this registration. Any device that presents this key code is given the assignments associated with this registration. Choose something simple for reduced security, or click to generate a complex registration string that is difficult to guess. Use the option along with a registration key limit for increased security. If you manually enter a name, the name must be different than any other registration key names and must not use any of the following invalid characters: / \ * ? : " ' < > | ` % ~.Folder: Specify the folder for this registration key. This is for organizational purposes only. Devices do not need to know where a registration key is located in order to use it to register, they simply need to know the key name. Description: Use this field to provide information about the new registration key. This is for your benefit. This field appears only in ZENworks Control Center. Number of Times This Key Can Be Used: For security purposes, this enables you to limit the number of times the devices can use this key to register. |
Containment Rules page |
Specify the folder in which to place the devices. As a general rule, devices with similar configuration settings (refresh intervals, logging settings, remote management settings, and so forth) should be grouped in the same folder so that you can specify the configuration settings on the folder and have the devices in the folder inherit them. You should not use the same folder for devices that require different configuration settings; doing so prohibits you from using the folder to define the settings and forces you to define them on each individual device. |
Device Fields |
Specify the department, site, and location information you want entered on a device’s details page when it registers. For example, if you enter Accounting in the field, then Accounting is entered in the field on the device’s details page. |
Group Membership page |
Specify the groups that devices will become members of when they register. Adding groups causes registering devices to receive any assignments provided by membership in the groups. Assignments from group membership are additive, so if a device is assigned to both groups A and B, the device receives all assignments from both groups. You can only add groups that are valid for the type of device folder you specified on the previous page of the wizard. For example, if you specified the /Devices/Workstations folder, you can only choose workstation groups. To specify a group:
|
When you complete the wizard, the key is added to the Registration Keys panel.
You can also use the registration-create-key command in the zman utility to create a registration key. For more information, see Registration Commands
in the ZENworks 11 Command Line Utilities Reference.
In ZENworks Control Center, click the
tab, then click the tab.In the Registration Rules panel, click
to launch the Create New Registration Rule Wizard.Complete the wizard by using information from the following table to fill in the fields.
Wizard Page |
Details |
---|---|
Basic Information page |
Define the rule’s name and add information to describe the rule. Name: Provide a name for the rule. Users never see the rule name; it displays only in ZENworks Control Center. The name must be different than any other registration key names and must not use any of the following invalid characters: / \ * ? : " ' < > | ` % ~. Description: Provide information about the new registration rule. The information appears only in ZENworks Control Center. |
Device Criteria page |
Define the criteria that must be met for the registration rule to be applied to a device. The criteria are defined through the use of filters. At least one filter must be defined.
|
Device Criteria page (continued) |
You can change the default and use to combined filters, in which case filter sets are automatically combined using . In other words, the logical operator that is to combine individual filters (within in a set) must be the opposite of the operator that is used between filter sets.You can easily view how these logical operators work. Click both the and options a few times each to create a few filter sets, then switch between and in the field and observe how the operators change.As you construct filters and filter sets, you can think in terms of algebraic notation parentheticals, where filters are contained within parentheses, and sets are separated into a series of parenthetical groups. Logical operators ( and ) separate the filters within the parentheses, and the operators are used to separate the parentheticals.For example, “(u AND v AND w) OR (x AND y AND z)” means “match either uvw or xyz.” In the filter list, this looks like: u AND v AND w OR x AND y AND z |
Containment Rules page |
Specify the folder in which to place the devices. As a general rule, devices with similar configuration settings (refresh intervals, logging settings, remote management settings, and so forth) should be grouped in the same folder so that you can specify the configuration settings on the folder and have the devices in the folder inherit them. You should not use the same folder for devices that require different configuration settings; doing so prohibits you from using the folder to define the settings and forces you to define them on each individual device. |
Device Fields |
Specify the department, site, and location information you want entered on a device’s details page when it registers. For example, if you enter Accounting in the field, then Accounting is entered in the field on the device’s details page. |
Group Membership page |
Specify the groups that devices will become members of when they register. Adding groups causes registering devices to receive any assignments provided by membership in the groups. Assignments from group membership are additive, so if a device is assigned to both groups A and B, the device receives all assignments from both groups. You can only add groups that are valid for the type of device folder you specified on the previous page of the wizard. For example, if you specified the /Devices/Workstations folder, you can only choose workstation groups. To specify a group:
|
When you complete the wizard, the rule is added to the Registration Rules panel. Rules are applied from the top down. You want to list the more restrictive rules first, followed by the more general rules. If no rules apply, the default server and workstation rules are applied.
If you want to reorder the rules, click
(located in the upper right corner of the Registration Rules panel).Select the check box in front of the rule you want to move.
Click
or to reposition the rule.You can also use the ruleset-create command in the zman utility to create a registration rule. For more information, see Ruleset Commands
in the ZENworks 11 Command Line Utilities Reference.