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:

Automatic Workstation Import is a one-step process. The Workstation Registration program in the Novell Client^TM accesses the Automatic Workstation Import service, which creates the Workstation object and registers the workstation.

The following sections provide information on importing and registration:

Network traffic can be created by the Automatic Workstation Import service. However, the import service is used only when one of the following occurs:

• A workstation is logged in to the tree and a corresponding Workstation object does not exist.

  This would normally be the first time the workstation is registered. The Automatic Workstation Import service initially creates the Workstation object in the tree and 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.

• A workstation is logged in to the tree and its Workstation object was either moved or renamed.

  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 is used to register the workstation and update 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.)

Registering Imported Workstations

Once a workstation has been imported, it only needs to be registered each time it is logged in to the tree. The registration program updates the Workstation object when one of the following occurs:

• The Workstation Manager program starts up
• A user logs in to the tree
• A Windows* 2000 or Windows NT user logs out

Once the workstation has been imported, the Client's registration program keeps the workstation's network address and registered time up to date.

Network traffic is minimized because the Workstation Registration program doesn't need to access the import service.

The Workstation object information that is updated when a workstation is registered includes the workstation's registration time, network address, last server, and last user information.

Removing Workstation Objects

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.

You would want to periodically remove unused Workstation objects so that inventory reporting can be more accurate.

Workstation objects can be automatically removed when a workstation has not been registered within the time window 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.

Client/Server Considerations

The client and server sides of ZfD have issues to be considered:

Consider the following when setting up the server portion of Automatic Workstation Import:

Generally, there will be more workstations imported than removed. Therefore, you will want to have more servers set up with the Automatic Workstation Import service than with the Automatic Workstation Removal service.

You should install the Automatic Workstation Import service on at least one server per WAN to minimize network traffic. Automatic Workstation Removal will generally not produce a lot of network traffic, so it can be used across WAN links.

Using DNS Names or HOSTS Files

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 to allow workstations to contact the import service locally, rather than accross 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 would 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. HOSTS file usage is useful for manually importing a workstation, such as in a test environment.

Scheduling Workstation Removal

You should schedule workstation removal so that it is performed periodically when the network is least busy.

Client Side Considerations

Consider the following when setting up the client portion of Automatic Workstation Import:

The registration method for ZfD is not backwards compatible with previous versions of ZENworks. Workstation importing is server-centric in ZfD3, whereas it was user-centric in ZENworks 2.

Much of the work that was done manually in ZENworks 2 is now automated in ZfD3. Workstation registration has become a one-step automatic process.

For example, to import a workstation in ZENworks 2:

1. The workstation is registered upon log in to the network.
2. The workstation is imported.

   Result: the object is created the first time it is registered.

3. The workstation is re-registered.

   Result: if the object was created, the workstation is placed into the registry.

To import a workstation in ZfD3:

1. The workstation is registered upon log in to the network.

   Result: the object is created the first time it is registered.

   Result: the workstation is placed into the registry each time it is registered.

Backwards Compatibility and the Search Policy

ZfD3 is backwards compatible with the policies in previous versions of ZENworks. Therefore, the old and new policies can coexist. This allows you to continue using ZENworks 2 policies once you have installed ZfD3 policies, which is useful for performing an incremental transition to the newer policies.

Because of the new ZfD3 registration method, the Search policy becomes very important. Once you have installed ZfD3 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 ZfD3 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 NetWare Administrator 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 ZfD3 Search policy are associated with the same container, ZfD3 policies will take precedence.

If you have no Search policy associated with an object, ZfD3 will search the tree for ZfD3 policies. In this case, ZENworks 2 policies are also ignored by the ZfD3 Novell Client.

Upgrading Client Software

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.