ZENworks Desktop Management lets you gather and administer complete hardware and software information for all workstations connected to your network. From ConsoleOne, you can view the complete hardware and software inventory of the workstations. You can also query the centralized database of the workstations and generate reports. Desktop Management also provides roll-up of inventory information across servers, firewall, and eDirectory trees for large networks.
The following brief glossary provides basic definitions of Workstation Inventory terms:
Inventoried workstation: A Windows workstation whose hardware and software data you want to scan and maintain in a central repository. To gather complete hardware and software inventory for a workstation, you must install the Inventory Agent (part of the ZENworks Desktop Management Agent) on that workstation.
Inventory server: A NetWare® or Windows server where you run the Inventory service. This server can also run any other Desktop Management services. The Inventory server collects the inventory data from associated inventoried workstations and stores it into the Inventory.
Inventory database: A repository of inventory information of all the inventoried workstations.
Database server: A NetWare or Windows server running Sybase, Oracle, or MS SQL where your Inventory database is mounted.
Management console: A Windows workstation or server running Novell ConsoleOne with Desktop Management Workstation Inventory ConsoleOne snap-ins installed. The management console provides the interface to administer the inventory system.
The focus of the Installation Guide is to set up a pilot system so that you can better understand Workstation Inventory. The pilot system consists of a management console, an Inventory server, an Inventory database running Sybase*, and one or more inventoried workstations, as shown below.
This setup has the following features:
The Inventory scanning cycle is as follows:
To install Workstation Inventory in your production environment, you must plan and decide the Inventory server tree hierarchy for your company. Also, you should organize your inventory deployment based on your network and information requirements. For detailed information, see "Workstation Inventory" in the Novell ZENworks 6.5 Desktop Management Administration Guide.