Novell Documentation: ZENworks 6.5 - Managing the Agents through Remote Web Console

Managing the Agents through Remote Web Console

On NetWare^® servers, you can monitor the Distributor Agent and the Policy/Package Agent at the server console where they are running. In addition, you can monitor the agents running on any supported platform (NetWare, Windows, Linux, or Solaris) from Internet Explorer using the ZENworks Server Management role in iManager.

The following Policy and Distribution Services management tasks cannot be performed in iManager and must be performed using ConsoleOne:

Creating, editing, and deleting policy packages. See Server Policies.
Creating, editing, and deleting software packages. See Server Software Packages.

Managing the Distributor Agent

To access the Remote Web Console for a Distributor or Subscriber in iManager:

Select Roles and Tasks in the top frame, expand ZENworks Server Management in the left frame, then click Remote Web Console.
Specify the IP address or DNS hostname of a server where the Distributor Agent or Policy/Package Agent is running.

or

Browse to and select a Distributor or Subscriber object or the Server object representing the server where the Distributor Agent is running.
Click OK.

In the Display field, Tiered Electronic Distribution defaults.

Tabs at the top of the Remote Web Console frame provide various types of information related to the Policy and Distribution Services agents. Additional options are available on each tab.

You can click Help on each Remote Web Console page for information on using the features available on that page.
Continue with the task that you want to perform:
The tables below summarize these tasks, detail the Remote Web Console tab and option to use for each task, and indicate whether the task can also be performed using ConsoleOne.

Managing Tiered Electronic Distribution Objects

Policy and Distribution Services Agent Management Task	Remote Web Console Tab and Option	ConsoleOne
List all object properties of Distributor and Subscriber objects in a single list	Configuration > Configuration	No
List the object properties of any subordinate Subscriber in the routing hierarchy	Configuration > Subordinate Configuration	No
List all object properties of Distribution objects (except type-specific information) in a single list	Distributions > Distribution Information	No
List all object properties of Channel objects in a single list	Channels > Channel Information	No
Display information about the Server Management database	Configuration > Database	Yes

Be aware that if the Distributor has not been refreshed since changes were made to object properties in eDirectory, the object properties displayed in the Remote Web Console are different from the object properties displayed in ConsoleOne.The Remote Web Console displays object information from the point of view of the Distributor Agent.

Monitoring Policy and Distribution Services Agent Status

Policy and Distribution Services Agent Management Task	Remote Web Console Tab and Option	ConsoleOne
View and continuously refresh the current Distributor event log, complete with message severity levels	Events > Distributor Event Log	No
View and continuously refresh the current Subscriber event log, complete with message severity levels	Events > Subscriber Event Log	No
Display the current status of the various distribution threads started by the Policy and Distribution Services agents to perform their various functions	Configuration > Threads	No

Monitoring Distribution Status

Policy and Distribution Services Agent Management Task	Remote Web Console Tab and Option	ConsoleOne
List all Distributions currently being processed by the Distributor and/or Subscriber, along with detailed status information	Distributions > Active Distributions	No
Display status information for a selected Distribution that has been received by a Subscriber	Distributions > Received Distributions	No
Display the route that a Distribution must take through the routing hierarchy from a Distributor or parent Subscriber to any subordinate Subscriber	Configuration > Route to Subscriber	No

Forcing Policy and Distribution Services Agent Actions

Policy and Distribution Services Agent Management Task	Remote Web Console Tab and Option	ConsoleOne
Immediately refresh a Distributor so that it reads eDirectory to check for modified Distributions	Configuration > Refresh Distributor	Yes
Immediately build a Distribution	Distributions > Build Distribution	Schedule dependent
Immediately send to Subscribers all Distributions listed in a selected Channel	Channels > Distribute Channel	Not with one click

Managing Security Certificates

Policy and Distribution Services Agent Management Task	Remote Web Console Tab and Option	ConsoleOne
List the security certificates that are available on a Subscriber	Security > Show Certificates	No
Delete security certificates from a Subscriber	Security > Show Certificates > Remove Certificate	No
Have the Distributor sign Subscribers' Certificate Signing Request (.csr) files so that the Subscribers can receive encrypted Distributions from the Distributor	Security > Sign CSR	Yes

Managing the Policy/Package Agent

The Policy/Package Agent is responsible for installing the software and enforcing the policies that it receives and extracts. The Remote Web Console enables you to manage the Policy/Package Agent, which is not possible using ConsoleOne.

To access the Remote Web Console for a Policy/Package Agent in iManager:

Select Roles and Tasks in the top frame, expand ZENworks Server Management in the left frame, then click Remote Web Console.
Specify the IP address or DNS hostname of a server where the Policy/Package Agent is running.

or

Browse to and select a Subscriber object or the Server object representing the server where the Policy/Package Agent is running.
Click OK.
In the Display field, select Policy Package Agent (Tiered Electronic Distribution defaults).

Tabs at the top of the Remote Web Console frame provide various types of information related to the Policy/Package Agent.

You can click Help on each Remote Web Console page for information on using the features available on that page.

Continue with the task that you want to perform.

The table below summarizes these tasks and details the Remote Web Console tab for each task.

Policy/Package Agent Management Task	Remote Web Console	ConsoleOne
List the plug-ins that are currently loaded for enforcing server policies	Configuration	No
List all the variables that the Policy/Package Agent has values for	Configuration	No
List all the policies that the Policy/Package Agent enforces on a Subscriber server	Policies	No
Immediately enforce one or more policies on a Subscriber server	Policies	No
Remove individual policies from a Subscriber server	Policies	No
Immediately refresh one or more policies so that the Distributor Agent reads eDirectory to check for modifications	Policies	No
List all the software packages that the Policy/Package Agent installs on the Subscriber server	Software Packages	No
Determine the current status of all software packages installed on the Subscriber server	Software Packages	No
Create and run a program or script on the Subscriber server once or repeatedly	Schedule	No
Down the Subscriber server	Actions	No
Restart the Policy/Package Agent	Actions	No

Opening Multiple Remote Web Console Windows

On any Remote Web Console page, click Detach in the upper right corner to display the current page in a new browser window. This enables you to access multiple Remote Web Console features at the same time. For example, you could detach one window for the Tiered Electronic Distribution agents and another window for the Policy/Package Agent. Or you could detach a window for the Remote Web Console and still be able to perform other ZENworks Server Management tasks in the main Novell iManager window.