When you boot a workstation from an imaging method and allow the boot process to proceed in auto-imaging mode, the imaging operation that is performed on the workstation is determined by policies and settings that you define in eDirectory.
In order to make an image available to such operations, you must expose it as a Workstation Image object in eDirectory. Otherwise, when you define imaging policies and settings in eDirectory, you won’t have any way to refer to the image.
Creating a Workstation Image object also allows you to combine a base image and one or more add-on images into a single entity that can be put down on target workstations. You can specify a standard image file to put down, or you can create a script to further customize your imaging operation. You can also specify that a particular file set of an image be used.
The sections that follow give instructions for performing these tasks:
Create the base image that the Workstation Image object will refer to.
For more information, see Section 59.1, Creating a Workstation (Base) Image.
Although it isn’t typical, you can create a Workstation Image object that refers only to one or more add-on images. However, if you want a base image to be put down in the same operation as the add-on images, you should include both types of images in the Workstation Image object.
Copy the image file to a ZENworks Imaging server that is accessible as a server object in your eDirectory tree.
In ConsoleOne, open the eDirectory tree and browse to the container where you want to create the Workstation Image object.
Right-click the container, click , click , select from the list of object classes, then click .
Specify a name for the new object.
Example: Dell Image
Click , then click .
Click .
or
Click , then specify the script you want to use. See the F1 help for examples of how you can use scripts. Skip to Step 10.
You can perform scripted imaging operations from the bash prompt by using the imaging.s command.
Under , click the browse button next to the field, select the ZENworks Imaging server where the image resides, select or specify the path and filename of the image, then click .
For details on selecting or specifying the path and filename, click in the Image File Location dialog box.
If the Workstation Image object consists only of add-on images, leave the field blank, and skip to Step 5 of Associating an Add-On Image with a Base Image.
(Conditional) If you are using Preboot Services but formerly booted from ZENworks partitions on workstations, you can delete the ZENworks partition at the same time you put down an image. To do so, select the check box. You can delete the ZENworks partition only when the workstation is booted from an imaging boot device or method other than the ZENworks partition.
IMPORTANT:After you have deleted the ZENworks partition, you need to make sure that the image you put on the workstation was made on a workstation without a ZENworks partition. Otherwise, the wrong MBR (Master Boot Record) is restored, and the workstation fails to boot. In addition, if you remove the ZENworks partition from a Windows 2000/XP machine, Windows cannot boot. You should only remove the ZENworks partition if you are going to restore an image to the workstation.
Click to save the Workstation Imaging object.
Create the add-on image to associate with the base image. For more information, see Section 59.2, Creating an Add-On Image.
Copy the image file to a ZENworks Imaging server that is accessible as a server object in your eDirectory tree.
You might want to copy the add-on image to the same location as the base image.
In ConsoleOne, open the eDirectory tree and browse to the Workstation Image object that refers to the base image. If you haven’t created this object yet, do so as instructed in Creating a Workstation Image Object.
Right-click the object, then click .
Under , click the button, select the ZENworks Imaging server where the add-on image resides, select or specify the path and filename of the image, then click .
For details on selecting or specifying the path and filename, click in the Image File Location dialog box.
You can associate more than one add-on image with a base image. The add-on images are put down after the base image in the order listed on this page.
Click to save the Workstation Imaging object.
As explained in Section 59.3, Using Image Explorer to Customize an Image, you can exclude individual files and folders from any of 10 possible file sets of an image. The file sets exist merely as internal attributes of the same image archive.
Because creating an image of a workstation can take time, it is more efficient in some cases to just create an image of a few workstations and customize those images to get all of the file sets you need. Even though the file sets do not all exist as separate, physical image files, you can access them as though they are. How you do this depends on whether you are performing a manual or automated imaging operation, as explained below.
Table 59-1 File Sets for Imaging Operations
|
Type of imaging operation |
How to specify the file set to use |
|---|---|
|
Automatic (eDirectory-based) |
In the Workstation Image object, specify the number of the file set in the field. All eDirectory policies and settings that specify that the Workstation Image object use the specified file set. You can create multiple Workstation Image objects that point to the same base image but to different file sets. |
|
Manual (commandline or menu) |
Use the s parameter on the img restore command. For example, to specify file set number 3: img restorel dellnt4.zmg s3 or Enter img at the bash prompt to display a menu, select , then select . Specify sfileset (for example, s3) in the field. For details, see ZENworks Imaging Engine Commands. |