27.3 Setting Up Required Desktop Policies

ZENworks Desktop Management requires policy packages in the eDirectory™ tree to hold the desktop policies that you can later configure and enable.

This section includes the information you need for setting up desktop policies, including:

In a production environment after the ZENworks test installation, you can add the policies that the individual components need to function correctly.

If you have installed Workstation Inventory you need to configure some Desktop Management policies, as explained in the following sections:

IMPORTANT:If you choose to install Sybase during the Desktop Management Server installation, the Inventory Standalone Configuration dialog box is displayed. If you select Configure Standalone in this dialog box, the installation automatically creates the Server package, creates and configures the Database Location Policy, and starts the Inventory Service. When the Desktop Management Server installation is complete, you need to create and configure the Workstation Inventory Policy. For more information, see Section 27.3.4, Configuring the Workstation Inventory Policy.

If you configured the options on the Inventory Standalone Configuration page in Step 11, the installation program already created the Server package in the same OU as the server. If you try to create another Server package while completing the steps in this section, a message is displayed stating that the Server package conflicts with another Server package in the same OU.

If you install Workstation Inventory in a production environment, see the Workstation Inventory section in the Novell ZENworks 7 Desktop Management Administration Guide for the policies to be configured.

After configuring the required policies, do the following:

27.3.1 Creating the Policy Packages

A policy package holds the individual Windows desktop policies that dictate the rules of use or configuration for users or their workstations. You should create an Organizational Unit (OU) for holding the policy packages. Consider the following when determining where to place this OU:

  • Whether you have partitions in your tree

  • The 256-character limit in eDirectory for the full distinguished name

  • How the Search policy is used to locate the policy package

To minimize tree walking, it is best to create this policy package OU at the root of the partition that contains the objects with which the policy package will be associated. In doing so, the following benefits are realized:

  • Tree walking is minimized when the root of the partition and the Search policy are being used

  • Placing the OU at the partition's root maximizes the number of characters that are available for naming plural policies

(Optional) You might want to create an Organizational Unit (OU) to hold your policies.

  1. In ConsoleOne, right-click the container where you want the OU placed > click New > click Object > click Organizational Unit > click OK, then give the container a short name, for example, Desktop Policies.

To create a policy package:

  1. Right-click the container in which you want the policy package placed > click New > click Policy Packages.

  2. Select one of the following policy packages:

    •    Container Package
    •    Server Package
    •    Service Location Package
    •    User Package
    •    Workstation Package

  3. Click Next, give the package a short name, click Next, click Create Another Policy Package (unless this is the last one being created), then click Finish.

    Short package name suggestions include:

    •    Container
    •    Server
    •    Location
    •    User
    •    Workstation

  4. Repeat Step 1 through Step 3 for each policy package to be created.

27.3.2 Setting Up a Workstation Import Policy

Desktop Management requires a Workstation Import Policy so that workstations can be imported to server where Desktop Management is installed. You need to enable this policy and associate it to the Desktop Management Server.

  1. In ConsoleOne, right-click the Server Package > then click Properties.

  2. Select the check box under the Enabled column for the Import policy. This both selects and enables the policy.

  3. Click Properties to display the Containers page.

  4. Click the down-arrow on the Platforms tab, then select General.

  5. Select an option in the Create Workstation Objects In drop-down list, then specify the container in which you want to store Workstation objects.

  6. Click OK.

  7. Click the Associations tab, click Add, browse to the server where Desktop Management is installed, then click OK to list the server in the Associations list.

  8. In the Associations list, select the server where you want to associate the Import policy, click Apply, then click Close.

27.3.3 Configuring the Database Location Policy

The Database Location policy contains the location of the Inventory database. You can associate the Database object with a container under which the Inventory Service object is located through using the Service Location Package or with an Inventory server through using the Server Package.

NOTE:If you configure both the Service Location Package and the Server Package, the Server Package settings overrides the Service Location Package settings.

To associate the Database object with a container under which the Inventory Service object is located:

  1. In ConsoleOne, right-click the Service Location Package, click Properties to display the Policies page.

  2. Select the check box under the Enabled column for the ZENworks Database policy.

  3. Click Properties to display the Inventory Management page.

  4. Browse to the DN of the Inventory Database object (Inventory database_server_name), then click OK.

    For a Sybase database, the database object is automatically created during the Workstation Inventory installation unless you are installing on a Windows 2000 server without eDirectory installed. To manually create the database object, see Setting Up the Inventory Database in the Novell ZENworks 7 Desktop Management Administration Guide.

    For an Oracle database, you must create the database object and configure the object. For more information, see Setting Up the Inventory Database in the Novell ZENworks 7 Desktop Management Administration Guide.

    For an MS SQL database, you must configure the database object. For more information, see Setting Up the Inventory Database in the Novell ZENworks 7 Desktop Management Administration Guide.

    IMPORTANT:Ensure that the DNS name of the database server configured for the database object is valid. If the DNS name is invalid, you must select an appropriate database server IP address in the Database object property page.

    To select the IP address of the database server:

    1. In ConsoleOne, right-click the database object, then click Properties to display the ZENworks Database page.

    2. In the Server IP Address or DNS Name field, select an appropriate IP address.

    3. Click Apply, then click Close.

  5. Click OK.

  6. Click the Associations tab, then click Add.

  7. Browse to select the container under which the Inventory Service object is located, then click OK.

  8. Click Apply, then click Close.

To associate the Database object with an Inventory server:

  1. In ConsoleOne, right-click the Server Package, then click Properties to display the Policies page.

  2. Select the check box under the Enabled column for the ZENworks Database policy.

  3. Click Properties to display the Inventory Management page.

  4. Browse to the DN of the Inventory Database object (Inventory database_server_name), then click OK.

    For a Sybase database, the database object is automatically created during the Workstation Inventory installation unless you are installing on a Windows 2000 server without eDirectory installed. To manually create the database object, see Setting Up the Inventory Database in the Novell ZENworks 7 Desktop Management Administration Guide.

    For an Oracle database, you must create the database object and configure the object. For more information, see Setting Up the Inventory Database in the Novell ZENworks 7 Desktop Management Administration Guide.

    For an MS SQL database, you must configure the database object. For more information, see Setting Up the Inventory Database in the Novell ZENworks 7 Desktop Management Administration Guide.

    IMPORTANT:Ensure that the DNS name of the database server configured for the database object is valid. If the DNS name is invalid, you must select an appropriate database server IP address in the Database object property page.

    To select the IP address of the database server:

    1. In ConsoleOne, right-click the database object, then click Properties to display the ZENworks Database page.

    2. In the Server IP Address or DNS Name field, select an appropriate IP address.

    3. Click Apply, then click Close.

  5. Click OK.

  6. Click the Associations tab, then click Add.

  7. Browse to select an Inventory server object, then click OK.

  8. Click Apply, then click Close.

NOTE:If you are modifying the Inventory policies or configuring the objects, always stop the Inventory services. Configure the policies and properties of the objects. Restart the Inventory services again. For more information, see Section 27.3.5, Starting and Stopping the Inventory Service.

27.3.4 Configuring the Workstation Inventory Policy

  1. In ConsoleOne, right-click the Workstation package, then click Properties to display the Policies page.

  2. Click the Policies tab, then select a specific platform from the drop-down list to configure and enable the policy for that platform. The available platforms include: Windows 9x, WinNT-2000-XP, Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP.

  3. Select the check box under the Enabled column for the Workstation Inventory Policy.

  4. Click Properties to display the Workstation Inventory Policy page.

  5. In the General page, configure the following settings:

    1. Browse to and select the DN of the Inventory Service object.

    2. Specify the number of delta scans after which a full scan is required.

  6. (Optional) Customize the Inventory scan.

    1. Click the Hardware Scan tab to specify the following settings:

      Enable DMI Scan: Select this option to include scanning of hardware data from Desktop Management Interface (DMI) on the inventoried workstations.

      Enable WMI Scan: Select this option to include WMI scanning of hardware data from Microsoft's Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) on the inventoried workstations.

      Enable Custom Scanning: Select this option to include Custom scanning of the inventoried workstations. You need to enter the name of the Custom Scan executable to run for custom scanning.

      Custom Attribute Editor: Click this button to specify the list of custom attributes. Modify the list if necessary.

    2. To customize the software scan settings for the Windows inventoried workstations where ZENworks for Desktops 4 or ZENworks for Desktops 4.0.1 is installed, click the Software Scan tab and configure the following settings:

      IMPORTANT:Do not configure the settings for the inventoried workstations that have ZENworks 7 Desktop Management installed.

      Enable Software Scan: Enables software scanning for the inventoried workstations associated with the Inventory policy. The scan program collects software information for the inventoried workstations and stores it in the Inventory database.

      Custom Scan Editor: Enables you to customize the list of application details to scan for at the inventoried workstations. The Inventory scanner scans for the details of the applications listed in the Custom Scan Editor.

      For example, specify the following details in the Custom Scan Editor: Vendor Name=Microsoft; Product Name=Microsoft Office; Product Version=10.0; FileName=winword.exe; File Size=1 MB. The Inventory scanner scans for the winword.exe file having a size of 1 MB on the inventoried workstations. If the file is found, the scanner stores “Microsoft;Microsoft Office;10.0” for “winword.exe;1 MB” in the Inventory database.

      Product Identification Number: Enables you to scan for the product identification number of the Microsoft applications installed on the inventoried workstations.

      Product Location: Enables you to scan for the full path of the applications installed on the inventoried workstations.

      Perform only Custom Scanning: Enables you to scan only the customized software applications that are selected in the Custom Scan Editor.

    3. Click the Configuration Editor tab. If required, modify the settings of the following .ini files.

  7. Click Apply.

  8. Click the Policy Schedule tab.

  9. Modify the settings for scheduling the scan of the inventoried workstations, click Apply, then click Close.

  10. Click the Associations tab, then click Add.

  11. Browse to and select the container object where the inventoried workstations are registered, then click OK.

  12. Click Apply, then click Close.

  13. In ConsoleOne, right-click the Inventory Service object (Inventory Service_server_name), click Properties, then click the Inventory Service object tab.

  14. Make sure Enable Scan of Machines is selected, then click OK.

27.3.5 Starting and Stopping the Inventory Service

This section provides information on the following topics:

Starting the Inventory Service

On a NetWare Inventory Server

To start all Inventory services:

  1. At the server console prompt, enter startinv.

To start a specific Inventory service:

  1. At the server console prompt, enter startser Inventory_service.

On a Windows 2000/2003 Inventory Server

To start all Inventory services:

  1. In the Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, then double-click Services.

  2. Select Novell Inventory Service, then click Start.

To start a specific Inventory service:

  1. At the server console prompt, go to ZENworks_installation_directory\zenworks\inv\server\wminv\bin.

  2. Enter startser Inventory_service

On a Linux Inventory Server

To start all Inventory services:

  1. At the Linux server prompt, go to /etc/init.d.

  2. Enter ./novell-zdm-inv start.

To start a specific Inventory service:

  1. At the Linux server prompt, go to /opt/novell/bin.

  2. Enter StartSer Inventory_service.

After starting the Inventory service, make sure that the Inventory services are up and running. To list all services, enter ListSer "*" at the Inventory server console prompt. If the services are not up and running, check the Server Status log. For more information on the Server Status log, see Monitoring Workstation Inventory Using Status Logs in the Novell ZENworks 7 Desktop Management Administration Guide.

Stopping the Inventory Service

On a NetWare Inventory Server

To stop all Inventory services:

  1. At the server console prompt, enter stopser *.

To stop a specific Inventory service:

  1. At the server console prompt, enter stopser Inventory_service.

On a Windows 2000 Inventory Server

To stop all Inventory services:

  1. In the Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, then double-click Services.

  2. Select Novell Inventory Service, then click Stop.

To stop a specific Inventory service:

  1. At the server console prompt, enter stopser Inventory_service.

On a Linux Inventory Server

To stop all Inventory services:

  1. At the Linux server prompt, go to /etc/init.d.

  2. Enter ./novell-zdm-inv stop.

To stop a specific Inventory service:

  1. At the Linux server prompt, go to /opt/novell/bin.

  2. Enter StopSer Inventory_service.

Checking the Status of the Workstation Inventory Components Installed on Linux

The following table lists the Workstation Inventory components installed on Linux whose status you can check by executing commands at the Linux console prompt.

Table 27-1 Workstation Inventory Components Installed on Linux

Workstation Inventory Component

Command To Be Entered at the Linux Console Prompt

Inventory server daemon

/etc/init.d/novell-zdm-inv status

Sybase daemon

/etc/init.d/novell-zdm-sybase status

Inventory Proxy daemon

/etc/init.d/novell-zen-zws status