Determining If a Secondary Server is Needed

There are two main factors that determine whether or not you need secondary servers in your system:

• Number of devices: The number of devices you intend to manage is one of the major factors in determining the number of ZENworks Servers you need. How many management tasks you'll be regularly performing on these devices is another contributing factor.

  The Novell Super Lab is continually performing tests to benchmark performance. For the latest performance benchmarks and load recommendations, see the ZENworks Linux Management Web site.

• Network speed: The ZENworks system has three key communication paths that should not be impeded by slow WAN links: 1) the ZENworks Primary Server to a ZENworks Secondary Server, 2) any ZENworks Servers to the ZENworks Data Store, and 3) any managed device to its ZENworks Server.

  In general, this means that to achieve the best performance, you should do the following:

  • Make sure that each managed device resides in the same local area network as its ZENworks Server. For example, if you have devices in a Los Angeles office and devices in a London offices and the two offices have a slow WAN link, you should have ZENworks Servers in both offices.
  • Make sure that all secondary servers reside in the same local area network as the primary server. The primary server replicates software packages and images to each secondary server in its Management Zone on a regularly scheduled basis. If there is a large amount of data to transfer, this process can consume extensive bandwidth.
  • Make sure that ZENworks Servers reside in the same local area network as the ZENworks Data Store. The servers consistently access the Data Store for ZENworks information.

  Overall, you achieve best performance if all ZENworks Servers and managed devices within the same Management Zone are located on the same LAN or have fast WAN links. To facilitate consistency between different Management Zones, you can mirror the software packages between primary servers in the different zones (see "Mirroring Software" in "Package Management" in the Novell ZENworks 7 Linux Management Administration Guide).

Installing the ZENworks Server Software

To install a secondary server:

1. Make sure the server meets the requirements. See ZENworks Server Requirements.

2. Make sure the secondary server's system clock is synchronized with the primary server's system clock.

   System clock synchronization is required to ensure correct operation of the ZENworks system. If the two servers are not synchronized, the installation fails.

3. At the Linux server, mount the Novell ZENworks 7 Linux Management CD using the following command:.

   mount device mountpoint

   For example:

   mount /dev/cdrom /zlm7

   If you are using an ISO image rather than a physical CD, copy the ISO to a temporary folder on the Linux server, then mount the image using the following command:

   :mount -o loop /tempfolderpath/isoimagename.iso mountpoint

   Replace tempfolderpath with the path to the temporary folder and replace mountpoint with the path to the file system location you want to mount the image. The path specified by mountpoint must already exist.

   For example:

   mount -o loop /zlm7/ZEN7_LinuxMgmt.iso /zlm7/install

4. Log in as root, then start the installation program from the mountpoint by running the following command:

   ./zlm-install

5. When prompted to install ZENworks, enter Y to continue.

6. Review the Software License Agreement, pressing Page Down to scroll down the page, then enter Y to accept the agreement.

   Installation of the software begins. There are ten software components to install. Installation progress is displayed for each component.

7. When installation of the software is complete, enter Y to run zlm-config and configure the ZENworks Secondary Server.

8. Provide the appropriate responses to the following prompts:

   • Is this the first server in your system?: Enter N for No.

   • IP address or DNS name of the primary server: Enter the IP address or DNS name of the primary server.

   • Is the system clock synchronized with the primary server?: The secondary server's system clock must be synchronized with the primary server's system clock to ensure correct operation of the system. If the two servers are not synchronized, the installation fails.

   • Administrator Password: Enter the password for the ZENworks Administrator account.

   • Would you like to continue with installation into the Management Zone?: The installation program displays the name of the ZENworks Management Zone in which the secondary server will be installed. Enter Y to continue.

   The zlm-config utility adds the server to the ZENworks system as a ZENworks Secondary Server and then configures the ZENworks Server software components.

9. When configuration of the ZENworks Server software components is complete, you should verify the installation. To do so:

   1. Confirm that the ZENworks services are running by using the following command:

      /opt/novell/zenworks/bin/zlm-config --status

      The screen output should show that all services are running.

      log dir: /var/opt/novell/log/zenworks 
      Novell eDirectory is running 
      Novell ZENworks Server is running 
      Novell ZENworks Loader is running 
      Novell ZENworks Imaging Service is running 
      Novell ZENworks Preboot Policy Daemon is running 
      Novell ZENworks Server Management is running 
      Novell ZENworks Management Daemon is running

      If a service is not running, use the following command to start it:

      /etc/init.d/servicename start

      Replace servicename with the name of the service that needs to be started.

      Service	Service Name
      Novell eDirectory	ndsd
      Novell ZENworks Server	novell-zenserver
      Novell ZENworks Loader	novell-zenloader
      Novell ZENworks Imaging Service	novell-pbserv
      Novell ZENworks Preboot Policy Daemon	novell-zmgprebootpolicy
      Novell ZENworks Server Management	novell-zented
      Novell ZENworks Management Daemon	novell-zmd

      For example, if the Novell ZENworks Management Daemon is not running, use the following command to start it:

      /etc/init.d/novell-zmd start

      For additional information about the ZENworks services, see "General Management" in the Novell ZENworks 7 Linux Management Administration Guide.

   2. Access the ZENworks Control Center using the following URL:

      https://ZENworks_Primary_Server_Address

      Replace ZENworks_Primary_Server_Address with the IP address or DNS name of the primary server.

      After you are in the Control Center, you can click the Devices tab, then click the Servers folder to view your ZENworks Secondary Server.

10. Repeat the steps in this section to set up additional secondary servers.

    or

    Continue with the next section, Defining a Content Replication Schedule.

Defining a Content Replication Schedule

When you define an RPM package for delivery to managed devices within you system, the RPM package is physically added to the package repository on the primary server. To ensure that RPM packages are available on each ZENworks Server, you need to establish a schedule for replicating the RPM packages from your primary server to your secondary servers. By default, no schedule is defined, which means that no replication can take place until you define the schedule.

1. Access the ZENworks Control Center using the following URL:

   https://ZENworks_Primary_Server_Address

   Replace ZENworks_Primary_Server_Address with the IP address or DNS name of the primary server.

2. Click the Configuration tab.

3. In the Management Zone Settings list, click Content Replication Schedule to display the Content Replication Schedule page.

   The Content Replication Schedule page determines how often RPM bundles are replicated from the primary server to all secondary servers in the Management Zone. During replication of a bundle, only a new packages and updates to existing packages are sent.

4. Select a schedule type from the drop-down list.

   The following schedules are available:

   Schedule Type	Description
   No Schedule	Use this option to indicate no schedule. The content is not replicated to the secondary servers.
   Date Specific	Select one or more dates on which to replicate the content to secondary servers and set other restrictions that might apply.
   Day of the Week Specific	Select one or more days of the week on which to replicate content to secondary servers and set other restrictions that might apply.
   Monthly	Select the day of the month on which to replicate content to secondary servers and set other restrictions that might apply.

5. Click OK.

6. To set up devices to be managed, continue with the next section, Setting Up Managed Devices.