This scenario is this simplest deployment to plan. Because an existing ZENworks implementation is not in place, the pace of the deployment can be controlled vary carefully without coordinating the decommissioning of previous ZENworks services. In this scenario, the administrators have only one administration tool to utilize: the ZENworks Control Center. This simplifies the administrative effort.
When deploying ZENworks Configuration Management to a new customer, Novell recommends that you consider the following steps:
It is important that the desired solution is tested in an environment that accurately represents the customer’s environment. If a test or model office environment can be built, the ZENworks Adaptive Agent should be deployed to test devices that accurately reflect the various builds that are in the field. Customers often have multiple operating system builds with different service packs, authentication mechanisms, and standard applications. Ensuring that the desired configuration works on all of these builds helps to ensure a successful deployment to the live environment.
Another benefit of providing a model office environment is that groups of end users can be invited to use the systems and provide feedback on how information and data is presented. A good example of this is the various methods for presenting application icons to the end-users. In some cases, users might prefer to use the Start Menu, Quick Launch Toolbar, or the ZENworks Application Window. Gathering feedback on these items early allows careful planning for how to best provide ZENworks Configuration Management functionality to the end users.
A new ZENworks customer might not have a desktop management solution already in place. In this scenario, the customer needs to try various methods for deploying the ZENworks Adaptive Agent to new machines. ZENworks Configuration Management provides the ability to discover devices via IP or LDAP discovery routines and then to target remote deployments of the agent to these discovery devices. For remote agent deployment to function a number of criteria must be in place, such as:
Simple File Sharing is disabled
An administrative credential must be provided
If it is not possible to deploy devices via the built-in deployment tool, a number of other methods can be investigated. For each of the following methods, the process should be tested to ensure that the process is acceptable to the end user and that the ZENworks Adaptive Agent can be successfully deployed.
If the customer utilizes a directory, the Adaptive Agent can be deployed through login scripts.
NOTE:The end user must have the necessary privileges to install the Adaptive Agent.
The last resort for agent deployment is to manually download the agent from the ZENworks Control Center. Alternatively, customers can place the agent installation on their own intranet pages to allow users to install the product.
After the ZENworks Adaptive Agents are deployed in the model office environment, the ZENworks policies can be tested to ensure that the desired result is achieved. Particular attention might be directed to the deployment of Group Policies. Group Policies in ZENworks Configuration Management are plural, allowing multiple policies to be stacked. It is important that the different policy stacks are tested.
Test all applications that are to be made available on the first day of the production rollout. This testing should include:
These applications are made available to all managed devices. Typical examples of these are the following:
Adobe Reader
OpenOffice
GroupWise e-mail client
GroupWise Instant Messenger
Different departments within the organization, such as Finance and Human Resources, might require different application sets. Ensure that these applications deploy successfully on each build type and that they interact with other applications.
Applications that are used by a very small numbers of users should also be tested; for example, applications designed for people with disabilities.
After the ZENworks Adaptive Agent has been deployed and all policies and applications have been tested for functionality, the next phase involves inviting representatives of the user base to test the end-user experience. At this stage, it is valuable to receive feedback on a number of items such as:
The look and feel of the desktop
The method by which users can launch ZENworks Configuration Management delivered applications (Start Menu, Quick Launch bar, notification area, and so forth)
Feedback received from users helps to ensure that the ZENworks-delivered desktop experience is acceptable. Another useful result of this activity is that requirements for additional training or marketing collateral is identified.
Planning deployments are an important part of a successful project. After a robust design has been tested and evaluated in a model office environment, a number of steps should be followed before implementing ZENworks Configuration Management in a production environment.
An important part of any deployment is to identify which devices will be targeted and in which order. Novell recommends that logical groupings be made in the target environment before deploying the product. After ZENworks Adaptive Agents are deployed and represented in the ZENworks Control Center as managed objects, ZENworks groups can be created to reflect these groups. Groups can become important in the future when staging the rollout of system updates, applications, and patches.
The following list provides examples of how environments can be grouped:
Departments: The IT organization is a good group of people to start with because the members tend to be technology-savvy and understand the needs for reboots and testing.
Laptop Users: Laptop users are a good group to identify to test the roaming capabilities of ZENworks Configuration Management. As devices roam inside the firewall, it is important that Closest Server Rules are configured in the Management Zone to ensure that devices connect to the most appropriate servers based on their physical location.
Home workers and VPN users: These devices connect to the corporate firewall in a non-standard way. Testing these devices early ensures that the logon and connection process works to connect to the ZENworks Management Zone and refresh content.
Geographical locations: You should establish a footprint at each major location early. This is to ensure that the Management Zone is configured correctly to spread the load of devices via Closest Server Rules.
VIP users: You might want to manage the devices of CxOs and IT directors early, so you are able to ensure that they are working well. It is often beneficial to create a workstation group to group important devices together. This allows for remedial actions to be quickly taken.
Internal documents that can be shared with the end user are an important part of any project that introduces technology that affects the desktop experience.
The following sections describe internal documentation that you could use:
Internal marketing is an important tool to inform end users of IT projects that affect them. This normally comes in the form of intranet postings, internal promotions, posters, and so forth. Novell recommends that customers are encouraged to use these actions to ensure that the deployment process is managed effectively.
When introducing a new product into a customer environment, it is important that the customer's support escalation process is well defined. In addition to this, it is vital that the support organization is well trained on ZENworks Configuration Management. Key members of the support team should attend workshops and training early in the project to ensure that they are familiar with the product, the configuration, and troubleshooting methods. After key members are trained, this knowledge can be cascaded to the other members of the team as it is needed.
After the deployment groups have been defined, the next stage is to schedule when the deployments occur for each group within the organization. This process is typically associated with the process of raising change control requests. Novell recommends that deployments be scheduled in small groups to begin with and then ramped up over time to ensure that the ZENworks Configuration Management architecture can be monitored effectively during peak periods of change.
Deploying ZENworks Configuration Management to managed devices is the most important part of any ZENworks project, this is the stage at which end-users’ productivity can become affected. Novell recommends using the following basic steps when deploying the product to a new environment:
Deploy the first ZENworks Primary Server and database and ensure that the Management Zone is stable.
The first server in the Management Zone is often the Certificate Authority for the rest of the Zone. It should be carefully managed and backed up regularly.
After the Management Zone is functional, the initial configuration should be defined as follows:
Create workstation folders, depending on how the customer wants to organize devices, such as departments, geographical locations, and project teams. For more information, see Creating a Folder
in the ZENworks 10 Configuration Management Administration Quick Start.
Create registration rules and keys to control the placement of devices in the Management Zone. For more information, see Registering Devices
in the ZENworks 10 Configuration Management Administration Quick Start.
Create roles and assign administration rights. If a user source is being used, configure existing users with the management rights necessary for their role. For more information, see Administrators
in the ZENworks 10 Configuration Management System Administration Reference.
Configure Closest Server Rules. Ensure that the various network locations are reflected. For more information, see Setting Up Closest Server Rules
in the ZENworks 10 Configuration Management System Administration Reference.
Configure System Update. Ensure that the server can access the various Internet resources required to download system updates and product recognition updates. For more information, see Introduction to ZENworks System Updates
in the ZENworks 10 Configuration Management System Administration Reference
Configure user sources. Configure the link to the chosen user source and ensure that the user objects can be found by browsing the source. For more information, see User Sources
in the ZENworks 10 Configuration Management System Administration Reference.
Configure Inventory scheduling. The default setting for all devices is to inventory monthly on the first day of each month. Create different schedules for each of the workstation folders that exist within the Management Zone. For more information, see the ZENworks 10 Configuration Management Asset Inventory Reference.
Create standard policies, such as Remote Control policies. For more information, see Creating Policies
in the ZENworks 10 Configuration Management Policy Management Reference.
Create the required application bundles. When using a staged approach, it is necessary to create only the standard bundles and the applications that are required by the first device stages. For more information, see Creating Bundles
in the ZENworks 10 Configuration Management Software Distribution Reference.
Using the chosen deployment methods, deploy the first stages of devices to the Management Zone. After the devices have been deployed, ensure the following:
Devices are in the correct location (Workstation folder).
Devices have successfully created and uploaded inventory data.
Devices can be remotely controlled.
ZENworks Primary Servers and the ZENworks Database are stable.
Devices can be refreshed successfully and do not report errors.
After the customer is satisfied that the initial Management Zone configuration is stable with the first stages of devices, the project can continue.
According to the recommendations in this document, add additional Primary Servers and Satellite devices. If possible, make sure all servers are in place before introducing additional devices. This provides the opportunity for the servers to be patched appropriately and for the Content Repository to synchronize completely. If all of the servers cannot be deployed before the live devices are added, ensure that the deployment is staged in such as way that the servers are added before the relevant groups of devices are added.
Using the stages identified earlier, continue the managed device rollout in a staged fashion to the rest of the organization.
During the device rollout, it is vital that the performance of the back-end servers, databases, and managed devices are closely monitored using tools such as Perfmon. The following items should be closely monitored:
Disk utilization
Memory
Peak processor utilization
If servers are highly utilized and struggling to cope with the load placed on them by the managed devices, it is necessary to review the Management Zone configuration and the number of Primary Servers and Satellite devices.