Basic Concepts; Bundles - Novell ZENWORKS 10 CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT SP3 - SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTION REFERENCE 10.3 30-03-2010 Management Manual

Basic Concepts

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Novell ZENworks Configuration Management provides great flexibility in distributing software.
You can distribute applications and individual files, or simply make modifications to existing files
on a device.
The following sections contain additional information that is important as you begin creating and
managing bundles:
Section 1.1, "Bundles," on page 11
Section 1.2, "Assigning Bundles to Devices vs. Users," on page 12
Section 1.3, "Packaging Considerations," on page 12
Section 1.4, "Dependency Bundles," on page 13
Section 1.5, "Content," on page 16

1.1 Bundles

Software is distributed through the use of bundles. A bundle consists of all the files, configuration
settings, installation instructions, and so forth required to deploy and manage the application or files
on a device. There are four types of bundles you can create:
Directive Bundle: Performs one or more actions on a device. For example, you can use a
Directive bundle to edit a Windows* INI file or text file. You can run a script, start or stop a
service, or delete a file. In addition, the bundle includes creating various other actions and
personality actions such as Store Personality and Apply Personality actions.
File Bundle: Copies or installs files or directories to a device. For example, you can use a File
bundle to include configuration files or data files. A File bundle is useful to distribute files that
are not part of a Windows bundle.
Imaging Bundle: Performs operations before the operating system boots. The various Imaging
bundle types let you install images on one or more devices, or run ZENworks scripts containing
any commands that you can issue from the imaging bash prompt.
Windows Bundle: Distributes a Microsoft* Windows Installer (MSI) package, Microsoft
Windows Software Patch (MSP) package, thin-client application, or other Windows-based
applications to a Windows device.
The software included with a bundle is uploaded to the ZENworks Server repository. This enables
the ZENworks Server and ZENworks Adaptive Agent to distribute the software without requiring
access to any other network locations.
To create a software bundle, you use the Create New Bundle Wizard in ZENworks Control Center or
by using the zman command line utility. For more information on Creating Bundle using ZENworks
Control Center, see Chapter 2, "Creating Bundles," on page 19
command line utility, see
Management Command Line Utilities
The sections in this guide provide conceptual and task-based information to help you effectively
manage software distribution in your ZENworks system. You can also use the online Help system
for information about creating bundles.
"ZENworks Command Line
Reference.
and for Creating Bundle using zman
Utilities" in the ZENworks 10 Configuration
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Basic Concepts 11