Device Folder And Group Structures - Novell ZENWORKS 10 CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT SP3 - SYSTEM PLANNING-DEPLOYMENT-BEST PRACTICES GUIDE 10.3 30-03-2010 System Planning Manual

The following sections contain information that should be addressed and documented in detail.
These sections cover areas that Novell recommends as best practice when deploying ZENworks
Configuration Management across the infrastructure.
Section 4.2.1, "Device Folder and Group Structures," on page 47
Section 4.2.2, "User Sources," on page 48
Section 4.2.3, "Role-Based Administrative Accounts," on page 49
Section 4.2.4, "Configuration Settings for the Management Zone," on page 50
Section 4.2.5, "Device Discovery," on page 60
Section 4.2.6, "Adaptive Agent Deployment," on page 62
Section 4.2.7, "Registration Rules and Keys," on page 63
Section 4.2.8, "Remote Management," on page 66
Section 4.2.9, "Inventory," on page 67
Section 4.2.10, "Application Management," on page 69
Section 4.2.11, "Policy Management," on page 74
Section 4.2.12, "Imaging," on page 76
Section 4.2.13, "Configuring a Layer 4 Switch," on page 76
Section 4.2.14, "ZENworks Systems Update," on page 78

4.2.1 Device Folder and Group Structures

Using ZENworks Control Center, you can manage devices by performing tasks directly on
individual device objects. However, this approach is not very efficient unless you have only a few
devices to manage. To optimize management of a large number of devices, ZENworks
Configuration Management lets you organize devices into folders and groups. You can then perform
tasks on a folder or group to manage its devices.
You can create folders and groups at any time. However, the best practice is to create folders and
groups before you register devices in your Management Zone. This allows you to use registration
keys and rules to automatically add devices to the appropriate folders and groups when the devices
register. Membership for dynamic groups is automatically updated based on the defined schedule.
The following information should be considered when designing folder structure and groups for a
Management Zone:
Do you need to implement site administrators and sub-administrators who have limited rights
to the system or only to part of the Management Zone? For example, you might need a site
administrator who is only responsible for a specific location.
Do you need Help Desk users who are allowed to assign bundles and perform some remote
management tasks, but not allowed to create or modify items such as bundles and polices?
Do you need site-specific settings, such as inventory schedules or system variables?
Do you need department-specific configuration, such as system variables to set working
directories or host IDs?
The following graphic is an example of a company that is organized by country. Further
organizational folders can be included under each of these country folders. You can be as granular as
you want, and this is encouraged to implement specific levels of management.
Performing Design Activities 47