System Requirements; Effective Policies - Novell ZENWORKS LINUX MANAGEMENT 7.3 IR2 - ADMINISTRATION GUIDE 02-12-2010 Administration Manual

15.5 System Requirements

System requirements specify the conditions that must be satisfied on the managed device for the
policy to be effective. System requirements are specified for each policy to ensure that the
conditions necessary for a proper enforcement of a policy are met.
The appropriate default system requirements are included in a policy when it is created. When you
create or edit a policy, you can modify or remove the requirements. No default system requirement
is available for the Text File and Remote Execute policies.
You can change the system requirement setting if the settings included in the policy are available on
different versions or platforms. If not, all the settings configured in the policy are not effective. For
example, if the Distribution >= Novell Linux Desktop 9 requirement is removed from the Firefox
policy and the policy is specified to be enforced on all platforms, the settings are not effective
because the lockdown option for Firefox is available only for the Novell Linux Desktop.
You should remove the system requirement only if you are sure that it will not cause problems. For
example, in a Generic GNOME policy created by importing settings from a device, the system
requirement is set to the operating system of the device from which the settings were imported. If
you have included settings in the policy that are available on other platforms, you can remove or
change the system requirement.
IMPORTANT: Even if the requirements are removed and the application version or operating
system is incompatible, the policy is enforced but a warning message is generated. If the appropriate
application (Epiphany, Evolution, or Firefox) is not installed, the policy is not enforced and an error
message is generated.

15.6 Effective Policies

A device inherits its policy assignments from its parent folders, its group memberships, and itself;
when conflicting assignments occur, the assignments on the device override group assignments,
which override folder assignments.
You can tell which policies are in effect for a device by viewing the Effective Policies section on the
Device Summary page. To view the effective policies, click the Devices tab, navigate the folders to
find the device, click the device, then click the Summary tab.
All the effective policies are listed under the Effective Policies section on the Device Summary page.
The following table provides a description of each icon that indicates the effectiveness of a policy:
Table 15-2
Icon
130 Novell ZENworks 7.3 Linux Management Administration Guide
Policy Status Icons
Description
The policy is effective and will be enforced on the device.
The policy might be effective. The policy will be enforced if the system requirements are
met. Otherwise, the policy will not be enforced.
The policy is not effective and will not be enforced.