RSS
  Z.E.N.:Novell's New Management Philosophy |
|
On the user side, you can control desktop preferences, user system policies and dynamic account creation on NT workstations. In the lab, I restricted machines so only a few people could log into them. I also set various system policies (hiding the network neighborhood and removing access to the control panel) for a different set of users. Z.E.N.works let me associate a printer object with a particular user; this way, users had continuous printer access, regardless of which machine they were logged into.
Application Distribution Z.E.N.works includes an updated version of NetWare Application Launcher (NAL), which lets you make applications available to users on individual machines. Under NT, a user who does not have installation rights on a local workstation is not a concern. A component of Z.E.N.works runs as a service on the local workstation and installs the application on the machine on the user's behalf. NAL also can detect if an application fails to start. If such a failure occurs, Z.E.N.works will check installation for missing files or registry entries and replace them. NAL stores all application information in NDS and any files that must be copied to the local workstation are stored in a location you specify. If someone accidentally deletes a file, his or her applications will still run without involving the helpdesk. These time-saving features will be big hits with the IS staff. NAL provides a snAppShot program that watches what an application installs, and it creates the NAL NDS object. Similar to Seagate Software's WinINSTALL program, it monitors an application's setup program for file/folder changes, shortcuts, .INI files, and registry changes. NAL also lets you mass-customize the application install by substituting well-k nown NDS variables, such as LOGIN_NAME or FULL_NAME, in place of application-specific settings. Workstation Inventory When you're asked about specific workstation hardware, you'll be able to check the info in a central location, thanks to Z.E.N.works' workstation inventory component. Each workstation fills in its particular NDS object with hardware inventory info, including operation system, CPU, memory, BIOS information, display adapter, disk drives, services running on the machine and resources. In the lab, Z.E.N.works correctly detected all of the specifics for my network devices. Once this information is gathered, you can use it in the application distribution portion of Z.E.N.works. James E. Drews is a network administrator for the Computer Aided Engineering Center of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He can be reached at drews@engr.wisc.edu. |
 |
 |
|
Other Sneak Previews
|
