How to Create a Preboot Bundle

Preboot bundles are associated with ZENworks imaging and make it possible to take or deliver an image to a managed device.

A preboot bundle requires that you take two steps to apply the image to the device. The extra steps are there to ensure that you really want that action to take place on the device. All preboot bundles may result in actions that destroy the data on the drive as part of the imaging process.

The first step involves creating and assigning a bundle to a device. In the second step you either launch the Perform the Preboot Task action or edit the preboot work snapshot on the device summary page.

Complete the following steps to create a Preboot bundle in ZENworks 7 Linux Management:

1.	Launch a browser and enter the URL of the ZENworks Control Center.
2.	Log in to the ZENworks Control Center.
3.	Press Bundles on the menu bar at the top of the page.
4.	Press the New drop-down menu and choose Bundle. This starts the Bundle Creation Wizard (refer to Figure 7.1).

Complete the wizard to create the preboot bundle. The steps of the wizard are described in the following sections.

Preboot Bundle Creation Wizard: Bundle Type

On this first page you need to select the preboot bundle type to create. Press Next. This moves you to the next step of the wizard.

Preboot Bundle Creation Wizard: Preboot Type

Figure 7.9 displays the following step of the wizard.

Figure 7.9. Step 2 of Preboot Bundle Creation Wizard.

During this step you must select the type of preboot bundle you want to create. Select one of the following types:

• AutoYAST Bundle This enables you to specify the parameters required to launch an AutoYAST automated installation of SuSE Linux.

• KickStart Bundle This enables you to specify the information required to launch a KickStart automated installation of a RedHat Linux system.

• ZENworks Image Bundle This enables you to specify an image that was previously taken with the ZENworks imaging engine. This image can be reapplied to any managed device.

• ZENworks Multicast Bundle This enables you to specify that you want a ZENworks image sent to many computers in a single operation, using a multicast protocol that transmits the image only once over the network.

• ZENworks Script Bundle This enables you to specify a Linux bash script that can be executed in the ZENworks Imaging environment on the managed device.

After you choose the type of Preboot bundle, press Next.

The following sections describe the wizard steps for each type of preboot bundle.

AutoYAST Preboot Bundle Creation

The AutoYAST Preboot bundle represents a network installation of a SuSE Linux system onto the assigned managed device.

AUTOYAST PREBOOT BUNDLE CREATION WIZARD STEP 3

After you press Next on the initial page, this wizard page asks you to name and place the bundle in your desired folder (see Figure 7.10).

Figure 7.10. General information page of Preboot Creation Wizard.

Enter the following information:

• Name Enter the bundle's name. This is the name that is to be displayed in the ZENworks Control Center for this bundle.

• Display Name Enter the name of the bundle that should be displayed on the end-user interface system.

• Folder Browse to the folder under the Bundles area where you want this bundle to be created. Folders help you organize your sets of bundles.

• Description Enter a text description if you want. This description is used to assist you in remembering what this bundle may contain.

Press Next. This advances the wizard to where you specify the location of the kernel files and other files for the AutoYAST process.

AUTOYAST PREBOOT BUNDLE CREATION WIZARD STEP 4

In this step you must specify the path to the files necessary for the AutoYAST process. Figure 7.11 shows an example of this screen.

Figure 7.11. Bundle Wizard page creation of AutoYAST bundle, path files.

On this page enter the following values:

• Linux Kernel File Enter the path to the requested Linux kernel file relative to the location of the TFTP directory on the ZENworks 7 Linux Management server.

• Initial RAM Drive Enter the path to the RAM drive data file relative to the location of the TFTP directory on the ZENworks 7 Linux Management server.

Press Next to advance to the next page in the wizard.

AUTOYAST PREBOOT BUNDLE CREATION WIZARD STEP 5

This step enables you to specify the protocol, server address, and path to the network install directory where your system can be found. Figure 7.12 shows an example of this page of the wizard.

Figure 7.12. undle Wizard page creation of AutoYAST bundle, AutoInstall Attributes for Install Directory.

Enter the following information into the page:

• Protocol Select the protocol that should be used in contacting the Installation server. The choices of protocols are NFS, FTP, HTTP, or TFTP.

• IP Address Next to the Protocol field, enter the IP address of the AutoInstall server that will be providing the installation information over the specified protocol.

• Path to Install Directory Enter the path relative to the protocol where the installation directory is located.

Press Next to advance to the next page in the wizard.

AUTOYAST PREBOOT BUNDLE CREATION WIZARD STEP 6

This step enables you to specify the protocol, server address, and path to the AutoYAST script on your network. Figure 7.13 shows an example of this page of the wizard.

Figure 7.13. Bundle Wizard page creation of AutoYAST bundle, AutoInstall Attributes for AutoYAST script.

Enter the following information into the page:

• Protocol Select the protocol that should be used in contacting the Installation server. The choices of protocols are NFS, FTP, HTTP, or TFTP.

• IP Address Next to the Protocol field, enter the IP address of the AutoInstall server that will be providing the installation information over the specified protocol.

• AutoYAST Script Name Enter the path and script filename of the AutoYAST script that is to coordinate your installation.

• Additional Kernel Parameters Enter any additional Linux kernel parameters you want passed to the AutoYAST system.

Press Next to advance to the next page in the wizard.

AUTOYAST PREBOOT BUNDLE CREATION WIZARD: SUMMARY

This step in the wizard provides a summary of your Preboot bundle.

Review the summary page and press Back to return to a previous page to make changes, Cancel to terminate the bundle creation, or Finish to complete and create the bundle.

After you press the Finish button, the ZENworks Control Center displays whether the bundle was created successfully. Press OK to return to the ZENworks Control Center.

KickStart Preboot Bundle Creation

The KickStart preboot bundle represents a network installation of a RedHat system onto the assigned managed device.

KICKSTART PREBOOT BUNDLE CREATION WIZARD: NAMING

This wizard page asks you to name and place the bundle in your desired folder (refer to Figure 7.10).

Press Next. This advances the wizard to where you specify the location of the kernel files and other files for the KickStart process.

KICKSTART PREBOOT BUNDLE CREATION WIZARD: PATHS

In this step you must specify the path to the files necessary for the KickStart process. Figure 7.14 shows an example of this screen.

Figure 7.14. Bundle Wizard page creation of KickStart bundle, path files.

On this page enter the following values:

• Linux Kernel File Enter the path to the requested Linux Kernel file relative to the location of the TFTP directory on the ZENworks 7 Linux Management server.

• Initial RAM Drive Enter the path to the RAM drive data file relative to the location of the TFTP directory on the ZENworks 7 Linux Management server.

Press Next to advance to the next page in the wizard.

KICKSTART PREBOOT BUNDLE CREATION WIZARD: SERVER

This step enables you to specify the protocol, server address, and path to the KickStart script on your network. Figure 7.15 shows an example of this page of the wizard.

Figure 7.15. Bundle Wizard page creation of KickStart bundle, AutoInstall Attributes for KickStart script.

Enter the following information into the page:

• Protocol Select the protocol that should be used in contacting the Installation server. The choices of protocols are NFS, FTP, or HTTP.

• IP Address Next to the Protocol field, enter the IP address of the AutoInstall server that will be providing the installation information over the specified protocol.

• KickStart Script Name Enter the path and script filename of the KickStart script that is to coordinate your installation.

• Additional Kernel Parameters Enter any additional Linux kernel parameters you want passed to the KickStart system.

Press Next to advance to the next page in the wizard.

KICKSTART PREBOOT BUNDLE CREATION WIZARD: SUMMARY

This step in the wizard provides a summary of your Preboot bundle.

Review the summary page and press Back to return to a previous page to make changes, Cancel to terminate the bundle creation, or Finish to complete and create the bundle.

After you press the Finish button, the ZENworks Control Center displays whether the bundle was created successfully. Press OK to return to the ZENworks Control Center.

ZENworks Image Preboot Bundle Creation

The ZENworks Image Preboot bundle represents an image that has been created with the ZENworks Image Explorer or an image that was taken from an existing device and stored on the ZENworks server.

ZENWORKS IMAGE PREBOOT BUNDLE CREATION WIZARD: NAMING

This wizard page asks you to name and place the bundle in your desired folder (refer to Figure 7.10).

Press Next. This advances the wizard to where you specify the base and optional add-on image files.

ZENWORKS IMAGE PREBOOT BUNDLE CREATION WIZARD: IMAGE FILE

In this step you must specify the path to the image (.zmg) file that contains the base image and any additional add-on image files to include in the imaging process. Figure 7.16 shows an example of this screen.

Figure 7.16. Bundle Wizard page creation of ZENworks Image bundle, base and add-on files.

When a ZENworks Image is placed on a system, the base image is first placed onto the drive. The placing of a base image is, by default, destructive and removes any data and partitioning that may have been on that drive. After the base image is applied to the device, the add-on images, which are never destructive, are applied to the disk drive.

On this page enter the following values:

• Base Image File You cannot enter any data into the specified field. You must press the Browse button to the right of the field. This brings up the dialog box shown in Figure 7.17.

  Figure 7.17. Base Image File browse dialog.

  

  
  

  Enter the following information into the dialog box:

  • Server Object, IP, or DNS Enter into the field the device name in ZENworks for the server that holds the imaging files. You may alternatively enter the IP or DNS address of that server. You may optionally press the Browse button next to the field and browse to and select the server from the ZENworks Control Center.

  • File Path on Server Enter the full path to the .zmg file that represents your base image.

  After you have entered these values, press the OK button.

• Add-On Image Files You may optionally add Add-On image files to the bundle by pressing the Add button to the right. This brings up the same dialog to define the server and filename of the image file (see Figure 7.16). After you have entered your Add-On image files, you may remove, edit, or reorder the list by selecting the specific Add-On image file and then selecting the action from the buttons on the left.

• File Set Select the file set out of the Base Image that you want applied to the device. The File Set enables the system to selectively place files out of the image onto the managed device.

Press Next to advance to the next page in the wizard.

ZENWORKS IMAGING PREBOOT BUNDLE CREATION WIZARD: SUMMARY

This step in the wizard provides a summary of your Preboot bundle.

Review the summary page and press Back to return to a previous page to make changes, Cancel to terminate the bundle creation, or Finish to complete and create the bundle.

After you press the Finish button, the ZENworks Control Center displays whether the bundle was created successfully. Press OK to return to the ZENworks Control Center.

ZENworks Script Preboot Bundle Creation

The ZENworks Script Preboot bundle represents a script that will be executed in the ZENworks Imaging environment on the device.

ZENWORKS SCRIPT PREBOOT BUNDLE CREATION WIZARD: NAMING

This wizard page asks you to name and place the bundle in your desired folder (refer to Figure 7.10).

Press Next. This advances the wizard to where you specify the script commands you want executed.

ZENWORKS SCRIPT PREBOOT BUNDLE CREATION WIZARD: SCRIPT

This step enables you to enter the script that you want launched. Figure 7.18 shows an example of this screen.

Figure 7.18. Bundle Wizard page creation of ZENworks Image bundle, script.

On this page enter the script into the text box.

Press Next to advance to the next page in the wizard.

ZENWORKS SCRIPT PREBOOT BUNDLE CREATION WIZARD: SUMMARY

This step in the wizard provides a summary of your Preboot bundle.

Review the summary page and press Back to return to a previous page to make changes, Cancel to terminate the bundle creation, or Finish to complete and create the bundle.

After you press the Finish button, the ZENworks Control Center displays the success or failure of the bundle creation. Press OK to return to the ZENworks Control Center.