Chapter 18. Deploying Novell ZENworks for Desktops 4 in a Pure Microsoft Windows Environment

ZENworks for Desktops 4 runs on a Windows network without a NetWare server. ZENworks for Desktops 4 operates on Windows workstations regardless of the server environment in your network. ZENworks for Desktops 4 will function in any IP network running eDirectory, including Windows 2000/NT, NetWare 6 or NetWare 5.1 server based networks, and mixed environments.

ZENworks for Desktops has traditionally been deployed in NetWare networking or mixed NetWare and Windows environments. The initial versions of ZENworks for Desktops were dependent on many of the features and capabilities that existed only in a NetWare-based LAN. However, as the product has matured, features have evolved, allowing ZENworks for Desktops to provide significant functionality in a non-mixed, pure Windows environment. Everything that you require to run in a pure Windows environment, with the exception of eDirectory, is supplied in the ZENworks for Desktops 4 product.

ZENworks can be deployed, as depicted in Figure 18.1, into an Active Directory Domain and provide all the services in the product through Windows 2000 servers and IIS. All administration of user accounts can continue through the domain, whereas administration of applications, desktops, and the like is done using eDirectory as the repository independent of Active Directory, for example. ZENworks ships with other Novell products so you can automatically synchronize your users and passwords between Active Directory (or NT Domains) and the eDirectory ZENworks repository. ZENworks is agent-based and requires no Novell client on the workstations or laptops. It will quietly authenticate in the background to eDirectory and retrieve applications and policies, delivering them to your desktop through a browser, Start menu, window, or desktop icons.

Figure 18.1. ZENworks for Desktops operating in a pure Windows environment.

This chapter discusses how ZENworks for Desktops can be deployed in a pure Windows environment and walks through the installation steps to set up a trial configuration.