{"id":287,"date":"2009-08-03T03:06:23","date_gmt":"2009-08-03T08:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yourlinuxguy.com\/?p=287"},"modified":"2009-08-20T07:39:19","modified_gmt":"2009-08-20T12:39:19","slug":"zcm10-system-updates-deployment-tip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yourLinuxGuy.com\/?p=287","title":{"rendered":"ZCM10 System Updates Deployment Tip"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s ZCM month here at youLinuxGuy.com \/ yourZcmGuy.com …!<\/p>\n

I got a question the other day from a customer, basically asking, “…what is the best way to deploy ZCM agent System Updates in a large, spread-out environment?<\/em>”<\/p>\n

First, an aside.\u00a0 I think ZCM 10 is the best version of ZENworks to date.\u00a0 Sure, it hit some rough spots as it was revised from the original release, but now it is a stable, flexible, scalable, and mature product.<\/p>\n

Since the release of ZCM 10.0.0 just a couple years ago as a complete re-write of the original NetWare-based ZENworks product, I have been working regularly with the product as an on-going consultant, installer and administrator.\u00a0 I have worked with customers through design and deployment of the original version, through each of the subsequent updates and all the correlating changes and challenges.<\/p>\n

Previous to ZCM10, I have years of experience with ZENworks for Desktops; having deployed (or consulted on existing deployments) all the way back to version 3.\u00a0 But more recently I have designed ZCM systems for a handful of customers, from small companies to two medium-sized, name-recognizable Michigan-based companies.\u00a0 I have also acted as a ZCM subject matter expert on behalf of other local companies.<\/p>\n

So I’m glad to see that it has arrived to what it is today.\u00a0 The integration with Patch Management, the single web-based console, the scalable multi-primary and tiered satellite design, and so on.\u00a0 It’s almost all good.\u00a0 By the way, if you need help with your ZCM environment, all the way from the smallest tip to the biggest deployment plan, feel free to drop me a line!\u00a0 Okay, enough of the aside, on to the point…<\/p>\n

As each patch or updates is released for ZCM, you (as an admin) are faced with the notion of pushing those updates out to the clients across your enterprise.\u00a0 You hope they go out smoothly, you hope they run correctly, you hope they reboot normally, and you hope they return to service.\u00a0 Now, do you want 100 of them doing that at once?\u00a0 1,000 of them?\u00a0 No.<\/p>\n

The customer that asked me the question at the top of this post had just deployed the ZCM 10sp2 update out to all his PCs, and spent the next 3 days figuring out why the deployment hadn’t “baselined”.\u00a0 He had not previously used “Staged” deployments for the updates, but with a little help, he will from now on.<\/p>\n

With “Staged” deployments of updates, you can choose the Devices (or groups of Devices) to which each “Stage” will apply.\u00a0 This is one reason why I always set up rules for automatic containment placement *AND* group memberships for initial agent deployments, since the Device group is perfect for this type of use.\u00a0 You can also set the configuration so that each stage will fully complete before advancing to the next, either manually, automatically, and\/or with notification (via email!).<\/p>\n

Stages are set up by doing the following in the ZMC administration page:<\/p>\n