Getting Setting Up

From device discovery, I used the Scan Network option to find computers on the network. You may choose from scan options including CBA (common base agent) discovery, NT Domain, Network Scan, or LDAP. Further, you may filter by IP range and even schedule the operation as a new task. I used the NT Domain method and was able to specify alternate credentials to perform the search.

You can create any number of client configurations and set one as default. From this configuration, you can choose which components you wish to install. This list of components provides a good quick-look at the LANDesk features, so I will briefly go over each of them here:

• Application Healing - Automatically keeps configured applications running on clients. You would use this to protect critical or commonly-used applications.
• Application Policy Management - Automatically installs a set of applications on groups of clients. You would use this to manage groups of clients that have common software needs.
• Bandwidth Detection - Enables bandwidth detection between clients and the core server. You can limit Management Suite actions, such as Software Distribution, based on available bandwidth. You would use this option if you have remote clients or clients that connect to the network via a slow link.
• Common Base Agent - Installs the CBA that forms the basis of communication between clients and the core server. This you would install on most clients as most of the other components listed here require the Common Base Agent.
• Custom Data Forms - Presents a form to users for them to complete. You would use this to retrieve customized information from users directly. Additionally you can query the core database for the data users enter.
• Enable Migration Tasks - Selects the components necessary for OSD and Profile Migration: Bandwidth Detection, Common Base Agent, and Enhanced Software Distribution.
• Enhanced Software Distribution - Automates the process of installing software applications or distributing files to clients. This is used to install applications simultaneously to multiple clients or to update files or drivers on multiple clients.
• Inventory Scanner - Gathers software and hardware information for clients that you can view through database queries.
• Local Scheduler - Allows Application Policy Management and Task Completion to be run on clients at specified times. You would install this if you did not want the Application Policy Management or Task Completion agents to run at login or if you wish the agents to run more or less frequently.
• Remote Control - Lets you take control of a client or server from across the network.
• Software Monitoring - Monitors and reports on software license usage.
• Targeted Multicasting – This adds Targeted Multicast support for Enhanced Software Distribution, Application Policy Management, Application Healing, OS Deployment (imaging), and so on.
• Task Completion - Checks with the core server to see if there are any tasks the client needs to run. You would use this with intermittently connected clients such as mobile users to make sure they get scheduled tasks.

Note: the only component not selected by the provided default configuration is Application Healing.

Each component may be configured and the options provided (while too extensive to go through here) are quite granular with special attention paid to security and bandwidth concerns.

Pushing clients gave me a bit of trouble at first because you must have the CBA component on the client in order to schedule a client installation. After scanning the documentation I found that you can use an authorized domain account by setting the scheduler logon account, which by default is set to LocalSystem. Once this was changed to a valid domain admin account, all clients deployed quickly and without error.

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