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KACE Systems Management Appliance 14.0 Common Documents - Administration Guide

About the KACE Systems Management Appliance Getting started
Configuring the appliance
Requirements and specifications Power-on the appliance and log in to the Administrator Console Access the Command Line Console Tracking configuration changes Configuring System-level and Admin-level General Settings Configure appliance date and time settings Managing user notifications Enable Two-Factor Authentication for all users Verifying port settings, NTP service, and website access Configuring network and security settings Configuring session timeout and auto-refresh settings Configuring locale settings Configuring the default theme Configure data sharing preferences About DIACAP compliance requirements Configuring Mobile Device Access Enable fast switching for organizations and linked appliances Linking Quest KACE appliances Configuring history settings Configuring Content Security Policy
Setting up and using labels to manage groups of items Configuring user accounts, LDAP authentication, and SSO Deploying the KACE Agent to managed devices Using Replication Shares Managing credentials Configuring assets
About the Asset Management component Using the Asset Management Dashboard About managing assets Adding and customizing Asset Types and maintaining asset information Managing Software assets Managing physical and logical assets Maintaining and using manual asset information Managing locations Managing contracts Managing licenses Managing purchase records
Setting up License Compliance Managing License Compliance Setting up Service Desk Configure the Cache Lifetime for Service Desk widgets Creating and managing organizations Importing and exporting appliance resources
Managing inventory
Using the Inventory Dashboard Using Device Discovery Managing device inventory
About managing devices Features available for each device management method About inventory information Tracking changes to inventory settings Managing inventory information Finding and managing devices Registering KACE Agent with the appliance Provisioning the KACE Agent Manually deploying the KACE Agent Using Agentless management Adding devices manually in the Administrator Console or by using the API Forcing inventory updates Managing MIA devices Obtaining Dell warranty information
Managing applications on the Software page Managing Software Catalog inventory
About the Software Catalog Viewing Software Catalog information Adding applications to the Software Catalog Managing License assets for Software Catalog applications Associate Managed Installations with Cataloged Software Using software metering Using Application Control Update or reinstall the Software Catalog
Managing process, startup program, and service inventory Writing custom inventory rules
Deploying packages to managed devices
Distributing software and using Wake-on-LAN Broadcasting alerts to managed devices Running scripts on managed devices Using Task Chains
Patching devices and maintaining security
Using the Security Dashboard About patch management Subscribing to and downloading patches Creating and managing patch schedules Managing patch inventory Managing Windows Feature Updates Managing Dell devices and updates Managing Linux package upgrades Manage quarantined file attachments
Using reports and scheduling notifications Monitoring devices
Getting started with monitoring Working with monitoring profiles Managing monitoring for devices Working with alerts
Using the Service Desk
Configuring Service Desk Using the Service Desk Dashboard Managing Service Desk tickets, processes, and reports
Overview of Service Desk ticket lifecycle Creating tickets from the Administrator Console and User Console Creating and managing tickets by email Viewing tickets and managing comments, work, and attachments Merging tickets Using the ticket escalation process Using Service Desk processes Using Ticket Rules Run Service Desk reports Archiving, restoring, and deleting tickets Managing ticket deletion
Managing Service Desk ticket queues About User Downloads and Knowledge Base articles Customizing Service Desk ticket settings Configuring SMTP email servers
Maintenance and troubleshooting
Maintaining the appliance Troubleshooting the appliance
Appendixes Glossary About us Legal notices

Create and use File Synchronization

Create and use File Synchronization

Using File Synchronization, you can push out any type of file to Agent-managed devices.

File Synchronization enable you to distribute files to managed devices. Unlike Managed Installations, however, File Synchronization do not install files; they simply distribute files. Use File Synchronization to copy files of any type to managed devices.

The string KACE_ALT_Location in the Alternate Location field is replaced with the value assigned by the corresponding label. You should not have a device in more than one label with an Alternate Location specified.

1.
Go to the File Synchronizations list:
a.
Log in to the appliance Administrator Console, https://appliance_hostname/admin. Or, if the Show organization menu in admin header option is enabled in the appliance General Settings, select an organization in the drop-down list in the top-right corner of the page next to the login information.
b.
On the left navigation bar, click Distribution, then click File Synchronizations.
c.
Select Choose Action > New.
2.
In the Configure section, provide the following information:

Option

Description

Persist

Confirm that the file does not already exist on target devices before attempting to distribute it.

Delete Temporary Files

Delete the files when the deployment is complete.

Name

A name that identifies the File Synchronization. This name appears on the File Synchronizations page.

Path

The directory location, on target devices, to which you want to save the file.

Create Path

Create the location specified in the Path field if it does not already exist.

Credentials

The details of the service account required to connect to the device and run commands. Select existing credentials from the drop-down list, or select Add credential to add credentials not already listed. See Add and edit User/Password credentials.

File

The file to be distributed to target devices. To appear on the list, applications must have associated files in inventory. See Attach digital assets to applications and select supported operating systems.

Do Not Uncompress Distribution

Prevent the appliance from uncompressing files.

Enabled

Enable the File Synchronization. When the KACE Agents on selected devices check into the appliance, the file is distributed.

Create Shortcut

Create a desktop shortcut to the file location on the device.

Name

The display name for the desktop shortcut.

ITNinja

Deployment tips from ITNinja. These tips are available only if you share usage data. See Configure data sharing preferences.

Alternate Location

Specify a location from which files can be downloaded for a specific Managed Installation.

Path: Enter the location where the KACE Agent can retrieve digital installation files.

Checksum: Enter an alternate checksum (MD5) that matches the MD5 checksum on the remote file share. If no checksum is entered, the digital asset on the file share must match the digital asset associated with the deployment package on the appliance. Also, the target path must include the complete filename (for example, \\fileserver_one\software\adobe.exe). You can create the checksum using any tool, including KDeploy.exe, which is installed with the KACE Agent.

To create the checksum using KDeploy.exe:

Windows 32-bit devices: C:\Program Files\Quest\KACE

Windows 64-bit devices: C:\Program Files (x86)\Quest\KACE

Mac OS X devices: /Library/Application Support/Quest/KACE/bin

3.
Enter the following command: KDeploy -hash=filename

Where filename is the UNC path to the file. If the path contains spaces, enclose the entire path in double quotation marks.

4.
Press Ctrl C or Command C to copy the MD5 checksum. You can then paste it into other files, such as Notepad.

Credential: The details of the service account required to connect to the device and run commands. Select existing credentials from the drop-down list, or select Add credential to add credentials not already listed. See Add and edit User/Password credentials.

See Distributing packages from alternate download locations and Replication Shares and Add or edit manual labels.

Option

Description

All Devices

Deploy to all devices. Clear the check box to limit the deployment to specific labels or devices.

Restrict to Labels

Limit deployment to devices that belong to specified labels. To select labels, click Edit, drag labels to the Limit Deployment to window, then click Save.

If you select a label that has a Replication Share or an alternate download location, the appliance copies digital assets from that Replication Share or alternate download location instead of downloading them directly from the appliance.

Devices

Limit deployment to specific devices. In the drop-down list, select the devices to which you want to deploy the application. To filter the list, type a few characters in the Devices field. The number next to the field indicates the number of devices available.

Blackout Window

The time during which Agents on managed devices are prevented from performing File Synchronizations.

Option

Description

Initial Message

Display a message on devices before installation.

Completion Message

Display a message on devices after the installation is complete.

5.
Click Save.
TIP: To distribute files previously deployed after the deployment window has closed, go to the File Synchronization Detail page for the File Synchronization, then click Save and Resend Files at the bottom of the page.

Using Wake-on-LAN

Using Wake-on-LAN

Wake-on-LAN enables you to power-on devices remotely from the appliance regardless of whether the devices have the KACE Agent installed.

For Wake-on-LAN, the appliance broadcasts UDP traffic on your network on port 7. The appliance sends 16 packets per Wake-on-LAN request because it must guess the broadcast address that is required to get the “Magic Packet” to the target device. This traffic is ignored by devices that are not being powered-on remotely, and the traffic should not have a noticeable impact on the network.

You can power on devices belonging to the same subnet as the appliance, or on different subnets. To power on a device associated with a different subnet, you must designate a KACE Agent as a Wake-on LAN Relay.

Issue Wake-on-LAN requests

Issue Wake-on-LAN requests

To wake multiple devices at once, you can specify a label to which those devices belong, or you can wake devices individually.

If the device you want to wake is not inventoried by the appliance but you know the MAC (hardware) address and the device’s last-known IP address, you can manually enter the information to wake the device.

1.
Go to the Wake-on-LAN Schedules list.
a.
Log in to the appliance Administrator Console, https://appliance_hostname/admin. Or, if the Show organization menu in admin header option is enabled in the appliance General Settings, select an organization in the drop-down list in the top-right corner of the page next to the login information.
b.
On the left navigation bar, click Distribution, then click Wake-on-LAN.
2.
Select Choose Action > New > Simple.
To wake individual devices, select devices the Managed Devices field. To search the list, begin typing in the field.
To wake Discovered devices, select devices in the Discovered Devices field. To search the list, begin typing in the field.
In the Manual IP Address field, specify the IP address of a device.
In the Manual MAC Entry section, specify the MAC address of a device.
5.
Click Run Now.

The results at the top of the page indicate the number of devices that received the request and the labels, if any, to which those devices belong.

Schedule Wake-on-LAN requests

Schedule Wake-on-LAN requests

Scheduling a Wake-on-LAN request is useful when you want to wake devices on a regular basis. This is useful for recurring tasks, such as performing monthly maintenance.

If you want to wake devices belonging to a different subnet, you must find a machine belonging to the device's subnet and running a KACE Agent instance, and designate that machine as a relay by assigning it a label. For more information about labels, see Setting up and using labels to manage groups of items.

1.
Go to the Wake-on-LAN Schedules list:
a.
Log in to the appliance Administrator Console, https://appliance_hostname/admin. Or, if the Show organization menu in admin header option is enabled in the appliance General Settings, select an organization in the drop-down list in the top-right corner of the page next to the login information.
b.
On the left navigation bar, click Distribution, then click Wake-on-LAN.
2.
Select Choose Action > New > Advanced.
3.
In the Configure tab, select the type of device to work with:
To choose devices that belong to labels, in the Configure section, under Labels, click Manage Associated Labels. In the Select Labels dialog box that appears, select one or more labels associated with the devices that you want to select. Close the dialog box.
To choose devices by operating system, click Manage Operating Systems. In the Operating Systems dialog box that appears, select the OS versions in the navigation tree, as applicable.

You have an option to select OS versions by their family, product, architecture, release ID, or build version. You can choose a specific build version, or a parent node, as needed. Selecting a parent node in the tree automatically selects the associated child nodes. This behavior allows you to select any future OS versions, as devices are added or upgraded in your managed environment. For example, to select all build current and future versions associated with the Windows 10 x64 architecture, under All > Windows > Windows 10, select x64.

a.
In the Configure tab, under Relay Labels, click Manage Associated Labels.
b.
In the Select Labels dialog box that appears, select the label associated with the relay device.
5.
On the Wake-on-LAN Settings page, in the Schedule tab, specify the schedule settings:

Option

Description

None

Run in combination with an event rather than on a specific date or at a specific time.

Every n hours

Run at a specified interval.

Every day/specific day at HH:MM

Run daily at a specified time, or run on a designated day of the week at a specified time.

Run on the nth of every month/specific month at HH:MM

Run on the same day every month, or a specific month, at the specified time.

Run on the nth weekday of every month/specific month at HH:MM

Run on the specific weekday of every month, or a specific month, at the specified time.

Custom

Run according to a custom schedule.

Use standard 5-field cron format (extended cron format is not supported):

Use the following when specifying values:

Spaces ( ): Separate each field with a space.
Asterisks (*): Include the entire range of values in a field with an asterisk. For example, an asterisk in the hour field indicates every hour.
Commas (,): Separate multiple values in a field with a comma. For example, 0,6 in the day of the week field indicates Sunday and Saturday.
Hyphens (-): Indicate a range of values in a field with a hyphen. For example, 1-5 in the day of the week field is equivalent to 1,2,3,4,5, which indicates Monday through Friday.
Slashes (/): Specify the intervals at which to repeat an action with a slash. For example, */3 in the hour field is equivalent to 0,3,6,9,12,15,18,21. The asterisk (*) specifies every hour, but /3 restricts this to hours divisible by 3.

Examples:

View Task Schedule

Click to view the task schedule. The Task Schedule dialog box displays a list of scheduled tasks. Click a task to review the task details. For more information, see View task schedules.

6.
Click Save.

The Wake-on-LAN page appears with the scheduled request listed.

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