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KACE Systems Management Appliance 9.1 Common Documents - Administrator Guide

About the KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) 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 Enable Two-Factor Authentication for all users Verifying port settings, NTP service, and website access Configuring network and security settings Configuring Agent 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
Setting up and using labels to manage groups of items Configuring user accounts, LDAP authentication, and SSO 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 Provisioning the KACE SMA Agent Manually deploying the KACE SMA 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 Managing Mac profiles Using Task Chains
Patching devices and maintaining security
About patch management Subscribing to and downloading patches Creating and managing patch schedules Managing patch inventory Managing Dell devices and updates Maintaining device and appliance security
Using reports and scheduling notifications Monitoring servers
Getting started with server 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 KACE SMA
Appendixes Glossary About us Legal notices

Run actions on devices

Run actions on devices

You can use Device Actions to run actions on devices remotely, provided that those programs are installed on the remote devices.

You have created Device Actions from which to choose. For information on adding or editing Device Actions, see Configure appliance General Settings without the Organization component.

* 
NOTE: This feature is only supported on Windows devices. If you enable ActiveX in Microsoft Internet Explorer, the device action runs using ActiveX. If ActiveX is disabled, or you want to use a different browser, the Windows device you are running the device action from must have the KACE Agent version 9.0 or later agent installed and connected.
NOTE: When you initiate device through the agent, the action executable must be placed in your %PATH%. The agent is 32-bit, so on 64-bit Windows devices, use %windir%/System32 as an alias to the %windir%/Wow64 directory. If you need to run a program that's located in the %windir%/System32 directory on a 64-bit Windows system, you must use the %windir%/SysNative virtual directory. You can either add %windir%/SysNative to your %PATH% environment variable or provide a fully-qualified path by prepending %windir%/SysNative to your executable when defining your machine action.
1.
Go to the Device Detail page for a device:
a.
Log in to the KACE SMA Administrator Console, http://KACE_SMA_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 Inventory, then click Devices.
c.
On the Devices list, in the row that contains the required device, select the check box.
2.
Select an action in the Actions drop-down list.
* 
NOTE: If no Device Actions have been created, the Actions drop-down list does not appear.
* 
TIP: Assigning devices to a user (Choose Action > Assign To) causes all of the assigned devices to appear listed for the selected user on the My Devices page in the User Console. When the user attempts to download and install software, they can select a target device, as required.

View devices that have been added manually

View devices that have been added manually

Devices that have been added manually appear on the Devices list along with other managed devices. You can use Advanced Search to filter the Devices list to show only those devices that have been added manually.

1.
Go to the Devices list:
a.
Log in to the KACE SMA Administrator Console, http://KACE_SMA_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 Inventory, then click Devices.
2.
To filter the list to show only those devices that have been added manually:
a.
Click the Advanced Search tab above the list on the right to display the Advanced Search panel.
b.
Specify the criteria required to find devices that have been added manually:

Option

Criteria

Field Name

Device Identity Information: Inventory Type

Operator

is

Value

Choose one of the following:

•
Wsapi Agent: Inventory uploaded through the API.
•
XML Import: Inventory uploaded on the Software Detail page.
c.
Click Search.

Devices that have been added manually are displayed.

Delete devices from inventory

Delete devices from inventory

If you have unused or obsolete devices in inventory, you can delete them manually. This deletion prevents the devices from being counted toward the number of devices you are allowed to manage through your Quest KACE license.

1.
Go to the Devices list:
a.
Log in to the KACE SMA Administrator Console, http://KACE_SMA_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 Inventory, then click Devices.
2.
Select the check box next to one or more devices.
3.
Select Choose Action > Delete, then click Yes to confirm.

Provisioning the KACE SMA Agent

Provisioning the KACE SMA Agent

Enabling file sharing
Provisioning the KACE SMA Agent using the GPO Provisioning Tool for Windows devices
Provisioning the KACE SMA Agent using onboard provisioning
Managing provisioning schedules
Managing Agent communications
Updating the KACE SMA Agent on managed devices

Agent provisioning is the task of installing the KACE SMA Agent on devices you want to add to KACE SMA inventory using the Agent.

About the KACE SMA Agent

The KACE SMA Agent is an application that can be installed on devices to enable inventory reporting and other device management features.

Agents that are installed on managed devices communicate with the KACE SMA through AMP (Agent Messaging Protocol). Agents perform scheduled tasks, such as collecting inventory information from, and distributing software to, managed devices. Agentless management is available for devices that cannot have Agent software installed, such as printers and devices with operating systems that the Agent does not support. See Using Agentless management.

Tracking changes to Agent settings

If History subscriptions are configured to retain information, you can view the details of the changes made to settings, assets, and objects.

This information includes the date the change was made and the user who made the change, which can be useful during troubleshooting. See About history settings.

Methods for provisioning the KACE SMA Agent

You have a number of ways to deploy the KACE SMA Agent to the devices you want to manage.

•
Provision using the Agent Provisioning Assistant: You can use the Agent Provisioning Assistant to perform provisioning for devices with Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems. Within the Assistant, you can choose between using the KACE SMA GPO Provisioning Tool for deploying the Agent to Windows devices, or using Onboard Provisioning for deploying the Agent to Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux devices.

The GPO Provisioning Tool is recommended for Windows devices because using the tool minimizes the pre-configuration that must happen on the target device. It requires an Active Directory environment. The onboard provisioning approach requires you to perform client-side configuration on the devices to be managed before you can start provisioning.

•
Provision using manual deployment: Manual deployment is useful when automated Agent provisioning is not practical or when you want to deploy the KACE SMA Agent using email or logon scripts.
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