Installing ZENworks Desktop Management

Introduction

This technote describes the initial installation procedures for Micro Focus ZENworks Adaptive Agent version 20 software. If the computer already has an older version of Zenworks it must be uninstalled before attempting this install. See the instructions below for uninstalling Zenworks.

Supported Platforms

Computing Services supports the use of the ZENworks Adaptive Agent software on Windows 10 Professional 64 bit.  Zenworks can run on other Windows platforms but Computing Services only supports Windows 10 at this time and will not provide free support for any ZENworks related problems on other Windows platforms.

Overview of the Zenworks agent on Windows Computers

The version 20 agent provides computing support staff with a set of tools to remotely manage and support university owned desktop systems.  In previous versions of ZENworks for Desktops, the management tools were partially integrated with the Micro Focus Client and partially integrated with the public files located on the server.  With version 20 the entire agent is installed separately from its own installer package. Note that computers using versions prior to 17.4 will not receive software updates via Zenworks. 

System Management Default Policies

It must be noted that Zenworks platforms have a number of campus wide account management features that will take affect once the workstation management component is installed. A dynamic local user policy has been implemented on campus. This will enable users to login to most managed machines without the need for technical support staff to create local accounts on the machines ahead of time. However, unless the workstation manager is configured correctly, these accounts will be dynamic to the extent of removing the account and associated profile when the user logs out. A workstation policy has been implemented to configure the workstation manager correctly but the onus is on the installer to verify these settings have in fact been applied to the system.

Installation Prerequisites

1. The installer should have a good working knowledge of the Windows operating system on which the client is being installed.
2. The system should be in good working order.  Do not install the Zenworks 20 agent onto a computer that has been experiencing systems problems.
3. A network adaptor must be installed, tested, and configured to use the TCP/IP protocol.
4. The Micro Focus Client should be installed on the system even though this is not technically a requirement of Zenworks 20. However, most Zenworks updates require access to the network drives to copy the update files to the local drive. As of this writing the current version of the Micro Focus client is called Client for Open Enterprise Server 2 SP5 IR2.
5. There must be at least 300Mb free on the local hard disk.
6. Ensure that Microsoft .Net is at least version 4.0
7. To install Zenworks you must have access to an account that has local administrator privileges.

Manual Installation Procedure Windows 10 64 bit

Follow these steps:

• Login as usual.
• Locate the Zenworks 20 Agent software on the network and download to the local system:
  
  • The installer is located at S:\dist\win32\zen2020agent
  • Select PreAgentPkg_AgentComplete2020_V1_64bit.exe for 64 bit systems. 2020_V1 is current as of this writing but please use the newest version that is in this folder.
  • Copy to a folder on the local hard drive.
• Click Start -> Run.  In the run box enter 'msiexec' and click OK.
• A window will appear that will list the version of MSIEXEC that is installed on your system. 
  
  • For Windows systems this should be a minimum of version 4.5.
  • If prompted to do so, reboot your system and then continue.
• Right click the PreAgentPkg_AgentComplete2020_V1_64bit.exe file and choose Run as administrator. This will launch the install of the Zen 20 agent. You can click on the Zenworks icon to see the progress of the install. This should only take five to eight minutes.  It is normal for the screen to flicker during installation.
• Reboot when asked.
• The agent is installed.

NOTE: If you are installing an image to a replacement hard drive and using a tech computer to install the image then see this supplemental link to avoid a duplicate guid situation.

Installing for Off Campus Use

It is not recommended to install Zenworks 20 for off campus use at this time.

Uninstallation Procedure - Windows 10

Please consult with Computing Services prior to uninstalling the ZENworks version 20 agent software.

• To uninstall Zenworks you must have access to an account that has local administrator privileges.
• Open control panel.  
• Select "Programs and Features"
• Scroll through the list of installed programs until you locate "Novell Zenworks"
• Highlight Novell Zenworks and click Uninstall.  Enter the local administrator credentials when asked. When prompted, click Next to confirm the removal of the agent software.
• Select Local uninstallation only and click Next.
• Remove the check mark next to CASA and ensure that ZENworks Pre-Agent is not checked and click Next.
• Reboot when requested to do so.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting problems with ZENworks application distribution and RemoteManagement can be complex and time consuming. However there are a number of basic things that you can check:

• From the machine that is experiencing problems, can you ping the host name zen1.cc.uregina.ca. If that doesn't work then try pinging www.uregina.ca. If you can't ping either, try pinging 142.3.1.1. If you can ping the IP address but neither of the domain names, there is a problem with DNS resolution and you should check to see if the system is configured for DHCP.
• Ensure that the latest version of Zenworks is installed. As of this writing the current version is 20.1.0. See the instructions listed above on how to uninstall the previous version and how to install the current version.

If the client is 20.1.0 then ask the following questions:

• Are they getting any patches?
• Are they automatically logging in to Zenworks?
• Are they logging in locally rather than to Micro Focus?
• Run zac.exe ci to see if the certificate is valid. Note: zac.exe ci does not work on some early versions of Zenworks.
• If the answer to any of the above is no then uninstall and re-install Zenworks 20.1.0 per the instructions above.

Conclusion

The prerequisites and procedures for installing the ZENworks Desktop Management Agent under Windows are described.

Revision History

V0 - Placeholder document
V1 - Initial documentation
V2 - Updated with troubleshooting information
V3 - Updated to reflect discontinuance of support for Win98
V4 - 03-10-2006 - Updated to reflect off campus install with remote control
V5 - 17-08-2010 - Updated for Zenworks 10
V6 - 18-09-2012 - Updated to indicate the new place to find the installer files, and to indicate a D: drive is required on Windows 7.
V7 - 07-11-2013 - Updated for the newer version of Zenworks and to remove the requirement for a D: drive for Zen bundles.
V8 - 14-11-2013 - Updated to include the link for avoiding duplicate guids.
V9 - 20-10-2015 - Updated for the newer version of Zenworks (11.3.1). Specify required versions of .Net and the Windows installer
V10 - 11-08-2016 - Updated for the newer version of Zenworks (11.4.1). Remove references to Windows 98, Windows XP, and Zen 6.5.
V11 - 02-23-2022 - Updated for the newer version of Zenworks (20.1.0). Remove references to Windows 7. Change Novell to Micro Focus.