Managing Registration Keys and Rules12107novdocx (en) 7 January 201012Managing Registration Keys andRulesYou can manually add devices to folders and groups, but this can be a burdensome task if you have alarge number of devices or are consistently registering new devices. The best way to manage a largenumber of devices is to have them automatically added to the correct folders and groups when theyregister. To accomplish this, you can use registration keys, registration rules, or both.Both registration keys and registration rules let you assign a name, folder, and group memberships toa device. However, there are differences between keys and rules that you should be aware of beforechoosing whether you want to use one or both methods for registration. Registration Keys: A registration key is an alphanumeric string that you manually define orrandomly generate. During installation of the ZENworks® Agent on a device, the registrationkey must be input manually or through a response file. When the device connects to aZENworks Server for the first time, the device is given a name according to the defined namingscheme and then added to the folder and groups defined within the key.You can create one or more registration keys to ensure that servers and workstations are placedin the desired folders and groups. For example, you might want to ensure that all of the Salesdepartment's devices are added to the /Workstations/Sales folder but are divided into threedifferent groups (SalesTeam1, SalesTeam2, and SalesTeam3) depending on their teamassignments. You could create three different registration keys and configure each one to addthe Sales workstations to the /Workstations/Sales folder and the appropriate team group.As long as each device uses the correct registration key, the device is added to the appropriatefolder and group.Registration key names are not case sensitive. For example, registration keys named “MyKey”and “mykey” cannot exist in the same folder. If you try to create a registration key named“Mykey” in a folder that already contains a registration key named “mykey,” you receive theerror message “Unable to complete your request for the following reason: Unable to create theNew Registration Key, see Tomcat logs for details.” Registration Rules: If you don’t want to enter a registration key during installation, or if youwant devices to be automatically added to different folders and groups based on predefinedcriteria (for example, operating system type, CPU, or IP address), you can use registrationrules.ZENworks includes a default registration rule for servers and another one for workstations. If adevice registers without a key, the default registration rules are applied to determine the folderand group assignments. The two default rules cause all servers to be added to the /Serversfolder and all workstations to the /Workstations folder. The device hostname is used for itsname. You cannot delete these two default rules, but you can modify the naming scheme andthe folder and groups to which the servers and workstations are added.The two default rules are designed to ensure that no server or workstation registration fails. Youcan define additional rules that enable you to filter devices as they register and add them todifferent folders and groups. If, as recommended in Section 1.1.3, “Folders vs. Groups,” onpage 25, you’ve established folders for devices with similar configuration settings and groupsfor devices with similar assignments, newly registered devices automatically receive theappropriate configuration settings and assignments.
