You can create two types of groups, host groups and ID groups. Both types of groups can be created using any appropriate conditions, such as by department or by project. You can also register the same host into multiple host groups and/or ID groups so that the same PC belongs to multiple groups. For example, the same PC might belong to a department group and a project group. This enables you to manage destination hosts efficiently.

You can also use the groups being managed in Active Directory in the managing server as they are. In this case, there is no need to create a new group. When the directory information is acquired from Active Directory, groups are created automatically.

(a) Host group

Host groups constitute one of the methods for grouping hosts at the managing server. Because this method enables hosts to be grouped regardless of the system configuration, you can manage hosts by dividing them into hierarchical groups on the basis of appropriate conditions, such as by department or project. You can specify a name for each host group. Job execution is facilitated if you group hosts by section/department or by project and assign descriptive names to the groups.

When a host group is specified as the destination of a job, the job is executed on all clients that belong to that group.

(b) ID group

ID grouping is a method of setting in the managing server the group name and ID group managed by each relay manager/system (relay that manages the ID). Each client determines the group to which it belongs, and a client can belong to multiple ID groups.

You can also use a file at the managing server to register multiple clients in an ID group. Note that ID groups cannot be managed hierarchically.

When a job specifying an ID group as the destination (ID group job) is transferred to the relay that manages that ID, the relay executes the job on the clients that belong to the specified ID group.

When you create ID groups, the clients register themselves into appropriate ID groups; therefore, the administrator need not maintain individual clients at the job destinations. Even when additional clients are installed, if the clients register into ID groups, the jobs for the registered ID groups are executed automatically, thereby dynamically handling changes to the client configuration.

You can set passwords that allow clients to be registered into ID groups. This prevents a client from being registered into a restricted ID group.

(c) Directory information

Directory information enables you to use the groups being managed in Active Directory in the managing server as they are. Consequently, you cannot create purpose-specific groups such as host groups or ID groups. However, directory information is convenient since you do not need to create a new group when you execute a job on a group being managed in Active Directory.

For details about the relationship between directory information and the system-configuration information on the managing server, see 2.10.3 Relationship between system configuration information and directory information.

You use Remote Installation Manager's Destination window to set host groups and ID groups.

Figure 2-51 Destination window

For details about how to create host groups, see 8.2 Creating host groups in the Setup Guide.

For details about how to create ID groups, see 8.3 Creating ID groups in the Setup Guide.

Reference note

Since the directory information inherits the exact settings of Active Directory, there is no need to specify settings. You can view the directory information in the Directory Information window of Remote Installation Manager. For details on how to acquire directory information, see 3.4 Acquiring directory information in the manual Administrator's Guide Volume 1.

The left pane of the Destination window displays the hierarchical structure of the groups. Double-clicking on an item in the left pane displays its lower hierarchies. The right pane displays information about a host that belongs to the group selected in the left pane.

The Destination window displays the following icons for groups:

• : Host group
• : ID group

In most cases, you use the Destination window to specify a client as a destination (target) of a job. You can also use the System Configuration window to specify this information, but it is not easy to identify hosts because this window displays hosts by their IP address or host name. In the Destination window, you can use groups to specify the hosts that are targets of executed jobs.

The system configuration information is used to manage the network configuration of clients, while host groups and ID groups are used to manage clients in groups. Evaluate the grouping criteria so that jobs will execute efficiently.