- To quickly change the properties for a set of computers
- Multicasts
- User Access control when using Group Based Computer Management
I. New
Name
The name of the Group.
Type
There are two types of groups. Standard and Smart. You could think of it as static and dynamic. Standard groups are manually assigned computers where as Smart groups have computers dynamically added to them based on a certain criteria. This option cannot be changed once set.
Description (Optional)
A description of the group for your own use.
II. Import
Import allows you to import a CSV list of groups. It does not include group members. To see the template select Admin -> Export -> CSV Export
III. Search
The search screen is the default view when you select Groups. It displays all of the groups that have been added to the database. The search bar implies a wildcard before and after the string you enter. Leave it blank for all groups. You can also use this view to delete multiple groups as well as view additional options for an individual group.
IV. View
The view screen presents an additional set of options for the group you selected.
General
Allows you to modify the fields that were set when you added the group.
Add Members (Standard Group)
Allows you to manually add specific computers to the group
Remove Members (Standard Group)
Allows you to manually remove specific computers from the group
Smart Criteria (Smart Group)
Sets the current criteria used for adding computers to a smart group. Currently there is only one option, where computer name contains. I hope to add more flexibility to this eventually. This is useful when your computer names follow a repetitive naming scheme such as lab123-pc1. We would add lab123 as the criteria, then anytime more computers added with the name including lab123, they will automatically be added to the group. The Test Query shows the matching computers for the criteria, but does not get applied to the group until you click Update Criteria.
Current Members (Smart Groups)
Shows a list of all computers that are currently a member of the smart group. Computers cannot be manually removed or added from a smart group, it is always based on the criteria.
Multicast Options
Used to set the Image and Image Profile that are used when multicasting a group of computers. This image may or may not be the same as the image currently assigned to the computer. Setting this option does not change the image assigned to the computers in the group. Having a separate image set specifically for multicasting gives you more flexibility in how you use your groups.
Computer Properties
Allows you to set the properties of all the computers in your group to a specific value. Any field that is checked when you click Update will update all computers in that group to that value. Anything that is not checked remains unchanged on the computers. Checking the Set As Default For New Group Members box will automatically set the values selected to any new computers added to the group.
Boot Menu
Sets a custom boot menu for all computers in the group. See the computers section in the documentation for more info.