As noted in a recent email message, “New ITS projects on the horizon”, we’re preparing for the next generation of computer desktop management. The tools that ITS has chosen to replace Novell ZENworks and JAMF Casper are the KBOXes (K1000 and K2000) from Dell KACE. Here’s an overview of what the K1000 can do: http://www.kace.com/products/systems-management-appliance/features.php .
The KBOX server interfaces with client computers through the installation of a KBOX Agent on each college-owned Windows or Mac OS X computer. We can’t begin to work effectively in the new KBOX environment until we get the KBOX Agent installed, so we need to roll it out on college-owned machines in May, to prepare for the summer work.
Like the recent April Desktop Security Updates, the automated installations will happen a few departments at a time (actually, building by building). The schedule is posted at the bottom of this note.
In order to minimize disruptions to your work, we are configuring the Windows and Mac OS X installers of the KBOX Agents to run in the background, without requiring any action on your part. On the designated day in your department, on the Mac, the KBOX Agent installer will run when you shutdown your computer. That same day, on Windows, the KBOX Agent will run shortly after you login to your computer, as the ZENworks Application Explorer loads. In addition on Windows, a script will run in the background for a few seconds to note the size (only) of your user profile directory, because that information is needed for the transition to Active Directory logins. In all cases, you can continue to work as usual, you won’t be interrupted, and you will not be asked to restart your machine.
As always, look on the ITS Web site at for more information. If you see an error message, or have other concerns, contact RapidResponse at x5999.
Frequently Asked Questions –
Q. How will I know if the installation worked, or if the KBOX Agent is installed?
A. If you saw nothing, it probably worked! But, if you’re curious… On a Windows computer, there will be a KACEKBOX directory structure under “C:Program Files” in Windows Explorer. There will also be a new service running called KBOXSMMP. There will be no KBOX shortcuts on any of the Start menus, or in the Control Panel.
Q. What if the KBOX Agent installation fails?
A. If you see an error message, we’d appreciate if you’d report it to RapidResponse at x5999 or rapidresponse@carleton.edu . If you report a problem, we may be able to find a fix for many other people as well. However, if you’re busy, you can just ignore it. At some point in the future, when someone from ITS is servicing your computer, they will install the KBOX Agent.
Q. Will this have to be done again when there’s a new version of the KBOX Agent?
A. No. When there’s a new version available, after we have tested it, we can mark it as available from the server. Then your existing KBOX Agent will check-in as usual and update itself, silently and only if necessary.
Q. When will Casper or ZENworks go away?
A. It will take us some months to reproduce all the capabilities of Casper and ZENworks in the KBOX environment. When that work is done, we can use the KBOX to automatically remove Casper or ZENworks from each computer.
Q. What information does the KBOX store about this computer?
A. After the KBOX Agent is installed, you can start a Web browser and open the page: http://kbox-1x.its.carleton.edu . Login with your Carleton NetID and password, then click on the tab titled, “My Computer”. You will see, under various collapsed headings, all the information the KBOX stores about the computer you’re currently using. Later, when we have application software available for you to install when you need it, the Software Library tab will list what’s available for this computer.
Q. Why does a computer need both the Dell KACE KBOX Agent and Sassafras K2 Client?
A. K2 manages licenses for software—it checks licenses in and out, and keep tracks of how many people are running some applications. It has no ability to deliver software, only licenses. The KBOX can deliver applications, patches, and settings to be installed on computers, and make some applications available for users to choose to install for themselves. Though it has an awkward interface for trying to track software licenses, it cannot handle anything but the simplest scenarios. And software licenses are no longer simple, especially for academic software!
Q. This other thing that’s running on Windows computers, to get the size of a user profile: exactly what information does that collect? And why does ITS need this?
A. It adds one line to a text file on COLLAB that contains these fields:
ComputerName UserDomain UserName Date/Time UserProfile UPSizeMB DriveFreeMB
SNISSEN47306 ADS snissen 4/12/2010 12:51:30 PM C:Userssnissen.ADS 11172 88693
In the process of changing a Windows computer from using the Novell ZENworks “Dynamic Local User” login, to a login into our Active Directory domain instead, each user profile must be migrated so documents and settings remain available. One process involves copying the user profile, so we need to know there’s sufficient space on the hard drive for this to work, for all users of each Windows computer.
Here’s the schedule for deployment:
Date and Department |
Building |
Monday May 3rd | |
Alumni Affairs | Bird |
Chaplain | Chapel |
Alumni Annual Fund | Hendrickson |
Student Financial Services | Henry House |
Summer Academic Programs | Hoppin House |
Institutional Research | Hoppin House |
Admissions | Johnson House |
Human Resources | Strong Houe |
Tuesday May 4th | |
President’s Office | Laird |
Registrar | Laird |
Telecommunications | Laird |
Vice President & Treasurer/Investment Office | Laird/Twin Cities |
Dean of the College | Laird |
Dining Services | Sayles/LDC |
Wednesday May 5th | |
Business Office | Leighton |
College Relations | Leighton |
Corporate & Foundation Relations | Leighton |
Development Services & Prospect Research | Leighton |
External Relations /Development | Leighton |
Media Relations/Web Services/Publication & Voice | Leighton/Library |
Post Office/ Campus Services/Mailing services | Leighton/Sayles |
Off-Campus Studies | Leighton |
Printing Cory and Loretta | Leighton |
Thursday May 6th | |
Dean of Students | Sevy |
Residential Life | Sevy |
Campus Activities/ ACT Office | Sayles |
Bookstore | Sayles |
Career Center | Sayles |
Security | Sayles |
Facilities Management and Planning | Shop Building |
Friday May 7th | |
Wellness Center | Davis |
Academic Support Center/ Trio | Scoville/second st |
Cross Cultural Studies/GSC/Intercultural Life | Scoville |
Monday May 10th | |
Art and Art History | Bouliou |
Mathematics and Computer Science | CMC |
The College Writing Program | CMC |
Tuesday May 11th | |
Linguistics | Goodsell |
Environmental and Technology Studies | Goodsell |
American Studies | Goodsell |
Biology | Hulings |
Wednesday May 12th | |
Women’s and Gender Studies | LDC |
Asian Languages and Literature/Asian Studies | LDC /Leighton |
The Language Center | LDC |
Classics | LDC |
Archaeology | LDC |
German and Russian | LDC |
French and Francophone Studies/Spanish | LDC |
Thursday May 13th | |
English | Laird |
History | Leighton |
Sociology and Anthropology/ South Asian Studies | Leighton |
Writing Program | Leighton |
Religion | Leighton |
Philosophy | Leighton |
Friday May 14th | |
Library | Library |
Monday May 17th | |
Science Education Resource Center | Medical Arts Bldg |
Psychology | Olin |
Cognitive Studies | Olin |
Physics | Olin |
Geology | Mudd |
Chemistry | Mudd |
Tuesday May 18th | |
Theater and Dance | Music and Drama |
Music | Music Hall |
Physical Education, Athletics, and Recreation | Rec Center |
Wednesday May 19th | |
Cinema and Media Studies | Scoville |
Media Services | Scoville |
Educational Studies | Willis |
Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching | Willis |
Economics | Willis |
Political Science | Willis |