Clients

All clients of the selected servers are listed in the Clients table. You can access this view through the left navigation bar under Clients / All Clients.

WebGUI: Client View
Figure 1. WebGUI: Client View

Creating a Client

To manage computers with opsi, they must be registered as clients in the system. Additionally, a client agent must be running on these computers to enable communication between the server and the client (see chapter opsi Clients).

In the WebGUI, create a new opsi client by navigating to Clients / Creation. Fill out the form with a name (field ID), a description, the IP and MAC address, select a depot server, and optionally assign a group.

WebGUI: Creating a Client
Figure 2. WebGUI: Creating a Client

In the Initial Setup section, click in the Netboot Product field to open a list of available Netboot Products for automatic operating system installation. Optionally, you can activate the checkboxes for OPSI Client Agent (see section Deploy Client Agent) and UEFI. Finally, click Create.

To create a new opsi client, at least one entry is required in the ID field. New clients are added to the opsi config server by default.

Performing Actions

There are several actions you can perform for a specific client through the WebGUI. Access these actions via the client table (Clients / All Clients). Select a client and click on the icon with the three dots (Actions). Alternatively, you can access the Actions menu through the right-click context menu.

WebGUI: The *Actions* Menu
Figure 3. WebGUI: The Actions Menu

The following sections describe each action in detail.

Deploy Client Agent

As mentioned, the opsi client agent must be installed on a client for opsi to manage that computer. If you did not request this during client creation, you can do so later using the action Deploy Client Agent.

If you use opsi to deploy the operating system on the client, the client agent is automatically installed and does not need to be explicitly requested.
WebGUI: Deploy Client Agent
Figure 4. WebGUI: Deploy Client Agent

On Demand

You can push software installation, updates, etc., on demand using the action OnDemand, meaning they will be executed immediately on the client. To do this, explicitly request the on_demand event (see section Configuring Events).

You can execute on_demand on multiple clients. Select the computers and click the On Demand button in the Quick Panel. A pop-up window will open, showing the list of selected clients. Here, you can remove clients from the list. Click the Confirm button to execute the event.
WebGUI: On Demand on Multiple Clients
Figure 5. WebGUI: On Demand on Multiple Clients

Notify

You can send messages to one or more clients using the Notify action to inform users about upcoming actions. A pop-up window will open, allowing you to type in the message.

WebGUI: Sending Messages to Clients
Figure 6. WebGUI: Sending Messages to Clients

Reboot

Click on Reboot in the menu to restart one or more clients. Confirm the action in a pop-up window before the reboot.

WebGUI: Rebooting Clients
Figure 7. WebGUI: Rebooting Clients

Rename

Select a client and then the Rename action from the menu. A pop-up window will open, allowing you to enter the new name. If the name is already taken, you will see a message indicating that the client already exists. Otherwise, the input field will be outlined in green, and you can click Rename.

WebGUI: Renaming Clients
Figure 8. WebGUI: Renaming Clients

Delete

Select the Delete action to remove a client and all associated data from the database. A pop-up window will open, asking for confirmation.

WebGUI: Deleting Clients
Figure 9. WebGUI: Deleting Clients

Client Groups

By default, there are the following client groups: groups, clientdirectory, and clientlist. A group is uniquely defined by its name and cannot be duplicated, while a client can be assigned to multiple groups. Exception: In the clientdirectory group, a client can only appear once. The clientlist group automatically displays all clients of the selected depots.

In the Quick Selections, the tab Quick Panel: Groups displays the groups and the assigned clients in a tree structure. The number next to the icon corresponds to the number of selected clients.

WebGUI: Client Groups
Figure 10. WebGUI: Client Groups
For a detailed view of the clients, sort the Clients table by the selected clients.

For more information on managing groups, see the chapter Groups.

Editing Attributes and Parameters

There are two ways to edit client attributes and parameters: either via Clients / Configuration or via Clients / All Clients and the configuration icon Configuration. The latter has the advantage of faster switching between clients since the settings appear in a column directly next to the clients.

WebGUI: Attributes and Parameters
Figure 11. WebGUI: Attributes and Parameters
The Quick save function is activated by default (see section Quick Save). This means that all changes are saved immediately and you cannot see or restore the previous state!

Viewing Logfiles

To view the logfiles of the clients, open Clients / Logs from the left sidebar, or click on the logs icon Logs in the client table (Clients / All Clients). The latter allows for faster switching between different clients, as the logs appear in a column directly next to the clients.

Clicking in the instlog field (default) opens a drop-down menu where you can select the desired logfiles (bootimage, clientconnect, instlog, opsiconfd, and userlogin). You can also adjust the log level using the plus and minus signs (default: 5).

WebGUI: Viewing Logfiles
Figure 12. WebGUI: Viewing Logfiles