Managing SteelHead Mobile assignments
On the Manage > Services: Assignments page, you configure two types of assignments:
• Default policy assignments for desktop devices.
• Group assignments for SteelHead Mobile clients.
Changing default policy assignments
You can configure default policy assignments for the desktop. The default policy is Initial.
To change a default policy assignment
1. Choose Manage > Services: Assignments to display the Assignments page.
2. Click the device type that you want to edit. (You can also click the search icon next to the device type.)
Clicking the device type displays its details, and the search icon changes to an “x.” Click the “x” to collapse the details.
3. Under Edit Assignment, select a policy from the drop-down list.
4. Click Update SMC Default Assignment to make the change effective.
Working with group assignments
Typically, you use Group assignments to link policies and packages to your SteelHead Mobile clients. Group assignments enable you to create different packages that are associated with different policies and assign them to groups of SteelHead Mobile clients. When you deploy a package, the SteelHead Mobile reports its group to be that of the package that was installed. The Mobile Controller uses the group to identify the SteelHead Mobile clients associated with that group and automatically provides policy and software updates to them.
Your group assignments can be based on your endpoint client computers, such as applications used, computer memory, or disk space. Your group assignments can also be based on department, job function, geographic location, and so forth. Finally, they can be based on the type of Mobile Controller deployment you want, such as whether to optimize SteelHead Mobile clients when they are in the office.
For example, suppose your SteelHead Mobile clients have two types of computers: one with a minimal amount of disk space and another that has substantially larger amounts of disk space. You can deploy two packages:
• You can deploy the default package (which has a group assignment, Default and default policy, Initial) to your SteelHead Mobile clients with minimal disk space. Deploying the default package requires no additional configuration. After these SteelHead Mobile clients install the package, they are associated with the Default group and automatically receive policy and software updates assigned to the Default group.
• You can create a policy called, for example, high_end. The high_end policy would allot more disk space for data optimization. You would create a package and give it a unique group called, for example, graphics_department. You would assign the high_end policy to the graphics_department group, and you would deploy the associated package to those users with the larger disk space. After your users install the package, their computers become associated with the graphics_department group and, subsequently, receive policy and software updates assigned to the graphics_department group. You could also use the high_end policy for clients associated with a different group.
You can also make individual assignments to Active Directory users without using a group. We recommend that you use a group to assign policies to packages.
If your network environment requires the deployment of multiple packages, create the packages you need before deploying the default package. For details, see the SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead Mobile Installation Guide.
To manage group assignments
1. Choose Manage > Services: Assignments to display the Assignments page.
2. Complete the configuration as described in this table.
Controls | Description |
Add Group Assignments | Specify the group assignments. • Group - Specify a new, unique group. If you’re updating endpoint clients, specify an existing group. • Package - Specify a name for the package from the drop-down list. • Policy - Specify the policy from the drop-down list. The default is Initial. In Mobile Controller 5.5, you can select Inherit from Default as an option. |
Add | Adds the group assignment. |
Remove Selected Assignments | Removes the selected assignment. |
Add AD Path Assignments | Specify the Active Directory path assignment. Active Directory Path Assignment - Specify a new, unique active directory path assignment. Package - Specify a name for the package from the drop-down list. Policy - Specify the policy from the drop-down list. |
Add | Adds the active directory path assignment. |
GPO Custom Administrative Template | Complete these tasks: • Click the link to download the GPO template (SteelheadMobile.adm) to your local machine. • On the Active Directory Server, in the Group Policy Editor, under Computer Configuration or User Configuration, right-click Administrative Templates and select Add/Remove Templates. • Click Add. • Navigate to the location of the SteelheadMobile.adm file downloaded above, select it, and click Open. • The SteelheadMobile.adm file is listed under Current Policy Templates. The GPO now contains a Mobile Controller section with a list of the available Mobile Controller policy settings. On Windows Server 2008 R2 or later, the new template appears under a subsection of Current Policy Templates labeled Classic Administrative Templates. |
3. Click Save to Disk to save your settings permanently.
Changing an endpoint group for clients using a GPO
You can also use the Group Policy Object (GPO) custom administrative template to configure Mobile Controller deployment settings in the Manage > Services: Assignments page.
The GPO custom administrative template adds Mobile Controller-specific policy settings to existing GPOs. After the template is added, you can configure these policy settings for use on the SteelHead Mobile clients. The GPO template can be added to the computer-specific or to the user-specific section of a GPO, depending on whether you want to apply settings based on computer name or username.
To change a client endpoint group with GPO
1. Double-click Group.
2. Select the option to enable the policy setting.
3. Type the group name.
When the policy is applied, the affected client begins using the specified group when communicating with the Mobile Controller, downloading policies, and so on.
Enabling or disabling optimization using a GPO template
In Windows Server you can enable or disable optimization using a GPO template.
To enable or disable optimization using a GPO template
1. Double-click Enable Optimization.
2. Select the policy that you want to enable.
3. To disable optimization, uncheck Enable Optimization.
When the policy is applied, optimization on the client is disabled.