Managing HP Thin Clients Running CE.net

A prerequisite to imaging thin clients is that PXE server needs to be installed and configured. Also the client's BIOS needs to be set for Network Boot as the First Boot Option in order to be managed by your PXE Server.

Managing HP Thin Clients Running CE.net

When managing an HP Thin Client running the CE.net 4.2 - 6.0 operating system, the deployment agent known as the Deployment Agent for CE.net will already be pre-installed. This agent is very similar in function to the Deployment Agent for Windows used with the standard Windows operating systems, but is slightly different to accommodate the unique environment of the CE.net operating system.

The Deployment Agent performs the following limited tasks on the Windows CE.NET platform:

1. Modify Computer Configuration (the computer name and TCP/IP Setting only)
2. Distribute software (.cab and .exe files).
3. Execute and run scripts (DOS and WIN batch files) *no VBS support.
4. Copy files and directories.
5. Create disk images.
6. Distribute disk images.
7. Remote Control clients (24-bit color depth only. No chat or send file features).
8. Power Control (restart/shutdown/wake up jobs).
9. Setting of computer properties.
10. Create conditions to run jobs and filter computers.
11. Modify client properties via Windows and Linux agent settings.

Additional features included with other Deployment Agents are not supported in the Deployment Agent for CE.NET. The Deployment Agent for CE.net is configured to use the multicast method of locating the Deployment Server. This works well when the Deployment server and client are on the same network segment or when any connecting routers and switches connecting these two devices are configured to forward multicast packets. If your environment does not support either of these configurations, then you will need to reconfigure the Deployment Agent for CE.net settings.

Changing the Deployment Agent for CE.net Settings

The Deployment Agent for CE.net properties can be remotely changed from a Deployment Console when the thin client has a current connection to the Deployment Server. If this connection is not possible, then the changes must be made from the thin client itself.

Deployment Agent for CE.net Properties

The Deployment Agent for CE.net properties or options (although similar to the Deployment Agent for Windows properties) are limited to the settings shown below and can be changed from ether the Deployment Console or from the thin client using the following locations.

Making changes from a Deployment Console

To remotely change the agent settings from a Deployment Console, complete the following steps:

1. From the Deployment Console, right-click on the desired computers or group of computers and select the Change Agent Settings > Windows/ Linux Agent option or Production Agent (Deployment Solution 6.5-6.8).
2. Select the applicable tabs and make the changes needed. For example, to change how the client connects to the Deployment Server, click on the Transport tab and change any needed values.
3. After making all of the needed changes, click OK. All of the computers selected will now have these changes made.

To automatically change all new clients, connecting to your Deployment Server, you can use the following steps:

1. From the Deployment Console, select Tools > Options > Agent Settings.
   • Time Synchronization General tab Other tab
   • User Prompt Security tab User Prompts and Remote Control tabs
   • Transport tab
2. Select the Force new agents to take these default settings box and click Change Default Settings.
3. Make the applicable changes and click OK.
4. Click OK again to exit the Program Options screen. From this point on, any new thin clients connecting to the Deployment Server will use these settings. These settings will not be applied to any computers or clients currently exiting in the Deployment Database.

Making Changes from a CE.net Thin Client

To change the agent settings from a thin client, complete the following steps:

1. Log on to the thin client.
2. Click on the agent icon displayed on the taskbar.
3. Click Properties. You can now select the applicable tabs and edit the needed agent properties, including changes to the Logging tab, Transport tab, Security tab and the General tab.

Installing the Deployment Agent for CE.net

The Deployment Agent for CE.net is pre-installed on all HP Thin Clients running the CE.net operating system. If you remove the agent and need to reinstall it, this can be accomplished from the Thin Client only. The Deployment Console cannot push the Deployment Agent for CE.net to the clients running Windows CE.net.

To install the Deployment Agent for CE.net from the client computer, use the following general steps. For detailed information on how the AClient.inp file works see the Deployment Solution product guide.

1. From the server running the Deployment System Access Point, move to the Agents\CEAgent subfolder (by default this is C:\Program Files\Altiris\ eXpress\ Deployment Server\Agents\CEAgent).
2. Rename the .exe and .dll files used to install the agent. For example, if the current names of the install files are ADCService_6.8.282.dll and CEClient_6.8.282.exe, you must rename them to ADCService.dll and CEClient.exe.
3. Log on to the thin client using a user with Administrator rights.
4. Click Start > Run and attach to your Deployment System Access Point. For example, if your Deployment System Access Point is installed to a server named FS1 and is using the default share name of eXpress, you would enter:
   \\FS1\Agents\CEAgent\CEClient.exe \\FS1\Agents\CEAgent\aclient.inp -install
   

For the above command to work, the AClient.inp file must be located in the CEAgent folder and the AClient.inp file must be configured with the proper installation path of InstallDir=\Hard Disk\Program Files.

Removing the Deployment Agent for CE.net

If the Deployment Agent for CE.net needs to be removed for any reason, it can be uninstalled using the Deployment Console or from the CE.net thin client using the following general steps.

Using the Deployment Console to Remove the Agent

This method will only work if the agent is currently installed and connected to the Deployment Server:

1. From the Deployment Console, right-click on the computer icon of the Thin Client you want to remove the agent from and select Advanced > Uninstall Windows Agent (Deployment Solution 6.5-6.8 Uninstall Agent).
2. Click Yes to confirm you want to remove the agent. The scheduling screen will be displayed.
3. Configure the applicable schedule and click OK.

Removing the Agent at the Thin Client

The Deployment Agent for CE.net can be removed while working at a thin client using the following general steps:

1. From the thin client running the CE.net operating system and Deployment Agent for CE.net, click Start > Run.
2. In the "Open" box, type the following, substituting the server name of FS1 with the name of your server (change the path if needed as well):
   \\FS1\Agents\CEAgent\CEClient.exe -remove
3. Click OK.

Creating and Deploying Images for CE.net Thin Clients

With the Deployment Agent for CE.net installed and connected the to Deployment Server, creating and deploying images of this device is no different than creating and deploying images for standard Windows operating systems such as Windows 2000 or XP.

The steps are listed below:

1. From the Deployment Console, create a new Job.
2. Add the Create (or Distribute) Disk Image Task.
3. Configure the above Task with the proper image name and location.
4. Assign and schedule the Job on the applicable CE.net thin clients.

Changing the Memory

If desired, you may want to add an additional Deployment Task that will change the Storage Memory back to the original size. This can be accomplished using the same basic steps used to change the memory as listed above, but changing the size back to the default of 1024 KB.

1. Add another Task to copy the Configure Memory Allocation Change Utility to the clients.
2. Add another Task to run the Configure Memory Allocation Change Utility.

Removing Embedded BootWorks from CE.net Thin Clients

To remove embedded BootWorks from a CE.net thin client, complete the following steps:

1. From the Deployment Console, right-click in the Jobs window and select New Job.
2. Give the Job a descriptive name that can be easily remembered, such as "Remove BootWorks from CE.net".
3. In the upper-right corner of the Jobs Detail pane, click Add > Copy File to.
4. Select Copy File and enter the path to the BootWorks uninstall utility(for CE.net) named BWINSTCE.
5. Enter the following into the destination path:\temp\bwinstce.exe
6. Click Finish.
7. In the upper-right corner of the Job Detail pane, click Add > Run Script.
8. Select Run this script and enter this in the script: window:cd \tempbwinstce -u -q (-u = uninstall, -q= use quiet mode)
9. Select to run this script using the Windows operating system.
10. Click Finish.
11. Assign your BootWorks uninstall Job to the desired computers and schedule them to run at an applicable time.

Non-Supported Deployment Functions

When managing thin clients running the CE.net operating system, the following Deployment Solution features cannot be used:

• PC Transplant
• Chat
• RapidInstall
• Some of the "Change Agent Settings" functionality (see the supported feature listed earlier in this document)
• Visual Basic Scripts