Open PC server integration
| opsi
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|---|---|
 opsi management interface |
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| Basic data
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| developer | uib GmbH, Mainz |
| Current version | 4.1.1.86 (November 20, 2019) |
| operating system | Linux , Windows |
| category | Software distribution |
| License | AGPL version 3 |
| German speaking | Yes |
| www.opsi.org | |
Opsi (Open PC Server Integration) is a client management system based on Linux servers for the administration of Windows clients. The manufacturer is uib GmbH from Mainz. The core components of the product are open source .
history
Opsi was originally under the name hu-psi ( H essisches U mweltamt P C S erver- I ntegration) for internal use in the Hessian Environmental Agency (now the Hessian Agency for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology ) developed. The first version was specialized in the administration of clients with Windows NT 4 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11 . In order to promote the development, the environmental IT office was founded in 1995, which was spun off in 1998 into the independent uib gmbh (the abbreviation consists of the first letters of environmental IT office). Hu-psi later became freeware and finally largely open source software. As part of this reorientation, the product was renamed Opsi. Uib gmbh later began to finance the Opsi development through so - called co - financing projects.
Core functions
Opsi offers the following core functions:
- Software distribution
- Operating system distribution (OS deployment)
- Patch management
- Inventory (hardware and software).
Approved extensions
- Treeview
- Software on demand
- Dynamic depot selection
- Installation-on-shutdown
- User profile management
- Windows Vista / 7 support
co-funded expansions
- License management
- WAN extension
- MySQL backend
- Nagios connector
- UEFI boot
- Linux agent
- Local image backup
The benefit of software for automatic installation is that it makes work easier and is easier to administer with a large number of client systems. This considerably simplifies the introduction of new software products or a change of operating system, which should be carried out on several clients at the same time. The tool can also be used to distribute patches .
opsi supports the client operating systems Windows XP , Server 2003 , Windows Vista , Server 2008 , Windows 7 , Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 , Windows 8 , Windows 10 and Server 2012 . Both 32 and 64-bit versions are supported. For the installation of an opsi server, packages for the Linux distributions Debian , Ubuntu , Univention Corporate Server , OpenSUSE , SLES , CentOS and Red Hat are available.
Automatic operating system installation
The management interface can be used to select the clients on which a new operating system should be installed the next time they start up. The next time the system is started, the client sends a request to the depot server using PXE - Boot- prom and loads a boot image from it. The boot image partitions the system and requests the installation files or depots and configuration information from the depot server. After restarting the client, it automatically installs the operating system based on the configuration information requested. The operating system can be installed either on the basis of an unattended installation or as an image . The unattended installation process is supported by an automated detection of the necessary drivers for PCI , HD audio and USB devices.
Automatic software distribution
So that the software distribution also takes place automatically, a software component is installed on the client, the opsi-client-agent. This checks (by default) every time the client is restarted by establishing a connection to the opsi server, whether new software or an update should be installed. If this is the case, a script-controlled setup program (opsi-winst) is started, which installs the software or executes another requested action. So that a software can be installed via opsi, the installation must be described in a corresponding script. This can be: a call to an unattended or silent installation , a call to an AutoIt or AutoHotkey script or a sequence of copy and other operations to install the software. The activation of the Opsi client agent can also be linked to other events or be called from the Opsi server (push installation).
Patch management
In addition to complete software packages, updates and patches can also be imported using the software distribution mechanism.
Inventory (hardware and software)
The inventory of hardware and software is also carried out via the Opsi client agent. The hardware information is collected via WMI and the software information from the registry and reported back to the opsi server. The inventory data can be used via the web service interface to update a CMDB e.g. B. used by OTRS .
License management
The Opsi license management module supports the management of the purchased licenses . The license management makes the managed licenses available to the software distribution, saves which license was assigned to which device and how many licenses are still free. Additional reports can be created via a link with the software inventory. The license management module is provided as a co-financing project and is not yet available for free.
WAN extension
The WAN extension enables clients to be integrated behind slow lines. With these, installation directly over the network is not desired because of the low bandwidth and potential disconnections. All installation files and metadata required are therefore initially loaded into a local cache with dynamic bandwidth usage. This happens in the background so as not to disturb the user. As soon as all the required data is in the local cache, the installation can also be carried out from the local cache without a network connection. The WAN extension is also provided as a co-financing project and is not yet available for free.
Software on demand
The 'Software on Demand' extension enables the user to request approved software packages for installation on his computer. The installation itself is done by opsi. The user does not need any elevated rights for this. This extension was also provided as a co-financing project and has been available free of charge since November 2011.
User profile management
User Profile Management supports the modification of user profiles e.g. B. when using roaming profiles. The extension was initially provided as a co-financing project and is now available free of charge.
Nagios connector
The opsi Nagios Connector enables the monitoring of opsi rollouts, the opsi server and the opsi clients with Nagios and Icinga. The extension is provided as a co-financing project and is not yet available for free.
opsi server
The Opsi server provides the following basic services:
- The configuration server manages the configuration data of the clients and provides the methods for managing the data via web service and on the command line. The data can be stored in files or in a MySQL database.
- The depot server provides software packages (depots) that the clients retrieve for installation. Several depot servers can be connected to one configuration server to support several locations with central administration
- A TFTP server to provide the boot images for the installation of the operating system
- A DHCP server can be integrated.
Management interface
The management of opsi takes place via a graphical user interface , which is also available as an applet in the browser. Opsi can also be administered completely via the command line or web service call.
Licensing
The core components of the product are open source according to the GNU Affero General Public License Version 3 and are available free of charge. The core components are software distribution , operating system distribution (OS deployment) and inventory (hardware and software). These free components are supplemented by paid, closed-source extensions, so - called co - financing projects
Co-financing projects
Although opsi is an open source product, individual further developments are initially made available by the manufacturer as 'co-financing projects'. In a co-financed project, further developments are initially only made available to users who make a flat-rate contribution to the development costs. As soon as the development is refinanced, the extended Opsi version can be used generally and free of charge and (unless technical reasons prevent this temporarily) made available as an open source. A first project of this kind was the support of Windows Vista and Windows 7 . This was completed on February 1, 2008 and released free of charge on March 1, 2010 after the co-financing was completed. After the paid and unpaid parts (co-financing projects) were separated in the source code, the source code for this part was published on November 30, 2010.
Additional functions currently available in the co-financing are:
- MySQL as the backend
- License management
- WAN extension
- Nagios connector
- Linux client
- UEFI boot
- Local image backup
Unlike some other models of commercial open source software, the goal of this concept is to create paid software that will then become open source.
Opsi documentation
Individual evidence
- ↑ - ( Memento of the original from June 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ - ( Memento of the original from August 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b http://www.admin-magazin.de/Das-Heft/2011/03/Windows-Client-Management-mit-dem-neuen-Opsi-4.0.1
- ↑ http://uib.de/www/opsi-aktuelles/index.html
- ↑ a b https://forum.opsi.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1849
- ↑ - ( Memento of the original from November 25, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://download.uib.de/opsi4.0/doc/opsi-manual-de.pdf
- ↑ - ( Memento of the original from October 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ OPSI - cofunding statistics ( Memento of the original from April 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ OPSI - cofunding ( Memento of the original from July 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
- uib.de
- opsi.org
- Ludger Schmitz: Automatic software distribution and installation replace sneaker support. In: ADMIN magazine. Linux New Media AG, accessed on August 3, 2015 .