Managing groups

Groups are used to categorize users and provide access to a set of packaged applications. A group definition consists of the group name and description, the designated users who are members of the group, and the designated software packages and bundles that will be made available to the selected users.

The Software Distribution Catalog uses the user’s group membership to

determine the appropriate packages and bundles to be displayed for installation.

The Group Management window shows a list of group names and their associated descriptions (List Groups table).

For the Software Catalog Group versus the Inventory Group, the same groups are used for both the Software Distribution Catalog and Inventory. The only difference is that for Software Distribution purposes, groups also include membership for packages and bundles, along with users. Inventory groups only display user membership information. The Software Catalog Groups menu selection enables the administrator to modify the package, bundle, and user membership in one location.

4.3.1 Adding a new group

To add a new group:

1. Log on to administration console by following the steps described in 4.2,

“Accessing Tivoli Provisioning Manager Express for Software Distribution administration console” on page 80. The My Assets page shown in Figure 4-5 on page 84 opens.

2. On the My Assets page, select Users→ Software Catalog Groups→ New Group to display the Add Group form.

Figure 4-5 My Assets

3. On the Add Group page, enter the name in the Name field and the description in the Description field for the group (Figure 4-6). Click Add.

Figure 4-6 Add Group

The Add Group page, with a message that says “Group_name has been added successfully,” opens (Figure 4-7).

Figure 4-7 Add Group: Success message

4.3.2 Deleting a group

To delete a group:

1. Select Users→ Software Catalog Groups→ All Groups.

2. From the List Groups table, select the check box next to the group name you want to delete (Figure 4-8). Click Delete.

Note: You cannot create multiple groups with the same name. The Name field has a limitation of 32 characters, uniquely defined to distinguish group definitions. In addition, the field does not accept apostrophes or quotation marks. The Description field is an alphanumeric field that has a limitation of 128 characters and describes a group definition.

3. In the conformation dialog box, click OK to delete the group, or click Cancel to return without making any changes to the database (Figure 4-9).

Figure 4-9 Delete group confirmation

4.3.3 Searching for a group

To search for a specific group name:

1. Select Users→ Software Catalog Groups→ All Groups. The List Groups table opens (Figure 4-8 on page 85).

2. From the List Groups table, select the Search tab. The Search window shown in Figure 4-10 opens.

3. In the Search tab, enter the group name in the Name field. In the Page Size field, enter the maximum number of entries per page to display.

Click Search.

Figure 4-10 Group Management: Search

Note: The group name value is case-sensitive. Type the name exactly as the name is listed in the group list you are searching. If you are not sure of the spelling, use the percent symbol (%) as a wild card in place of one or more characters (for example, A% or a%).

The List Groups table displays the selected group name and description (Figure 4-11).

Figure 4-11 Group Management: Search results

4.3.4 Changing a group description

To change a group description:

1. Select Users→ Software Catalog Groups→ All Groups. The List Groups table opens.

2. In the List Groups table, click the group name.

3. In the Update Group area, enter the necessary change to the description in the Description field (Figure 4-12).

Click Next at any time to continue to the next tab. Optionally, you can click Apply to make permanent changes to the database before selecting Next.

Clicking Update submits all changes to the database, closes the record, and returns you to the List Groups table.

4. Click the Packages tab to select or clear the packages to be included in the group.

5. Click the Bundles tab to select or clear the bundles to be included in the group.

6. Click the Users tab to select or clear the users to be included in the group.

You can also update the user information by selecting the user name. For more details about updating the user information, refer to 4.4.5, “Updating user information” on page 94.

7. Click Update. The List Groups table shown in Figure 4-8 on page 85 opens.

4.3.5 Adding or deleting (modifying) a software package or bundle for a specific group

To add or delete a software package or bundle for a specific group:

1. Select Users→ Software Catalog Groups→ All Groups.

2. From the List Groups table, select the group name (Figure 4-8 on page 85).

3. From the Update Group area, click the Packages or Bundles tab, depending on which one you want to add or delete. The Package Access List

(Figure 4-13) or the Bundle Access List for a specific group name opens.

Figure 4-13 Group Management: Package Access List

4. Select or clear the check box for the software package or bundle that you want to add to or delete from the group.

5. Click Update. The List Groups table shown in Figure 4-8 on page 85 opens.

4.3.6 Updating user information in a specific group

To update the user information for a specific group:

1. Select Users→ Software Catalog Groups→ All Groups.

2. From the List Groups table, select the group name (Figure 4-8 on page 85).

3. From the Update Group area, select the Users tab (Figure 4-12 on page 87).

4. Click the user name from the User List for a specific group (Figure 4-14).

Figure 4-14 Group Management: User List

Note: When adding packages or bundles from multiple pages, you must click Apply to save your changes before selecting the << arrow or >>

arrow to navigate between the multiple pages.

5. Make the changes to the user information in the Update User area

(Figure 4-15). Refer to 4.4.6, “User information” on page 94 for details. Click Update. The List Groups table shown in Figure 4-8 on page 85 opens.

Figure 4-15 User Management: Update User