Novell ZENWORKS PATCH MANAGEMENT 6.4 SP2 - SERVER, User Manual

Page: 18 / 390

ZEN
WORKS
P
ATCH
M
ANAGEMENT
O
VERVIEW
- 2 -
Patch Management Server and Agent Process
The following process map demonstrates how patch information is communicated between
the Patch Management Server and the Agent.
1. The Agent scans the host device and
compiles information on operating
system, software, hardware, and services
on that device via the Discover Applicable
Updates (DAU) task.
2. The DAU runs an inventory scan on the
agent and sends the results back to Patch
Management Server, which compares it
with the list of known vulnerabilities.
Based on this information, vulnerabilities
are determined to be applicable for each
device.
3. The results of the scan are returned to the
Patch Management Server and can be
viewed at any time in the Inventory section
of the product. If applicable, the Agent
performs another scan using the patch
fingerprints incorporated into each
vulnerability to determine the device’s
patch status in relation to that vulnerability.
4. Once patch status is established, the
ZENworks Patch Management
Administrator creates deployments to
patch the devices on the network. The
deployments are then sent to the selected
agents.
5. Once patch status is established, the
Administrator can deploy the desired
vulnerability to each applicable device on
the network.
6. After the agent receives the patch from the
server, it applies the patches by installing
them to the device. The device is now
protected.