Provisioning server properties using the PROVSERVER class

You can use the PROVSERVER class of properties to assign property values to servers during the provisioning process. You can use this feature for predefined server properties that are marked editable and for custom server properties.

The PROVSERVER class is a subclass of the Server class of properties. The PROVSERVER class has exactly the same set of properties as the Server class. To use PROVSERVER properties to automate server property assignments, you must create an instance of the PROVSERVER class and assign values to the properties in the instance. Then, in a Provision Job, you select the instance you want and the properties in that instance. When the Provision Job executes, it assigns the value in the selected PROVSERVER property to the property of the same name in the Server class, for each of the target servers.

To provision server properties

1. To open the property dictionary, select Configuration > Property Dictionary View.
2. To create a custom property in the Server class, expand Built-in Property Classes, navigate to the Server class, and click Add. Then click OK.
   For example, create a property named Site.
3. To verify that the new property (created in the Server class) appears automatically in the PROVSERVER subclass, expand PROVSERVER in the left panel and scroll to find the new property.
   For example, notice the Site property in the PROVSERVER subclass.
4. To create an instance of the PROVSERVER subclass, ensure that you have the PROVSERVER subclass selected in the left panel, and click the Instances tab in the right panel. Then click Add and complete the dialog boxes to create the new instance.
   For example, create an instance named Austin_Windows_Servers.

5. To populate the new instance with property values, select a property, click Edit, and type the value.
   For example, select the Site property, click Edit, and type Austin as the property value. Then, select MS_OFFICE_INSTALL_USERNAME, click Edit, and type a username that you plan to create on the servers. Similarly, select and populate MS_OFFICE_INSTALL_PSW. 

   Note

   You can select and populate only those properties that are marked as editable in the Server class.

6. To set up a Provision Job to assign these values to all of the target servers in the Job, open or create the Provision Job. On the Server Settings panel, navigate to a PROVSERVER instance and select the properties whose values you want to assign to all target servers.
   For example, select the Austin_Windows_Servers instance, and then select the Site and the MS_OFFICE properties that you populated with values.
7. Execute the Provision Job.
8. To verify that the server property values are provisioned, in the Servers folder, select one of the target servers that you just provisioned and browse the Properties tab.
   For example, all of the target servers in the Provision Job have a value of Austin in their Site property.