Overview of zMAN Director

Summary

zMAN Director is a centralized management server for SnapOS thin clients (zTC), providing end-to-end device lifecycle, configuration, firmware, and profile management over the network :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}.

Key Components & Architecture

• zMAN Tenant UI
  The primary web interface (https://<zMan-IP>/zman-tenant) where administrators manage devices, profiles, and tasks :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}.
• MSP Admin
  Multi-tenant console for managed service providers, enabling creation of isolated tenants and user roles :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}.
• zID (Keycloak)
  Integrated Identity and Access Management, with built-in support for AD/LDAP federation; issues OAuth2 tokens for API and UI access :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}.
• zDM Device Server
  CoAP/LwM2M-based Device Management component; mediates all commands between zMAN Director and zTC endpoints :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}.
• MinIO File Repository
  Internal S3-compatible object store for firmware images, certificate bundles, and scripts; accessible via UI and REST API :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}.
• Database
  PostgreSQL (or similar) backend storing device inventory, tasks, profiles, and logs.
• REST API
  Exposes all functionality for automation and integration; secured via zID tokens.

Deployment Modes

• Standalone
  All components (zMAN UI, zID, MinIO, zDM) co-located on a single Ubuntu host :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}.
• High-Availability (Future Roadmap)
  Planned support for distributed deployment and clustering of zDM and DB; recommended for large-scale rollouts.

Network & Ports

• HTTPS UI (tenant): TCP 443
• MinIO Console: TCP 7080
• REST API (internal): TCP 8082
• zDM CoAP/LwM2M: UDP 5683 (configurable)

Use Cases

• Centralized provisioning and zero-touch deployment of new zTC devices
• Group-based power scheduling and remote reboot/shutdown
• Automated firmware roll-outs with staged or immediate updates
• Profile and setting templates for VDI (Citrix, VMware, RDP) enforcement
• Secure certificate distribution and SCEP enrollment at scale
• Comprehensive task tracking and event log analytics

Next Steps

Proceed to Installing zMAN Director to set up your first standalone instance.