Targets and targeting
A target is the set of computers a deployment applies to. This page covers the kinds of target Overseer offers, how a target becomes a list of computers, and what happens when two targets cover the same computer.
What a target is
A deployment is a standing declaration that something should be true on a set of computers. The target is the part that says which computers.
A target is a description, not a fixed list. Overseer works out which computers match each time the deployment is considered. A computer that joins a client, gains a tag or is handed to a different person is covered from its next maintenance session, and nobody has to edit the deployment.
This is the reason targets exist. You describe the group once, in terms that stay true as computers come and go.
Kinds of target
| Target | Computers it covers |
|---|---|
| Every client | Every computer in every client that takes part |
| One client | Every computer that belongs to that client |
| A tag | Every computer that carries the tag, or every computer in a client that carries it |
| A single computer | That computer only |
| A person | The computer or computers that person uses |
| A group of people | The computers used by the members of a group in your identity provider |
| Computers reported by an integration | The computers an integration identifies, such as those covered by an agreement in your PSA |
Narrowing a target
Inside a client, or across every client, you can narrow the target further.
- All computers. No narrowing. Everything in the scope is covered.
- A tag. Only computers that carry a tag you choose.
- An integration filter. Only computers that an integration places in a group.
- A filter script. A PowerShell script that answers yes or no for each computer.
A filter script suits conditions that no tag or group records. This one answers yes for a computer that has a battery, which is a simple way to pick out laptops:
$battery = Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Battery -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
[bool]$battery
People as targets
Each computer has a primary user, the person who mainly uses it. Overseer sets the primary user from a running record of who has been logged on.
That link is what lets you aim a deployment at people. Aim it at one person and Overseer resolves it to that person's computer. Aim it at a group from your identity provider and Overseer resolves it to the computers used by everyone in the group. When someone joins or leaves the group, the list of computers follows.
Targets from your PSA
Where your PSA is connected, a target can follow what a client is paying for. It can cover every computer under a particular type of agreement, or every computer under an agreement that includes a particular product.
This suits anything you provide only to clients who have bought it, such as security software or a support tool. A client who adds the product gets the software at the next session. Overseer honours the dates on an agreement, so the target starts and stops applying on the days the agreement says.
When targets overlap
More than one deployment for the same item often reaches the same computer. Overseer settles this by taking the most specific target: a single computer or person beats a tag, a tag beats one client, and one client beats every client.
This gives you a way to make exceptions without weakening the standard. Leave the broad deployment as it is, and add a narrower one for the computers that differ, with the desired state Ignored if they should be left alone.
Targeting for offboarding
Targets work for removal as well as installation. When a client leaves, you can take your tools off their computers in the same controlled way you put them on.
- 1Create a deployment for each piece of software you want removed, with the desired state Uninstalled.
- 2Aim each one at a tag kept for clients who are leaving, or at a product on the client's agreement in your PSA.
- 3Apply the tag, or add the product, to the client.
The removal happens at the next maintenance session for each computer. Where you use an agreement, its dates decide the day, which suits a client who wants everything removed at the end of a month.