Home

Vector Asset Management User Manual

1. 34 CHAPTER 3 Deploying the Vector AM Client Enable data capture Select this check box to enable the collection of software metering data by Clients Clear the check box to prevent the capture of metering data Note that although the following settings have no effect on software metering when data capture is disabled they are used to trigger other Client actions Scan interval By default the Client application records the applications that are currently open every 10 seconds To change the frequency with which these snapshots are taken enter a new value in this field Snapshot interval By default the Client appli cation saves software metering data to file every 60 minutes To change the frequency with which the metering data is saved enter a new value in this field Metering push interval By default the Client application transfers software metering data to the Offline Area every 24 hours To change the frequency with which the metering data is trans ferred enter a new value in this field Software metering data is normally collected and analyzed at 23 00 each day by the assigned Scheduler For more information on the control and analysis of metering data see Software Metering on page 125 Pre and Post Processing The Client application can execute a command or application before and after it runs This enables you to automate the performance of tasks associated with the Clients such as the ma
2. 000 eee 200 Windows Installer Service SETUP Command Options 200 Appendix C Upgrading to Vector Asset Management Version 6 0 203 Upgrading from a previous version of Vector Asset Management 0 cee eee eee ees 203 Upgrading the Software Application Library 205 Upgrading from PC Duo Enterprise 4 x 205 Appendix D Technical Suppers acsci45 eis Gai eee RS 207 MENON ere Ace re corre neo ree i es eae ee ce 209 vii viii Chapter 1 Introducing Vector Asset Management Vector Asset Management Vector AM is a PC network management suite designed to reduce the cost of managing PC desktops and increase their efficiency through pro active management It offers interactive and scheduled PC management using its flexible and powerful Active Host Archi tecture Vector AM gives true integration of PC management functions based on a common database With minimal intrusion to users and on desktop performance it enables you to Collect comprehensive hardware information for the PCs at your Site The spectrum of PC systems is covered from DOS to Vista A wealth of accurate hardware configuration information is available and key system details are checked for changes Gather user information such as location department cost code phone number and other asset information using the customizable prompting operation Find out what software is installed on your netwo
3. 82 Customizing the Inventory Data collected by Clients 82 Chapter 8 User PRO pening yao ssiecdis eri os ee oy wine nS or hin nd eRe eeesidle levee 85 Creating Prompt Files 0 0 00 e eee eee eee 85 Distributing Prompt Files 0 0 0 000 ee 88 Collecting Prompt Data 0 0 0 c ee eee eee 89 Working with User Prompt Data 89 Chapter 9 Network DeVICeS 2 ice sin cuncigae ncaa aaau enrera rarae eenthons 91 Device Properties 0 00 c ee eee eee ee 93 Device GroupS is eo oe a el hee eet 93 LOCATIONS dacs cn Sinke Mi aate Geees Sei Ot eae Vee nA 94 Network TopologieS 0 00 e ee eee eee 94 Chapter 10 Software Inventory 0 0 eees 97 Collecting Software Inventory Data 97 Customizing Software Inventory Operations 98 Optimizing Software Inventory Operations 100 Software Identification Manager 2 00 101 The Applications Library 0 0 00 eee eee 105 Software Inventory Data 00 0c eee eee eee 118 Software Reports 0 0 cece eee eee 119 Chapter 11 Software Asset Management 0 00505 121 Package Policy Manager 2 00 200eeees 121 Software Metering 000 cece eee eee 125 Chapter 12 Assets DatabaSe 0 0000 0 0 cece cece eee 129 Using the Assets Database 222 020055 129 Asset T
4. 00 0 c cece ae 2 Architecture 0 0 c ccc cece eens 3 Benefits of the Architecture 2 2 00005 4 Chapter 2 Creating SITES oiiicach0i ioe soiacnsissasverxches apubanipnereadsearea pads 7 Creating an Evaluation Site 20 005 vi Creating Site Databases 00 0c eee 10 Creating Production Sites 00 0c eee eee 13 Chapter 3 Deploying the Vector AM Client 0008 21 Deploying the Client Interactively 21 Deployment Profiles 0 00 c cece eee eens 23 Deploying the Client Automatically 26 Controlling Client Behavior 0000000es 30 Deploying the Client using Active Directory 34 Deploying the Client to Windows Home Editions 95 98 and Wear aacesnseyats E Sesser A at fete apace arapaenarayd nuns ed 35 Completing Client Deployment 0055 36 Client Self Updating 0 0 0 ccc eee eee 37 Chapter 4 Managing Sites lt 6c5 cct ccscctureneva hdneidareaciaadiat tencaegandeed 39 Displaying Site Details 0 0 0 c ee eee ee 39 Offline AreaS 1 eee 39 Specifying a Global Site 0 2 00002 ee 43 Changing Logon Settings for the Site Databases 43 Deleting Sites 0 0 eee eee 43 Configuring the Offline Scanner 20 44 Assigning Schedulers to a Site 2 000055 44 Maintaining
5. Which files do you want to use to identify this application Directory XAMPP xampp apache bin Available files File name Version information iconv L ab exe Apache HTTP Server 2 2 14 Apache Software Foundation B abs exe Apache HTTP Server 2 2 14 Apache Software Foundation E ApacheMonitor exe Apache HTTP Server 2 2 14 Apache Software Foundation B apr_dbd_mysql 1 dll amp apr_dbd_odbc 1 dll z Required items Files of type exe dll inf fad ApacheMonitor exe Add IV Exclude subdirectories from scans for unrecognized applications Version identification Specify rules to identify application versions C Do not identify versions lt Back Cancel Help CHAPTER 10 Software Inventory For more information on using file properties to identify applications see File Rules on page 113 3 To prevent executable files in subdirectories from being identified as separate applications select Exclude subdirectories from scans for unrecognized applications 4 lf you want to create an application definition that identifies different versions of an appli cation select Specify rules to identify appli cation versions and click the Next button The Version Identification dialog is displayed If you do not want to distinguish between different versions of an application select Do not identify versions and click the Finish button The Wizard creates rules for th
6. OFFLINEAREA The Offline Area used by the Client OFFLINEID The Offline Area directory in which the Client saves its inventory data SWCAPTURE The Offline Area directory in which the Client saves its soft ware inventory data SWDATE The date on which the Client s software inventory was last saved to the Site database The date on which the latest user prompt information was entered USERPROMPT CAPTURE User properties are user specified items of infor mation held about the Client You can collect user properties using the Get User Data operation or enter and update the properties directly using the Client Properties dialog To define a user property for the selected Client 1 Click the User tab to display the user properties list and click Add The Property dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Property dialog a Enter the property Name and its Value b If you want to prevent the property from being overwritten by the Get User Data operation select Locked property c Click the OK button The property is displayed in the Client Properties list 3 Click the OK button in the Client Properties dialog to save your changes and close the dialog To edit a user property select the property in the user properties list click the Edit button and update the Property dialog To delete a user property select the property in the list and click Delete Performing Operations on Clients
7. Viewing Hardware Inventory Results The Hardware Inventory window displays the details of the PCs you selected It includes infor mation on CPU types memory operating systems services and drivers printers screens disk drives shares networks and system resources It also includes information returned by Client users in response to user prompts The information is organized into sections To display the information in a section click an entry in the section list on the left of the page or select a section title The Hardware Inventory window displays the details of one Client at a time If you selected multiple Clients or a group of Clients when you ran the hardware inventory operation you can display the information for another Client by selecting its entry in the Inventory for list The date and time shown at the right of the selected Client indicate when the data was collected by the Client application For more infor mation on configuring the frequency of data collection see Controlling Client Behavior on page 30 To save a Client s data to database click the Save button 77 78 CHAPTER 7 Hardware Inventory r ry amp Hardware Inventory b s p Inventory for DB4 lt Stored gt v captured by client on 13 Jul 2011 12 59 00 eo Compare with lt None gt X Hardware Inventory S Q User Summary User Summary Processors and Memory SYSTEM ser 5 Sei Do
8. Install Type oo res To name a profile and specify the installation details 1 Inthe Profile name field enter a name for the profile 2 Inthe Kit type list select the type of deployment you want to perform with this profile Choose e Vector AM Client to install the Client appli cation 24 CHAPTER 3 Deploying the Vector AM Client e Vector AM One shot Audit to collect infor mation from networked PCs without installing the Client application 3 Inthe PD File field enter the location and name of the Package Definition file that specifies how the Client application is to be installed Click the Edit button to view or change the definition 4 In the Install types list select an option to specify the environments in which the Client application can be installed the location of the installation kit and the installation commands Select the Install Type you want to use for this profile The list of available install types is defined by the selected Package Definition Because Client kits support different types of installation for different operating systems different types of user and different optional components you can create different install types for different PC groups 5 Select the Credentials and Kit Location tab to continue Credentials and Kit Location Each Deployment Profile uses a specific user account and Client kit to install the Client appli cation This enab
9. Q 0 1 T Run in silent installation mode Use Q1 to suppress the Exit dialog Use QT to suppress all dialogs including the background frame window and progress gauge The A and Q options are mutually exclusive R Reinstalls the application U A Uninstalls the application If Q is also specified the user is not prompted about removing shared components UA removes shared compo nents without prompting the user Windows Installer Service SETUP Command Options The following options are available for use with the Windows Installer Service s SETUP EXE command line These are example options that apply to the Microsoft Office 2000 SETUP other applications SETUP programs may offer different options Refer to the application documentation and resource kits for precise information on the Windows Installer Service a msifile Performs an administrative installation of the specified package i Filename MSI Specifies the MSI file which SETUP EXE will install t Filename mst Specifies the name of the Transform MSI file to use for the installation q Sets the user interface level q means silent qb presents a basic interface qr presents a reduced interface o Property Value Sets a property in the MSI file which is passed to the installation Used for specifying CD license keys for example 1 0 CDKEY XXXXXX XXXX m Number Used to support multiple licenses by writing the License Verificatio
10. Restrictions The following features are not supported on Macintosh Clients e Software Metering e Software Distribution e User Prompting Macintosh Clients are automatically skipped if they are selected for unsupported operations Chapter 19 Extending the Product Vector Asset Management is able to execute commands on Console Scheduler and Client PCs As such it can be used to implement a range of additional functions This chapter contains some examples Executing Commands at Clients The Vector AM Client runs shortly after a user has logged on and then at regular intervals specified in its configuration settings It runs in a privileged mode and is able to execute user defined commands before it carries out its normal inventory tasks and after for more information see Chapter 3 Deploying the Vector AM Client on page 30 and Pre and Post Processing on page 34 USB Blocking Application This sample application is included with the Vector AM Client Two files are added to the Client installer The Client Setup is configured to copy these files by adding their names to the FileList ini in the Offline Area Client Kit directory This is a text file containing one section only FileList Files FileList ini _LUCLIENT INI LUTINFO REF Filenames are specified in a semi colon delimited list Application file names can be added to this list by editing the file with a text editor such as Notepad The files
11. e Offline Area Kits and select a list option to use a Client kit from an Offline Area associated with this Site e One shot Audit Kits and select a list option to use a one shot kit from an Offline Area associated with this Site e Custom Location and enter a UNC path to use a Client kit from that location 4 Click the Configure Kit button to view or change the default settings for Clients created For more information on configuring the Client kit see Controlling Client Behavior on page 30 5 Select the Options tab to continue Profile Options Client deployment can be performed automatically or under the control of the users of the target computers It can also record installation and error messages so that you can check on the discov eries it has made and the progress of Client instal lations Use the Profile Options tab to control the level of interactivity you want to allow and to control the level of logging for the installation To specify the installation options for a deployment profile 1 To record the details of the deployments performed for the current Site select Enable deployment logging To view the log select the Logs folder in Interactive Discovery 2 To record the details of the Client installation on each target PC select Enable client logging x Deployment Profile Editor Profile Details Credentials and Kit Location Options I7 Enable deployment logging I7 Enable client
12. ACCOUNTS The user account specified in the Software Distribution Wizard when the Job is distributed The account is supplied in the form username domain password USERNAME The User name of the account DOMAIN The Domain name of the account PASSWORDS The password of the account KITDIR The path that the installer is being run from with a trailing backslash The format of the path is specified as a UNC or a mapped drive depending on the Kit path settings You can also use the standard Vector AM tokens for more information see Using Tokens in Command Launch Operations on page 169 to create distribution Jobs that only run commands specified in the Pre and Post Processing areas Pre and Post Processing Information The Pre Post Processing category of a Package Definition enables you to specify commands that you want Vector AM to execute before and after the installer runs To specify pre and post processing commands 1 To display a Package s Pre Post Processing category expand the Package in the Editor s tree then click Pre Post Processing 2 If you want the system to perform a command before the installation commences enter it in the User command field of the Pre process area You can include any tokens in this command line and specify a UNC path or reference any file held locally on the PC If you are editing a Package Definition for a software package that uses an earlier pre 2 0 version
13. An offline area is an intermediate directory that stores the raw data collected from and that relays instructions to Clients This indirect method of access allows Console users to perform opera tions on Client PCs even when they are not currently available Use the Offline Area tab to specify the default offline area settings for new Clients Use this tab to configure the offline area settings of selected Clients Push every boot Select this option to configure Clients to transfer their inventory data to the Offline Area each time the Client computer is rebooted Push periodically Select this option to specify the frequency in days with which Clients transfer their inventory data to the Offline Area The default push interval of 1 forces the Client to save its inventory data to the Offline Area each day s Pre and post processing User prompting Client Kit Settings Software metering Inventory analysis Directory snapshot Offline area Vector Asset Management Clients transfer data and receive instructions through a shared Offline Area located on a server ad This enables the Console to collect data from them even when the PC is not currently accessible Specify the settings you want new Clients to use Push every boot Ki Push periodically Every 1 days Offline prefix Factory defaults You can reduce the use of network and Client resources by entering a longer p
14. Most operations such as Update Hardware Inventory and Distribute Software are performed on specific Clients To select the Clients for an operation click the operation in the Console and choose the Clients in the Select Clients dialog To perform the operation on all Clients in the Site select the Clients tab and click All Clients To perform the Operation on specified Clients 1 Inthe Clients tab click the Select Clients option 2 Select the check box of each Client To perform the Operation on Client groups 1 Inthe Clients tab click the Select Clients option 2 Select the tab that contains the group you want to work with 3 Select the check box of each group To perform the Operation on Clients within a group 1 Inthe Clients tab click the Select Clients option 2 Select the tab that contains the group you want to work with 3 Select the Group Name 4 Select the Clients in the Member Clients list You can select any combination of Clients and groups If a Client is a member of more than one selected group the operation is performed only once Groups Groups are collections of Clients They aid Site management by enabling you to organize and view Clients that have related attributes and by enabling you to select multiple Clients with one click when you perform operations 55 Vector AM supports two types of group e Dynamic groups contain Clients whose attributes meet SQL based criteria Bec
15. To disable User Prompting set User Prompting Disabled Yes 84 CHAPTER 7 Hardware Inventory 85 Chapter 8 User Prompting User Prompting automates the collection of data from Client users and from system files on Client PCs It enables you to collect valuable user infor mation such as location cost code and telephone number and to collect information on the configu ration of Client PCs This information gathering can be targeted at Client PCs to build a total picture of PC deployment in your organization User Prompting uses a three stage process Create the Prompt File Prompt files are created and edited with the User Prompt Editor Prompts can collect any user related information such as location department cost code and telephone number They can also collect system variables from Client PCs without user intervention To minimize data entry and consistency problems user replies can be limited to specific formats lengths and cases or to a selection from a list or pre defined responses Distribute the Prompt File When the Prompt file is complete you must distribute it to Client PCs using the Get User Data operation This copies the Prompt file to the Offline Areas of the selected Client PCs Collect the Information When the Client is activated it checks the Offline Area for an updated Prompt file If it finds a new Prompt file its questions are displayed to the Client user or used to collect information f
16. 2 Select the Automatic Self Updates tab 37 38 CHAPTER 3 Deploying the Vector AM Client 3 Select the Modify Setting check box next to Enable Automatic Self Updates and de select the check box to the right 4 Run the Client Configuration Operation to update the selected Clients See Viewing Client Revisions on page 60 and Automatic Self Updating Settings on page 65 for more information on configuring and monitoring Automatic Self Updating Chapter 4 Managing Sites Vector Asset Management collects information about managed PCs into one or more Sites When you create a Site using the Site Creation Wizard it is automatically added to the Asset Management folder in the Console tree You can create multiple Site windows and work with them simultaneously in the Console enabling easy multi Site management from your desktop Sites can be shared between multiple Consoles and Sched ulers To open a Site double click its entry in the tree Working with Multiple Sites The Site concept enables you to break a large installation into a number of smaller Site databases You can create as many Sites as you want providing the total number of Clients does not exceed your Vector AM license Larger Sites A large installation can be divided into Sites on a geographical basis an organiza tional basis or any other criteria A Site can be used to represent all the PCs in a building all the PCs in a department or all the P
17. Distribution Agent can run as a Windows service to give it access to the privileged environment that is required to install Service Packs and many other applications No user account specified for this installation The Agent Service always requires an account No User Account was specified in the Software Distribution Wizard when the Job was queued Pre Process command failure prevents instal lation from continuing This package is being put into Holding status The Pre Process command specified in the Package s Distribution Definition failed to execute 198 APPENDIX A Error Messages Unable to connect to kit source Kit path This package is being put into Holding status The location of the installation kit cannot be accessed The location is specified in the Package s Distri bution Definition although the kit path can be changed using the Software Distribution Wizard Launch error This package is being put into Holding status An error occurred was found in the Installation command line Check the Kit location the Installation command and the user information are correct Error triggering system reboot to complete package installation This package is being put into Holding status The Agent could not reboot the Client PC Failed to load package details This package is being put into Holding status The Agent failed to load the required Package Distribution Definition or there is an error in the Package Defini
18. LULOGON command has the following syntax LULOGON DEBUG INSTALL Ad minUser Domain Password LOC KOUT UNINSTALL TIMEO UT nn secs NTFSLOC KDO WN EXPLORER CAPTION MessageBox Caption Title MESSAGE M essa geBox Text WINDO W Target Synchronize Window Caption HELP Where ANSTALL Adds the details of the specified account to the registry LOCKOUT Causes the keyboard and mouse to be disabled on the reboot after the INSTALL phase Use this command option during a formal deployment to avoid leaving an open Admin login Always test the distribution before implementing it with the LOCKOUT option NTFSLOCKDOWN This is determined automati cally during execution It indicates that the system is a locked down NTFS machine This must be released on INSTALL and restored on UNINSTALL CAPTION and MESSAGE Enable you to control the message displayed when counting down before the final reboot is triggered Similarly the TIMEOUT option is passed through in the INSTALL phase and is acted upon as the reboot delay in the UNINSTALL phase WINDOW Enables you to customize the title of the Personalized Settings window This window is used to perform the per user setup following the first reboot The final reboot is triggered after the target window closes assuming it is found EXPLORER This option protects an installation from interruption by these Web browser updates and is automaticall
19. Silent check box to suppress error messages and completely hide the installation the user 7 To start the installation as soon as the distri bution details are transferred to the Offline Area select RealTime mode Normally an installation starts when the Vector AM Client next activates itself Select this option to force the distribution service to start immediately This option has no effect on Windows 95 98 and Me Clients 8 Click the Next button to open the Monitoring and Logging dialog Specifying Log File Locations Use the Monitoring and Logging dialog to specify whether you want to log the progress and error information for a distribution operation and to specify where you want to save the progress logs of the Distribute Software operation You must specify all locations as full UNC paths and include any required user name and password settings 163 To specify log file locations 1 In the Package specific section enter a location and name for the files in which you want to record error and progress for each software installation on each Client PC By default the first available Scheduler in the Site database monitors distribution jobs If you want to nominate a specific Scheduler to monitor this Job select the Scheduler s name in the Monitoring Host list In the Agent specific section enter a location and name for the files in which you want to record error and progress for the software distribution
20. and to predict and manage software licensing across your organization Planning Your Software Distribution To use Package Policy Manager you must first define the package policies that Vector AM will use to analyze the software distribution within your organization Each package policy has two components e A set of Clients that have the same asset requirements e A set of rules that identify software that is mandatory optional and prohibited for the specified PCs This approach enables you to create policies that can be used to specify the software required by departments and areas within your organization It also enables you to create policies that identify the groups and Clients where specific applications can be installed For example you can create a policy that specifies all PCs in the Sales department must have access to Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Office but that access to Internet Explorer is prohibited Similarly a policy can specify that all PCs within your organi zation must have a specific version of a virus scanner You can mix both these application management methods in the way that best suits your organi zation s requirements To create a package policy 1 In the Console click the Specify Package Policies operation The Package Policy Manager is displayed 2 Inthe Package Policy Manager select the Policies tab then choose Add Package Policy in the Edit menu The Package Policy Details dial
21. information held in the database at any time by right clicking a Client in the Client list and selecting Hardware Details or Software Details You can also view hardware and software details for Clients using reports For more information see Chapter 13 Reports and Database Views Client Properties Client Properties contain information about the inventory operations that have been performed on Clients For example you can use them to check when the Client application last collected data from its host when a Client s inventory was last saved to the database and the location from which the data was collected 54 CHAPTER 5 Working with Clients Properties can also contain custom data entered by Console users or collected from user prompts To display the properties of a Client right click its entry in the Clients View and choose Properties from the menu The Client Properties dialog is displayed Client Properties are divided into two sections System properties are standard items of infor mation that Vector AM automatically collects when you perform hardware and software inventory operations on Clients You cannot edit these properties System properties include the following items of data Property Description HWCAPTURE The date on which the latest hardware inventory data was collected by the Client HWDATE The date on which the Client s hardware inventory was last saved to the Site database
22. name of the subdirectory you want to check for 3 Click the OK button to save your rule and close the dialog If a subdirectory is not always created by an instal lation embed the subdirectory rule within an optional rule block This prevents Vector AM from generating an unrecognized application message when the directory is not present Registry Identification Rules In addition to identifying applications by file names and file properties Vector AM can also check that Clients operating systems contain installation information for an application Most entries in the Windows Program List will be identified automati cally by a Fast Software Inventory operation Use the Registry Identification Rule dialog to specify the information you want to check for To add a Registry Identification rule to an application definition 1 Right click the Rule pane and choose Add Registry Identification Rule from the shortcut menu The Registry Identification Rule dialog is displayed 2 Enter the Name Pattern you want Vector AM to check for For example in Windows enter the application name that appears in the Add Remove Programs dialog If the name includes a version number you may find it helps to use an asterisk wildcard so that the rule matches a range of minor versions 3 Click the OK button to save your rule and close the dialog Optional Rule Blocks When a file or directory fails any check within the appropriate app
23. then click the Edit or Delete buttons 5 If you want to enter any extra information about this Package Definition type it in the Package notes field Package Definition Install Types Many software packages support different types of installation As well as supporting different operating systems some installers such as Windows Installer enable you to select which optional components you want to install and what level of functionality is available to users Install Types enable you to control how and where a package can be installed and any special instal lation requirements All Package Definitions must include at least one Install Type If your organization uses several different installations of the same package you can define an Install Type to support each one You can create multiple Install Types based on different Transforms for Package Definitions that use the Windows Installer For more information see Creating Transforms using the Custom Instal lation Wizard on page 152 Vector AM is supplied with default Install Types for many software packages To display a Package s Install Types in the Package Definition Editor expand the package in the tree and expand the Install Types You can then select the Install Type to view its settings To create a new Install Type 1 Inthe tree of the Package Definition Editor right click the Package you want to update and choose Add Install Type from the shortcut
24. 149 Messages 195 Monitoring 166 167 DMI BIOS Checker 83 Dynamic Groups 59 E EnableUSBPorts reg 191 Environment Variables 87 Error Messages 195 on Users PCs 197 Evaluation Sites 7 Event Log 76 79 168 Executing Commands at Clients 191 Executing Commands at Consoles 192 Exporting Asset Types 131 Assets 132 Groups 59 Operations 70 Package Definitions 160 External Applications 169 F Fast and Full inventory variants 97 Fast Software Inventory 114 File Rules 113 File Variables 88 FileList ini 191 Filtering Clients 162 Find Clients Operation 52 Fixed Groups 124 FROMHOST Token 75 G Get User Data Operation 88 Getting Started 7 Global Sites 15 43 GROUPID Table 46 Groups Active Directory 81 Backup Files 59 Creating 59 124 Definitions 59 Devices 93 Dynamic 59 Importing and Exporting 59 Locations 94 GROUPS Table 46 H Hardware Change History 79 Hardware Inventory Binary Format 81 Change Notification 78 Client Components 82 Client Settings 31 61 Customizing Operations 80 Deleting Data 81 Exporting Data 81 Log Files 79 Macintosh Settings 187 Operations 77 Options 80 Printing 77 80 Repeating Scans 82 Reporting 80 Setting a Default Host 80 User Prompting Options 81 Viewing Details 79 Viewing Results 77 Viewing Stored Details 79 Hardware Inventory Results Dialog 77 Hidden Shares 21 Holding Jobs 76 HOST Token 75 HOSTS Table 46 Hosts View 75 211 HTML File Tokens 139 HTML
25. Client s installation directory This section describes the main settings that control the collection of hardware inventory data The Windows Checker The Windows Checker collects most of the hardware inventory data available on Client computers running Windows 95 or later systems It is invisible to Client users and contains many separate tests for the various components that can be installed You can disable specific component tests in the Windows Checker such as those for MIDI Firewire or Modems by editing LUCLIENT INI but Vector Networks recommends you only disable it entirely when troubleshooting software problems on computers where the Client is installed To disable the Windows Checker set Windows Checker Disa bled Yes For more information on the individual tests that comprise the Windows Checker see the LUCLIENT TXT file in the Client installation directory The DMI BIOS Checker The DMI BIOS Checker collects Serial Number Manufacturer and Model information from the PC If you don t need this information you can improve the Client startup speed by disabling it To disable the DMI BIOS Checker set DMI BIOS Checker Disa bled Yes 83 User Prompting User Prompting collects information from Client users and system and registry variables on Client PCs For more information see Chapter 8 User Prompting on page 85 If you don t need this infor mation you can disable this feature
26. Console installed A suitable rule for this is already included in the Application Library A Fast inventory scan is satisfactory provided the results have been saved use the Group Wizard as follows Create a new dynamic group 2 Use a natural language query 3 Add Package Name to the Displayed database fields page 4 Specify Package Name is starting with Vector Asset Management v6 in the database query page 5 The Preview page will show the results 6 Save the Group when the Preview is correct The Group display will list any Clients having the v6 Vector AM Console installed with the Console version from the software inventory results See Working with Custom Groups on page 56 and The Enter Database Query Dialog on page 57 for more information Alternatively both Consoles and Schedulers have the ability to execute external commands The Console can execute them interactively from a suitably configured operation The Scheduler can execute external commands regularly according to a schedule See Creating and Customizing Operations on page 69 and Scheduling Operations on page 73 for more information on how to do this 193 194 CHAPTER 19 Extending the Product 195 Appendix A Error Messages Progress and Error Log Messages Failed to write package defn file Package Def inition PD Please check the Client is accessi ble The Offline Area server may be inaccessible
27. DButil to execute several SQL commands in one operation You can create a command file using a text editor such as Notepad Enter each SQL command on a separate line and end them with a semi colon For example to add an operation that changes the name of a Client PC in the database create a file called ChangeNodeName SQL to update all Site database tables that contains the NODENAME field For each database table that contains the name use the following format UPDATE Ta ble SET NO DENAME NewNodeName WHERE NODENAME OldNodeName Save the file in the Console directory and create an operation that references CHANGEDNODE NAME SQL in the Command line 173 174 CHAPTER 16 Other Operations 175 Chapter 17 Audit Clients Audit mode allows you to collect inventory data and user prompts from PCs without installing the Vector AM Client application It enables the Console to provide comprehensive information management for PCs where it is not appropriate to install the Vector AM Client or that are not connected to a network Audit mode is supported on all Windows platforms It is not supported on DOS only PCs The Audit Process In a standard Vector AM installation the Client is installed on networked PCs and automatically copies snapshots of the PCs hardware and software data to an intermediate Offline Area at specified intervals This enables Console users to collect Client information even when the Client PCs a
28. Enable Automatic Deployment check box 2 Click the upper Add button to select a deployment profile The Deployment Profiles dialog is displayed 3 Select the Vector AM Client 1 profile and click the Close button If no profiles are listed in the Deployment Profiles list click the Add Standard Profiles button to create default profiles for your Site For more information see Deploying the Client Automatically on page 26 4 Inthe warning message click the OK button The Inclusion Filter dialog is displayed 5 Enter the identification criteria for the nodes you want to deploy the new Client to and click the OK button Click the lower Add button if you want to assign multiple filters to the selected profile 6 When you have finished selecting profiles for the deployment click the Close button Vector AM will start to deploy the new Client when the Scheduler next runs To update Windows 95 98 and Me Clients 1 In the Software Distributions folder click Distribute Software 2 Inthe Select Clients dialog select the Clients you want to update and click the OK button 3 In the Select Package dialog select Vector Asset Management Client 5 50 and click the Next button 4 Inthe Select Install Type dialog select Typical and click the Next button 5 In the Client Filter dialog click the Next button 6 Inthe Settings dialog enter the location of the Client Kit and edit any settings you want to change Clic
29. Inthe Summary tab check the details of the new data then click the Finish button to create the field The field can be used to extend any asset type by selecting the Show User Extensions tab option when creating or editing it To delete a user defined field 1 Inthe Assets Database window choose Delete Column in the Edit menu 2 Inthe Delete user column dialog select the entry you want to delete and click the Remove button Assets Assets represent any item of equipment that you need to monitor and keep track of Use new asset entries to record details about hardware and software assets that are not automatically detected by Vector AM To enter a new asset 1 Inthe Assets Database window choose Add in the Edit menu The Asset Types dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Asset Types dialog select the type of asset you want to add then click the Add Asset button The Asset Details dialog is displayed 3 In the Asset Detail dialog select each tab in turn and complete the fields for the new asset 131 4 Click the OK button to close the dialog and add the new asset to the database Importing and Exporting The Assets database enables you to import and export the asset types defined in one Site database so you can easily distribute standard asset type definitions throughout your organi zation To import asset types 1 In the Assets Database window choose Import Asset Types in the File menu In the Import
30. Stores hardware inventory data in binary format This format is used internally by Vector AM to increase efficiency and improve response times of components that use or display hardware inventory data Binary hardware data is stored in database tables with names that are prefixed with the string HARD Save results to the database in text format Stores uncompressed hardware inventory data to the Site database Select this option when you want to use the hardware data in the standard reports and Views supplied with Vector AM or when you want to export the data for use in other applications Hardware data in text format is stored in tables with names that are prefixed HW Data Expiry By default Vector AM retains only one copy of the hardware data in text format and clears the data held in the hardware inventory tables when you save the results of a hardware inventory operation to the database If you want to retain previous data to make comparisons between the current and previous states of PCs enter the period for which you want to retain the previous data in this field For example if you specify a value of 60 days the hardware data is retained for 60 days before it is replaced when new data is saved to the database Refresh user prompt questions User prompt files are used to request information directly from users and their PCs To send new user prompt files to the selected Client PCs when you run this operation select this ch
31. Template is displayed in the Add Remove Templates dialog 7 Close the Add Remove Templates dialog The template is added to the policy you selected in the Group Policy window Repeat steps 3 through 7 for each policy you want to configure for use with Vector AM Clients When you first install the Vector AM Administrative Template the settings are undefined to prevent accidental changes to Client settings Configuring Clients with Active Directory Configuration changes made with Active Directory are applied to Clients using a similar to method to that used by the Configure Clients operation Each 67 time the Vector AM Client runs it checks the registry Any configuration changes are applied to the Client s configuration where they take prece dence over those in the LUCLIENT INI file To configure Clients from the Active Directory Console 1 Open the Active Directory Console and select the Group Policy that contains the Clients you want to configure 2 Inthe Computer Configuration Administrative Templates Vector AM Client Settings folder select the folder that contains the settings you want to configure Offline Area paths specified through Active Directory must be encrypted Use the Offline Area Path Encryptor operation in the Site Management folder to find the encrypted values for your Site s Offline Area paths 3 When you have finished close the Active Directory Console When the Client next runs it
32. To resize the asset columns Click the right edge of the column you want to resize drag the edge of the column to the required position then release the mouse button To sort asset records You can sort data in the Assets Database window by using the contents of a column to control the order in which the asset records are displayed To change the sort order of the List view click the heading of the column you want to use to specify the sort order To choose which records are listed Click the Details button in the toolbar and specify your record selection criteria using the SQL Code field Asset Types Asset types are templates that are used to specify what information is required for each hardware or software asset you want to record For example you can define an asset type for printers that holds information on where the printer is located its name and model information and so on You can define asset types using predefined forms that collect standard data or you can specify your own information requirements by defining customized fields for the database To create a new asset type 1 Inthe Assets Database window choose Create New Asset Type in the Edit menu The New Asset Type dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Asset Type field enter a name for the new asset type 3 If you want to ensure users specify the PC where the asset is installed select the Client Required check box 4 Check the tabs you want to include
33. To sort the items in the List View by a category click the column heading Understanding the Compliance Reports The Compliance tree contains a series of reports that you can use to check on how well your Client PCs conform to your package policies Bad Versions lists Clients where the wrong version of the specified application is installed if your policies specify particular versions of the application Installed amp Authorized lists Clients where mandatory and optional applications are installed and allowed by a policy If you have specified particular versions of applications for a policy this report also lists any Clients that have the wrong version of the specified application Installed OK lists Clients where mandatory and optional applications are installed and allowed by a policy If you specified particular versions of appli cations for a policy this report lists only those Clients where the correct version of the application is installed 123 CHAPTER 11 Software Asset Management Managed Clients contains a compliance report for each Client that belongs to a policy These reports enable you to see the compliance infor mation from all policies that apply to each Client Managed Packages contains a report for each application that is assigned to at least one policy Use it to view all the Clients where this application is currently installed Missing Mandatory Packages lists Clients where a mandatory applicati
34. a Scheduler at 23 00 each day However it can be rescheduled from the Console s Jobs View see Schedulers on page 71 and for large networks it can be spread across multiple Schedulers see Config uring Software Metering Summarizing The Summarizer Job further amalgamates the software metering data from the Collator It calculates the total length of time for which each Client has used each application over the previous 24 hour period by interpolating between each snapshot The data is then used to produce software usage reports such as the Software Total Users by Day report By default the Summarizer runs at 01 00 each day on the same Scheduler as the Collator Enabling and Disabling Software Metering Software Metering is automatically enabled when you first install Vector AM Use the following procedure to stop or restart the collection and analysis of metering data To enable or disable software metering analysis 1 Click Software Metering Settings in the Console s Software Metering folder 2 Inthe Software Metering Settings dialog deselect the Enable software metering check box You can restart metering at any time by opening the Software Metering Settings dialog and reselecting the Enable software metering check box Configuring Software Metering By default the software metering data of all Client PGs is collated and purged by one Scheduler However because this Job can take up a signif ic
35. a package policy 1 Inthe tree expand the package policy you want to change 2 Select the policy option that you want to remove an application from The packages assigned to the option are displayed in the List View 3 In the List view right click the application you want to remove and choose Remove from the shortcut menu Checking Policy Conformance When you have created one or more package policies you can use the Package Policy Manager to check how well your Client PCs conform to your policy specifications Before running the Analyzer you must run an Update Software Inventory operation on the Clients you want to check To check the Software Inventory Results right click a Client in a groups folder and choose Software Details from the shortcut menu To view the results of a package analysis 1 Choose the Run Analysis in the Tools menu of the Package Policy Manager 2 Inthe tree select the Compliance tab This contains a series of reports on the compliance status of software on your Client PCs 3 Click the Yes button in the confirmation message and when the Analyzer has finished click the report you want to view The results of the analysis are displayed in the List View You can manipulate the contents of the List View in the following ways To resize a column click the right edge of the column heading and drag the divider e To display the full contents of a column double Click its right edge
36. an overview of the steps required to prepare an application for distribution using Windows Installer More detailed information is supplied in the following sections To prepare an application for distribution with Windows Installer 1 Create an Administrative Installation Point see Creating an Administrative Installation Point 2 Optionally create a Transform which customizes the installation of the application see Creating Transforms using the Custom Installation Wizard on page 152 Creating an Administrative Installation Point An Administrative Installation Point is a source image of the software package that is located ona server or a network accessible drive An Installation Point must be created in a location that will be accessible for the duration of the software s use To create an Administrative Installation Point install the package with the a option For example setup exe a datal ms You are then prompted to specify the default organization name and the location for the Admin istrative Installation Point An MSI file is created in this location Administrative Installation Points can use a large amount of disk space because they include all installable features and components of the software package 152 CHAPTER 15 Software Distribution Creating Transforms using the Custom Installation Wizard By default Windows Installer performs a standard software package installation Fo
37. and Schedulers and published to the Site database Create local share for Offline Area Select this option to create a new Offline Area on the Console Use existing share for Offline Area Select this option to create an Offline Area on another computer on your network or to populate a Site with Clients from an existing Offline Area Location This field displays the default location for the new Offline Area To specify a different location type the share directory in the field or click the Browse button to select it If you browse to an Offline Area located on another PC choose the Network option before browsing Offline Areas for Macintosh Clients must be located on a Windows 2000 2003 or 2008 Server system where Apple Sharing is enabled For more infor mation see Creating Offline Areas for Macintosh Clients on page 181 Share Name This field displays the default name for the Offline Area share To specify a different name for the Offline Area share type it in this field Create Client Kit The Client kit is used to install the Client software on the PCs you want to manage Select this check box to add a pre configured Client Kit to the Offline Area The Client Kit is customized with the details of this Offline Area and copied to a subdirectory Clients created with this kit are automatically configured to transfer their data to this Offline Area Leave this check box unselected if the Offline Area already contain
38. and to create new variants of operations based on those customizations Customizing operations into variants enables you to match the way you manage your PCs to the particular needs of each group of users and the requirements of your PC management policies For example if you want to scan PCs of a department for unrecognized appli cations you can create a variant of the Update Software Inventory operation that searches specific Clients To create an Operation 1 Inthe Console right click an operation and choose Create Operation from the shortcut menu 2 Inthe Add New Operation dialog select the type of operation you want to create from the Type list The type determines the options you can choose for the new operation Click the OK button The Customize dialog is displayed 3 Enter the Operation name and a Description for the operation The name must be unique within the Site 4 Ifthe operation can be scheduled and you want to assign a default Scheduler to it select an entry in the Default host list You can change the Scheduler when you submit the operation as a Job 69 70 CHAPTER 6 Working with Operations 5 By default the operation is displayed in the Console with the icon for the selected Operation Type If you want to use your own icon for the operation type its location in the Icon Path field or click Browse to search for it If you do not select an icon Vector AM uses the default icon for the Operati
39. application Click Yes to create a rule that uses this information click No to create a rule that uses the file name e When the file does not include a Bundle Identifier or Creator Code Vector AM automatically creates a rule based on the file name The files are added to the Required items list To specify additional checks on a file such as its size or timestamp select its entry in the Required items list and click the Specify properties button The File Rule dialog is displayed If you do not want to distinguish between different versions of an application select Do not identify versions and click the Finish button The Wizard creates rules for the identification of the application and adds them to the Applica tions Library Alternatively to create an application definition that identifies different versions of the appli cation select Specify rules to identify appli cation versions and click the Next button The Version Identification dialog is displayed CHAPTER 18 Macintosh Clients 7 The Version Identification dialog lists the File name Creator Code and Bundle Identifier for the files located in the selected application s installation directory Double click each file you want to use to identify the application version 8 If the selected file has a Bundle Identifier or a Creator Code a message is displayed asking if you want to use this information to identify this version of the application Click Yes to
40. as a manager which collects data from the network devices and then stores it in the Site database Use the Network Discovery Config uration dialog to enable and disable the job that collects data from devices to specify the devices from which data is collected and to specify any codes required to access those devices To view the current status of the Network Device Discovery job select the Scheduled Jobs folder in the Console tree To enable device discovery for your network 1 In the Site Management folder click the Device Discovery Configuration operation Select the General tab and deselect the Network device discovery check box Choose a logging option for the job Select No logging to record no logging data Log errors to record any errors encountered during the device discovery process Log errors and additional information to record any errors encountered during the device discovery process plus a detailed breakdown of the communications with each device All device discovery errors are saved in NETWORKDEVICES LOG To display the file select View log Scan Ranges Network Device Discovery identifies devices on your network by sending a message to specified IP addresses then analyzing the replies By default it collects and analyzes data from the devices installed on the subnet to which your Console belongs Use the Scan Range tab to specify all the addresses you want to ping for information and to spec
41. checks for setting changes and applies them to its configuration Configuration changes made using Active Directory take precedence over any changes made by the Configure Client operation This means that changes made through Active Directory will override changes made from the Vector AM Console 68 CHAPTER 5 Working with Clients Deleting Clients Each Client in the installation counts towards your Vector AM license limit When you no longer want to use Vector AM to manage a computer such as when an obsolete PC is removed from your network you can free its license by removing it and all the data associated with it from the Site database To delete Clients from a Site database 1 Open a Client folder that contains the Clients you want to delete 2 Select the Clients 3 Right click the view and choose Delete 4 Aconfirmation message is displayed Click the Yes button to confirm each deletion separately click the Yes to all button to delete all the selected Clients from the Site database 5 A second confirmation message is displayed asking whether you want to delete the Clients folders from the Offline Area Click Yes or Yes to all to delete any Client data from the Offline Area click No to just delete the Clients from the Site database You can use the ability to only delete Clients from a Site to clear the Site database of historical data To completely remove computers that are still connected to your network
42. click the OK button To remove a value from the list select the entry click the Remove button then click the Yes button in the confirmation message To sort the list into alphabetical order click the Sort button To define the order of the list items drag and drop items in the list You can use a Pick List with all prompt types except Hidden To add a question to a prompt file 1 Click the Add button The Add Database Key dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Database key field enter the name of the Client Property as you want it to appear in the Site database and click the OK button The new prompt is selected in the List View ready for editing in the Edit View 3 In the List View click the prompt and without releasing the mouse button drag the prompt to the position in which you want it to be displayed to Client users To remove a question from a prompt file 1 Select the prompt you want to remove in the List View 87 2 Click the Remove button at the bottom of the List View In the confirmation message click the Yes button Database keys prefixed with are reserved for use in Vector Asset Management If you delete any of the keys the corresponding fields in the Host displays will have blank entries Collecting System Variables As well as user entered information such as name and telephone number Vector AM enables you to collect system variables directly from Client PCs These User Prompts are defined
43. click the Next button to continue 6 Inthe Settings dialog enter the Kit location target dates and any account information necessary to access the target PCs then click the Next button 7 Inthe Monitoring and Logging dialog enter a Job name for the installation then click the Finish button to start the installation Do not schedule any Windows Installer installa tions until the kit has been installed on all target Clients The Software Distribution Agent Software Distribution is performed by an Agent that runs on each Client PC The Agent can also run as a Service on Windows NT 2000 XP Vista 7 2003 and 2008 This is normally set to Autostart on system reboot The Agent loads its settings from files held locally on each Client PC If necessary it looks at files held on the Offline Area to collect updated instruc tions This Agent is started as part of the Client startup procedure and runs following a Client PC reboot When an application is queued for instal lation the Agent makes a connection to the server that holds the installable kit and runs the command line at the scheduled time Network Load Control If a Target completion date was specified when the Distribute Software Job was specified installation is staggered across the target Clients to prevent excessive network load After the Target completion date is reached all Agents become eligible to execute the Job on Clients where the installation is still ou
44. command field to display the installation process or QT to hide it Do not select Visible if you are using a batch file Client PC users can easily interrupt it and gain access to a privileged command prompt in Windows NT 2000 XP Vista 2003 and 2008 Reboot allowed Allows the installation to reboot without user intervention Reboot required If the installation requires a reboot the Client user is prompted to reboot the PC if the installation does not reboot itself 8 Select the target drive from the Free space drive list and enter the minimum space required for the installation in the Size MB field Many installations fail silently when there is insuffi cient free disk space Always check the space required for an installation 9 Inthe Start prompt field type the text you want the system to display to Client users before the installation starts If you are using an early version of Windows Installer pre 2 0 or an installation kit that requires multiple reboots you must specify LULOGON EXE as a Pre process command For more information see Pre and Post Processing Information on page 157 To delete an Install Type Right click the Install type you want to delete in the tree then choose Remove Install Type Using Tokens in Package Distribution Definitions You can use the following Vector AM tokens in the command line fields of a Package Definition s Install Types and Pre Post Processing areas
45. configuration file LUCLIENT INI using a text editor More infor mation on the various configuration options is contained in LUCLIENT TXT an annotated version of the INI file 2 Once you have done that Vector recommends that you copy the ClientKit directory to a suitable server location that is accessible to the target Client PCs using a version specific Kit folder name such as Vector AM Client v6 0 so that more than one version of kit can be present during an installation or upgrade cycle This also allows older version Client MSI files to be accessed for uninstallation 3 Navigate to the Kit directory of the Offline Area or the copy directory that contains the kit you want to use to install Clients Open Login Script BAT in a text editor 4 Change the line net use z ExampleServen LuC lientKit to specify the location of your Client kit If you change the mapped drive letter you must also change it in the other command lines of the file 5 Save your changes and add LoginScript BAT to the Login Script of the computers on which you want to install the Vector AM Client The Client is installed when users next log on to their PCs If user prompting is enabled users are asked to supply the answers at the end of the installation process You can test the deployment of Client application before starting a full rollout using INSTALL EXE It behaves in the same way as ROLLOUT EXE but displays an error message if
46. database view you can automate the generation of HTML reports Command line options are described in Database Viewer Command Syntax on page 139 For example the following command line options hide the database view interface and query the current site using the SQL code specified in the file NEWCLIENTS SQL The generated file is called NEWCLIENTS HTML and is based on the template MYLATOUT HTML DBVIEWER nogui DSNAC CESS sql newclients sql template myla yout htm report NewC lients htm You can schedule the customized operation by right clicking the operation choosing Submit Job and specifying the scheduling details For more information see Schedulers on page 71 Chapter 14 The Vector Asset Management Portal The Vector AM Portal provides organization wide click through reporting for Vector Asset Management Using standard browser technology it makes Vector AM data available to users without the need to install the Console In addition it offers basic analysis capabilities through its specially designed interactive reports Each report in the Portal automatically extracts data from a selected Site Depending on the report users can choose to limit the data to specific periods and other criteria and choose the level at which the information is presented Reports are divided into a series of themes which concentrate on specific aspects of IT asset management For example they enable users to a
47. feature is disabled by default Use the Automatic Self Updates tab to enable disable or configure automatic self updating To configure Automatic Self Updating 1 On the Automatic Self Updates tab select the Modify Setting check box next to Enable Automatic Self Updates and select the check box to the right 2 To change the update check interval select the Modify setting check box and enter the new value in the minutes field The default value is 60 minutes Vector recommends that you use the default values for the Versions Definitions and Downloads Server Addresses To change an address select the Modify setting check box and enter the new address in the appropriate field The default values are Versions Server Address http www vector networks com downloads wbupdt AUV 66 CHAPTER 5 Working with Clients Definitions Server Address http www vector networks com downloads wbupdt PDS Downloads Server Address http www vector networks com downloads wbupdt DWS 3 In the Advanced section enter the highest numbered revision that is allowed for this Client or group of Clients in the Maximum Revision field This should be a single decimal integer such as 1 4 You can also specify a list of the revisions to be ignored or skipped in the Excluded Revisions field Use a comma to separate multiple revision numbers 5 The Required Updates field allows you to specify the names of any updates that are to be
48. from the Site Management folder in the Console tree Using the Offline Area Manager The Offline Area Manager displays the details of all the Offline Areas currently assigned to the Site The window is divided into three sections The Offline Areas List This list contains the details of all Offline Areas in the currently selected Site In addition it lists the number of directories in the Offline Areas and the number of Clients that are registered with the Site database as using the Area The list also indicates whether the settings in the Offline Area s Client kits match the instal lation s default settings If you selected the options in the Analyze Site Offline Areas dialog the list specifies whether each Offline Area contains obsolete data or unused directories To display the directories in an Offline Area select an entry in the list To manage an Offline Area right click its entry and choose an option in the menu Windows Directories When the Client appli cation first runs on a PC it automatically creates a subdirectory in the Offline Area specified in its Client settings file and saves the PC s data to that subdirectory Vector AM uses the presence of these subdirectories to identify new Clients The Windows Directories list displays the details of the directories in the currently selected Offline Area The list displays the following information for each subdirectory in the selected Offline Area e How the dire
49. installed prior to any normal revision numbered updates Required Update names are alphanu meric for example Mandatory201101 Use a comma to separate multiple required update names 6 This dialog also enables automatic updating to the latest version Client which simplifies update roll outs The version displayed is that of the running Console for example 6 0 It is not possible to update to a Client version that is newer than the Console When this setting is used it takes priority over any entries in the Required Updates and Revisions fields 7 Run the Client Configuration Operation to update the selected Clients If selected the latest version Client is installed before the Required Updates Lastly any numbered revisions are applied sequentially Changing the Client Configuration When you have selected the Client settings you want to change click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog To apply the settings changes to Clients click the Configure Clients operation and select the Clients or groups to which you want to apply the changes Managing Clients with Active Directory Active Directory is a directory service from Microsoft that enables organizations to share and manage information about their network resources from a central point You can manage Vector AM Client settings through Active Directory by custom izing your Active Directory Server to use the Administrative Template included in the Vec
50. list select a Scheduler to manage the deployment r D Automatic Client Deployment Deployment Exclusions Schedule Start date 11 Jun 2010 oa Start time 18 00 00 Host DB3 Mal C Run once only Repeat every ES hous x Start Control Deselect any time slots in which the job must not run i 3 09 12 15 18 2 24 Mon Tue Wed Thu Fi Sat Sun Deployment Load Control Maximum permitted deployments per scan interval 10 Deployment Logging None C Standard C Verbose 4 Choose a schedule Torun the deployment once at the specified time and date select Run once only e To run the deployment regularly select Repeat every and select the repeat interval If the deployment has not finished before it is next scheduled to start the Scheduler automatically skips to the next scheduled start time 5 To prevent the Scheduler from running an automatic deployment at specific times or on specific days deselect the intervals you want to exclude in the Start Control slots 29 The Start Control slots take precedence over the repeat schedule For example if you define a repeat schedule of two days but deselect every day except Wednesday the deployment will run only on Wednesdays Similarly if you set a repeat schedule of one hour but deselect the 6 a m through 6 p m slots the deployment will start at hourly intervals only during the night 6 T
51. number of days The Purge all option cancels the collection of further installation feedback from all currently active distribution Jobs although the software installations themselves will continue Use these options only when the database contains Jobs that can never be completed such as installations that have been assigned to Clients that are no longer attached to your network Logging Options Each Scheduler that is responsible for collecting and saving the installation feedback can record the activities of DISTMON EXE the program that is responsible for collecting and saving the instal lation feedback This enables you to monitor the activity of each Scheduler and to identify problems that occur during monitoring You can select one of the following logging options No logging To prevent the recording of logging data for all Schedulers Log errors To record all errors encountered during the monitoring of distribution Jobs Log errors and additional information to record all monitoring errors plus status reports the Clients and Jobs processed information on the number and type of events found and the actions taken 167 168 CHAPTER 15 Software Distribution Each Scheduler that is responsible for monitoring distribution Jobs maintains its own distribution log called SWDISTMONITOR LOG in its own Vector Asset Management directory Software Distribution Logs In addition to using the Distribution Job Viewer
52. of Windows Installer or an installation kit that requires multiple reboots you must specify the LULOGON as a pre processing command and select the Prefix Client install directory and Error fatal check boxes LULOGON EXE is part of the Vector AM Client kit It configures an Admin level automatic login that enables the installer to reboot the Client when required 3 Select the Prefix Client install directory check box to reference files in the Client s installation directory without including the full path For example if you choose this option you can omit the path and specify CLO SEAPP TITLE Readme txt Notepad 4 Select the Visible check box if the process requires responses from the user such as their name or if you want the command to be displayed on the Client PC Do not select Visible if you are using a batch file because Client PC users can easily interrupt it In privileged installs users can use this to gain access to a privileged command prompt 5 If the Pre process command must complete successfully before the installation can be performed select the Error fatal check box in the Pre process section This causes the instal lation to abort if the Pre process command fails Because it can be difficult to distinguish an error from a command you should use this option only with commands that exit with reliable status infor mation This option also traps missing executable files 6 To perform a command a
53. option in the Windows Control Panel display the Windows Program List information held in the registry for applications installed on a PC The Vector AM Client collects this information automatically It is analyzed by both Fast and Full software inventory operations The OS Registry Identifications tab lists applications identi fied using this information e To associate a registry identification with an entry in the Confirmed Identifications tab right click the entry and choose Link to Confirmed Identification Because registry identification information comes from the operating system rather than application files used by the other tabs in the Software Identi fication Manager the OS Registry Identifications tab can list applications that also appear in the other tabs Linking a registry identification with a confirmed application prevents its display in the Registry Identifications list e To list installation information from service patches right click the list and choose Show Patches e By default the OS Registry Identifications tab does not list applications that appear in the Confirmed Identifications tab To display these entries right click the list and choose Show Confirmed Recognition Most entries in the Applications Library supplied with Vector AM are already linked with the corre sponding registry information These applications are displayed only when Show Confirmed is selected To print the O
54. options selected in the Logging tab when the Job was submitted To display the logs of completed Jobs select the Job Logs in Console s Job amp Schedulers folder This lists the Jobs in chronolog ical order To view the details of a completed Job from the Console right click on its entry in the Job Logs list and select an entry from the shortcut menu Choose View Client Log To display the messages that report the status of the Job for each Client such as failing to access a PC that is turned off The Clients assigned to the Job are displayed in the Client Report Log dialog Click the Log To File button to save the Client log to file View Event Log To display change and excep tion messages for each Client For example the Event Log contains summaries of changes detected during a Hardware or Software Inventory Job and Job Abort events The details of each event are displayed in the Event Viewer Right click the Event Viewer to save the log to a file Jobs also record progress information in Job Logs on Scheduler PCs This includes the start time for each PC processed the number of PCs processed and detailed information on the actions performed and messages received The log files are saved in the Vector Data Logs directory of the Scheduler using the name specified in the Logging tab of the Submit Job dialog For more information see Scheduling Operations on page 73 Chapter 7 Hardware Inventory Hardware invent
55. or the access control settings could be incorrect Skipping installation of Package Package is already installed The Agent considers the package is already installed based on the Check paths entered in the Package Distribution Definition This message indicates that the specified Package is being removed from the Pending queue the Package itself is not deleted Network load control is delaying installation of Package Package Software distributions can impose a significant load on a network The Vector AM Agent includes an algorithm which allows you to spread installations across several days You can control this with the Target Completion date setting when performing a Job Installing package Package The package installation is commencing Installed package Package successfully The package installation has successfully completed Reboot underway during installation of Pack age Install confirmation or restart will happen on the next run This Package is rebooting the Client PC The Agent will perform the Check paths test when the PC restarts and will then report whether the Package installed successfully User refused installation of Package at this time Number refusals left If a Refusal Limit was specified for the installation the user is given the opportunity to postpone the installation before it starts When the refusals have been used the installation becomes mandatory Reboot shutdown request receive
56. processing applications also enable you to edit and format HTML files Database Viewer Command Syntax The Database Viewer operation is started from a command line statement To display the command line for a database view right click a view in the Console and choose Customize from the shortcut menu Database Viewer operations use the following command line syntax DBVIEWERR nogui ttle lt title gt user lt usemame gt pwd pa sword gt O DBC lt data source gt sql lt your sqi gt edit template lt template filename gt report lt eport filename gt where nogui Exports HTML without displaying the Viewer interface You must also specify the template filename and report filename parameters see below lt title gt Displays the specified text in the title bar of the Database Viewer 140 CHAPTER 13 Reports and Database Views lt username gt Specifies the user name required to access the data source lt password gt Specifies the password required to access the data source lt data source gt Specifies the Data Source Name DSN of the database that holds the data required in the report lt your sql gt The SQL Structured Query Language statement that selects data for the Database Viewer You can also specify the name of a text file with a file extension of SQL which contains a SQL statement edit Enables users to edit the data displayed in the Viewer and to update the Site da
57. questions see Chapter 8 User Prompting Directory Snapshot By default Vector AM collects software inventory data from the Windows Program List in the Client s registry It can also scan the files and directories on the local disc drives on Client PCs This directory data is then transferred to the Offline Area as acompressed snapshot file for each drive This information is used in Full software inventory operations This feature is disabled by default as the snapshot process can present a significant load on the Client PCs as well as producing a significant amount of data If you choose to enable it you can limit the drives that are scanned the data collected and the files or file types that it is collected from using the settings on the Directory snapshot tab Enable directory snapshots Select this check box to enable the collection of the directory snapshot software inventory data r Dl Client kit settings for DB4 LUPUSH x Offline area Inventory analysis User prompting Directory snapshot Software metering Pre and post processing F By default Vector collects a compressed directory snapshot and other file information from all Client drives to generate software EJ AC inventory results Use this tab to specify the drives which you want new Clients to collect software data and to the specify the type of data to be collected Enable directory snapshots L Snapshot drives e g C D F Ena
58. select the character you want to use as a field separator You must select a character that is not already used in the asset data 4 Choose All to export the entire assets table or choose Selected only to export the rows selected in the Assets Database window 5 If you want to add any explanatory information to the export file select the Add header check box and enter the text in the text field 6 Click the OK button to close the dialog and export the Asset information ia Chapter 13 Reports and Database Views Vector Asset Management offers a wide range of reports that summarize the information held for Clients at a Site These pre formatted reports are generated using the Crystal Reports run time which is included with the Vector AM kit Reports are listed in the Reports folder of the Console and in the operation folders with which they are associated For example the Software by Package Report lists all of the applications known to be installed on the selected Clients the information is ordered by Package then by Client name The report includes the Package Status value used in the change notification feature of the Update Software Inventory operations and the date of the last software inventory It also displays the package version if it is available To generate a report 1 Inthe Console click the Report you want to run The Select Clients dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Select Clients dialog select the Client
59. specify the Offline directory path in LUCLIENT INI The default LUCLIENT INI includes pre and post process examples To enable these features set Disabled No and enter the command line you want to execute Debug Mode Debugging displays information windows during the data capture process and generates extra logging information to help identify problems To enable debug mode change the Boot Control section of LUCLIENT INI to EnableDebug Yes Performing Audits Auditing can be performed by any user who has access to the target PC The process is automatic and prompts only for the correct disk to be inserted if there is an error for example if the audit results disk is full and on completion of the audit sequence If you have specified user prompts the audit also displays the prompt questions When using a diskette or writable CD the audit checks that there is at least 300KB of free space before starting the capture process If there is insufficient space available users are prompted to insert a fresh disk The Audit kit is initially configured to capture data to the PC s A drive and to display the default user prompts supplied with Vector AM To save the audit data to another drive or a network share or to customize user prompting edit the LUCLIENT INI file before performing the audit For more infor mation see Configuring the Audit Client You can perform an audit on a PC in several ways To perfor
60. suitable rule is not already present in the Application Library Collect Microsoft Serial Numbers collects the serial numbers supplied during software instal lations on Clients To specify the Site settings for Software Inventory 1 Click the Site Settings button in the Software tab of the Customize Software Inventory dialog The Software Inventory Settings dialog is displayed These settings apply to all Full software inventory operations on this Site You can also open the Software Inventory Settings dialog by choosing Settings in the File menu of the Software Identification Manager 2 Select the settings you want to change Exclusions Use this list to specify locations that you do not want Full software inventory operations to check Click the Add button to add a new location to the list click Modify or Delete to edit or delete an existing the location 99 CHAPTER 10 Software Inventory Exclude listed directories from application recognition Select this option to prevent Full software inventory operations in this Site from checking the specified directories for executable files Exclude directories from unrecognized application report Select this option to omit applications found in the specified directories from the Unrecognized Application report Report directories containing unrecognized applications of types In addition to listing applications identified using the Applications Library Fu
61. system and software configurations in real time critical applications can be restored within minutes ensuring minimum end user downtime Track and manage help desk issues and calls centrally using Vector HelpDesk a powerful web based module that is easily customized to meet all help desk requirements 2 CHAPTER 1 Introducing Vector Asset Management Control any Windows PC on a LAN WAN or Internet using Vector PC Duo Remote Control It enables your help desk staff to interact with users PCs remotely and offers help desk support training facilities and text based communication System Requirements Vector Asset Management Console Operating Windows 2000 XP 2003 and 2008 System Server Vista or Windows 7 Additional Microsoft Data Access Component Software MDAC 2 80 Support Kit or later Internet Explorer 6 0 or later Disk Space 110 MB Network Any Microsoft Networking Compati Support ble Environment Supported Microsoft Access Microsoft SQL Databases Server and SQL Server Express Oracle 8 1 5 or later Microsoft Desktop Engine MSDE is sup ported for backwards compatibility with previous versions of Vector AM Vector Asset Management Client Operating Windows 95 98 Me NT 2000 XP System 2003 and 2008 Server Vista or Win dows 7 Macintosh OS 7 5 3 or later DOS 3 3 or later and Windows 3 1 systems are supported by the Vec tor AM 2 1 Client which can be downloade
62. systems are usually less powerful than 32 bit systems Segregating PCs Audit mode enables you to split PCs by category such as department or network domain Each group of PCs can be assigned a different prefix by editing the OfflinePrefix parameter in LUCLIENT INI Offline Mode Offline Prefix A U 178 CHAPTER 17 Audit Clients Offline IDs are prefixed with this string and it is stored as a property value for each Client in the Site database You can specify a prefix of up to four characters The Load Audit Data operation assigns fresh IDs when it loads audit data You must customize the operation to set the offline prefix before loading audit data from a group of PCs Although prefix settings are not preserved by the Load Audit Data operation they can be used to separate the audit data For example if you collect audit data into a network location using prefixes of ENG for the Engineering department and MKTG for the Marketing department the audit data is captured into ENGnnnn and MKTGnnnn subdirec tories You can then copy these subdirectories to a different location and load them into the Site database separately Pre Process and Post Process Commands The audit process can execute a command before data capture begins and another after the capture is completed You can use this facility to map a drive letter to a server share when Vector AM is unable to do this automatically The drive letter can then be used to
63. the Compare with list Select Sections containing differences are indicated Clientname to compare the current Client with by a red indicator button To display the other Client data collected by the operation comparison data select the button 2 To cancel the comparison select None in the Compare with list Viewing Stored Hardware Details To view the Hardware Inventory data stored in the Site database right click a Client and choose Hardware Details from the shortcut menu Hardware Details in the Console Selected hardware inventory data is displayed when you open a group in the Console s Clients folder This information is automatically refreshed after an operation and enables you to quickly inspect the key details Hardware Change History To view the hardware configuration changes to a PC use one of the following methods From the Changes button The Stored Changes view lists all changes to the selected PC You can also use the Database Viewer to produce customized views of your data and to export data in HTML format From the Reports folder in the Console The Hardware History Summary and History Summary reports identify all hardware changes that have been saved to the Site database To remove old changes from the Changes Table by default anything older than 60 days click the Delete Change History Data operation in the Console 79 Job Logs and Client Logs Scheduled Hardware Inventory operations gen
64. the PC on which the Portal is installed In addition support staff can access the Portal from the Console s Portal folder by selecting Portal Options and entering the Portal URL The first time that users access the Portal it asks permission to install the Vector Asset Management Report Navigator which displays the available reports in the users browser Users must click the Yes button to continue Afterwards users can link directly to the Portal as long as they have the correct access permissions Selecting Sites When you open the Portal it uses the last Site you previously opened as the source of the information displayed in its reports If your installation has more than one Site you can choose the Client information that is used in the Portal reports using the Select a Site dialog To select a Site 1 Inthe Portal window click on the Change Site icon The Select a Site window is displayed 2 Inthe Select a Site window select the Site for which you want to view the reports and click the Close button Viewing Reports The Vector AM Portal provides access to compre hensive information on the software and hardware installed on Client PCs on license utilization and on application deployment and compliance with installation policies These pre formatted reports are generated using the Crystal Reports run time application which is included in the Vector Asset Management kit Most reports are organized hierarc
65. the installation fails Completing Client Deployment If you enabled the Offline Scanner when you created your Site Vector AM should start to detect Clients within five minutes of their deployment being completed For more information see The Offline Scanner on page 51 If you did not enable the Offline Scanner when you created your Site click the Find Clients operation in the Client Deployment amp Maintenance folder to detect the new Clients For more information see The Find Clients Operation on page 52 To list the Clients in the Console right click the All Clients group in the Clients folder and choose Refresh from the shortcut menu If your Site is not being populated with Clients check that e The Vector AM Client is installed and Clients are transferring their data to the correct Offline Area The Client is initialized when the Client application is installed If this does not happen reboot the Client PC to initialize it e You have specified the correct permissions on the Offline Area share and the Client Kit contains the correct access control settings for the Offline path e The Offline Scanner is scanning the Offline Area to which your Clients are saving their data The Offline Scanner detects Client data from the locations specified in the Offline Paths dialog Vector Networks recommends you perform several test deployments on representative PCs before starting a full rollout to your net
66. the type of database you want to use You can also use this option to copy a site database or to link the console to an existing ste Create Evaluation Site C Create Production Site Enter a name for the site Ste01 To create a Site using the evaluation options 1 The Site Creation Mode dialog enables you to choose a Site creation method Select Create Evaluation Site If you have MSDE installed on this PC the Wizard creates an MSDE Site otherwise it creates a Microsoft Access database It also creates an Offline Area on the Console PC and a Client Kit for you to distribute to the PCs you want to manage You do not need to have installed Microsoft Access on the Console PC to create a Site database 2 Inthe Enter a name for the Site field type a name for your Site The Site name is also used as the DSN Data Source Name of the Site database 3 Click the Next button to display the Offline Area and Client Kit dialog The Offline Area and Client Kit dialog shows the default location for the Vector AM Offline Area As default settings are being used most of the fields cannot be changed r gt Offline Area and Client Kit Offline Area and Client Kit Locations The Offline Area is a network share used to transfer data between Consoles and Schedulers and Client PCs Offline Area path DB3 LUPUSH Location D Vector Data Client Data Which account can Clients use to
67. then resume working with Vector AM 45 CHAPTER 4 Managing Sites Site Database Tables All Site databases contain the following tables ASSETS Contains user defined assets specified using the Maintain Asset Data operation ASSETTYPES Specifies the definitions that control the data that can be specified for each type of asset recorded in the Assets table GROUPID Holds group identifiers and group membership for fixed groups GROUPS Holds the names and identifiers of all Vector AM groups It also holds the SQL expres sions that define dynamic groups HOSTS Lists the names and capabilities of all Schedulers HWMAIN The hardware inventory summary The full Hardware Inventory results are stored in the tables whose name begin with HW LG_ALLNODES A temporary table that contains expanded groups It is cleared every time a policy analysis is performed LG_CLIENT Holds the names of Clients and groups belonging to each Package Policy LG_FILTER Contains the SQL statements that are used to generate the Compliance views in the Package Policy Manager LG_GROUP Holds the names of package policies defined by users LG_PACKAGE Contains the names of the appli cations associated with each package policy and the rules controlling their use LG_RESULTS Holds the results of the last compliance analysis NETJOBEVT Job Event Logs contains the event logs of completed Jobs NETJOBLOG Job Logs Contains the status and ch
68. this software package type the maximum number of postponements they can make in the Refusal limit field If you want to prevent postponements enter 0 4 By default the system attempts to distribute the software to all the Clients at the first oppor tunity If you want to stagger the installations over a period of days select the Enable load control check box and enter the last day of the period in the Target completion date field The system automatically spreads the installations over the specified period The date must be in dd mmm yyyy format When testing leave the Enable load control check box unselected to allow the Agent to process the Job when it is next run 5 If you are distributing software to Clients that are members of a domain or that have restricted access use the Windows NT account information fields to enter the details of an account that can be used to define a user context and privilege level for Agent Service Jobs ACCOUNTS and related tokens enable you to access these settings in the Pre Post Processing and SETUP commands Always enter the Windows NT account information if you are distributing software to any Windows NT 2000 XP Vista 7 2003 or 2008 Clients these settings are ignored by other Clients 6 By default the progress of the software instal lation is displayed on Client PCs Select the Silent check box if you want the installation to display only error messages Select the Totally
69. when the Client is installed To activate this feature it is necessary to configure the Client s Pre or Post Process command line and apply it to selected Clients The procedure is slightly different when config uring the Client Kit prior to installation when the kit itself must be modified In that case start the Offline Area Manager right click the relevant offline area and select Configure Client Kit see Viewing and Managing Offline Areas on page 40 for more information Offline area l Inventory analysis l User prompting Directory snapshot Software metering Pre and post processing The Vector Asset Management Client can execute a gt gt command before and after it uns Use this tab to specify the tasks you want new Clients to perform Enable pre processing d Pre process command regedit s C Program F Show command L Enable post processing Cancel Help These settings will apply to all Clients installed or upgraded afterwards e gt Client kit settings for DB4 LUPUSH Make sure the required files and FileList ini modifi cations are in place before deploying any more Clients from this Kit Executing Commands at Consoles A similar approach can be taken to execute commands at Console PCs using the Client if it has been installed It would be necessary to use the Software Inventory results in order to create a dynamic group identifying those Clients having the
70. with default settings For example they automatically clear the database of old soft ware change records Full variants collect infor mation on all EXE and COM files on Clients except for those located in system service pack and installer directories You can change these default behaviors using the software configuration settings There are two types of configuration settings that affect software inventory operations e The operation settings enable you to control the behavior of software inventory operations e The Site settings allow you to control the locations that are excluded from and to specify the types of files that are to be included ina Full software inventory Operation settings apply only to the individual operation you are customizing Site settings apply to all software inventory operations in the Site To customize a Software Inventory Operation 1 Inthe Console right click the software inventory operation you want to change and choose Customize The Customize Software Inventory dialog is displayed 2 Select the Software tab and choose the options you want to use Select Save results to the database to automatically save the results of the operation to the Site database Reset results status before scan to reset the installation status of all applications on all Clients in the Site before running the operation This sets the new and updated indicators to unchanged and removes the rec
71. you must also uninstall the Client application Otherwise the Client will create a new folder in the Offline Area when it is next scheduled to collect and save data Chapter 6 Working with Operations Operations enable you to perform tasks on Client PCs across your organization s networks Some operations such as Update Software Inventory and Get User Data allow you to collect and save data from Client PCs other operations such as Distribute Software and Update Software Inven tory enable you install and monitor the software applications installed on Client PCs Operations are listed in the Operations folder of the Console Related operations are organized into the various sub folders Performing Operations To perform an operation click its icon in an Opera tions folder The Select Clients dialog is displayed enabling you specify the Clients or group of Clients on which you perform the operation Note that some operations such as Configure Clients must be customized before they can be used Operations and Clients Most operations work with the data that Clients have stored in the Offline Area The frequency with which the Client data is pushed to the Offline Area is determined by the Client settings This enables Vector AM to retrieve Client data even when the Clients themselves are not switched on or not accessible over the network Creating and Customizing Operations Vector AM enables you to customize operations
72. 0 CHAPTER 2 Creating Sites r gt Select Clients x Select the Windows NT 2000 XP and 2003 systems you want to manage Bay Network Computer name gJ HOME M DB2 YJ DB3 Z DBHOME C ps362224 For information on deploying the Vector Client to Windows 95 98 and Me systems click Help IV Use Vector Administrator account to perform deployment to selected computers 10 In the Select Clients dialog select the Domains or Organizational Units that contain the computers to which you want to deploy the Client application and select the target nodes The Wizard can only be used to deploy the Client to PCs running Windows NT 2000 Professional and higher editions of XP or Vista and Windows Server 2003 and 2008 For information on deploying to other platforms see Deploying the Client to Windows Home Editions 95 98 and Me on page 35 11 To use the Console installation account to perform the Client deployment click the Finish button to create your Site Alternatively to specify a different Client deployment account a Deselect Use Vector Administrator Account to perform deployment to selected computers b Click the Next button to display the Deployment Account dialog c Inthe Deployment Account dialog enter the details of the account you want to use d Click the Finish button to create the Site The Wizard creates your Site copies the default Vector AM Client K
73. 206 APPENDIX C Upgrading to Vector Asset Management Version 6 0 Upgraded Sites cannot be used with the PC Duo Enterprise Console which is normally uninstalled during the Vector AM Console installation Appendix D Technical Support For Technical Support enquiries contact your Vector reseller or visit www vector networks com for technical information and articles on the Vector AM suite of products Alternatively you can contact the Vector Networks Technical Support departments using the following details In the US Vector Networks Americas Telephone 770 622 2850 Toll Free 800 330 5035 Fax 770 495 6214 Email support vector networks com In Canada Vector Networks Canada Telephone 514 341 9113 Fax 514 341 4757 Email support vector networks com Rest of the World Vector Networks EMEA Telephone 44 0 203 286 7500 Email support vector networks eu 207 208 APPENDIX D Technical Support Index Symbols Keys 87 DSNACCESS token 172 NODE token 171 A Aborting Jobs 76 Access Databases Creating Sites 14 Maintaining 45 Active Directory Groups 81 Installing Clients using 34 Active Host Architecture 4 Add Database Key Dialog 87 Add New Operation Dialog 69 172 Administrative Installation Point 151 Administrative Shares 21 Advanced Site Options 13 All Clients Group 55 Application Recognition 103 107 112 Application Removed Status 118 Applications Adding to Package Policies 122 Ch
74. 24 Update Hardware Inventory Operation 77 Update Software Inventory Operation 97 Upgrading the Software Application Library 205 USB Blocking Application 191 User Accounts 11 User Information in Audits 177 User Prompt Editor 86 88 User Prompting Dialog 18 User Prompts 87 Client Components 89 Collecting Environment Variables 87 Collecting Network Variables 88 Collecting System Variables 87 Creating 85 Deleting 87 Disabling 83 Distributing 88 INI File Variables 88 Options 81 Testing 88 USERNAME Token 75 V VAMClientPolicy ADM 67 Variables Collecting with User Prompts 87 216 Vector Administrator Account 71 VENDORS Table 50 Version Control in Package Policies 122 Version Recognition of Software Packages 118 Version Rules 115 Views 133 Clients 79 Customizing 137 Hardware Change History 79 Hardware Inventory Results 71 Job Logs 76 Selecting Records 138 Ww Wake Clients Operation 171 Web Client 146 Windows Checker 83 Windows Event Logs 168 Windows Home Editions 35 Windows Installer Service 157 Command Switches 200 Kits 151 Troubleshooting 159 Windows Installer Service Packages 150 Windows Program List 32 61 97 99 101 104 105 106 107 114 177 WinScheduler Properties Dialog 52
75. 38 Hardware Inventories 80 Managed Clients Compliance 124 Managed Packages Compliance 124 Not Authorized Packages Compliance 124 Software Inventory 119 Change Summary 119 Software Total Users by Day 126 Software Use 126 Viewing in the Portal 145 Reset results status before scan Option 99 RESRCES Table 46 Restricted Databases 16 RETRY Token 74 Retrying Jobs 75 Rollout Process 21 ROLLOUT EXE 36 S SAMPLE FMT Report 82 SAMPLE_EXPORT FMT Report 82 Save Results to the Database Option 99 Saving Package Definitions 160 Scan Interval 44 Scan Ranges 91 Scanning for Clients 53 Scheduled Jobs Monitoring 75 Submitting 73 Scheduler Account 71 Schedulers Choosing for Software Metering 126 Configuring 72 Database Path 44 Log File 72 Offline Scans 44 Setting a Default Host 80 Status 73 Using 71 Wakeup Interval 75 Scheduling Operations 73 Software Inventory Operations 98 Software Metering 126 Segregating Audit PCs 177 Settings Complete Dialog 9 18 SETUP EXE 199 SETUP INI Settings 201 SIP 91 Site Creation Mode Dialog 8 Site Creation Options Dialog 15 Site Creation Wizard 7 Custom Options 13 Default Options 8 Site Details 39 Site Tables 46 SITEPROP Table 50 Sites Adding Clients 52 Advanced Options 13 Choosing Database Types 14 Choosing Portal Default 143 Copying Databases 15 Creating Evaluation 7 Creating Production 13 Creating with Default Options 7 Databases Settings 43 Default Options 7 Deleting 43 Details 3
76. 9 Global 43 Managing 39 Multiple 39 Offline Paths Opening 39 Populating with the Offline Scanner 44 Removing from the Portal 143 Selecting in Package Policy Manager 125 Selecting in the Portal 144 Upgrading 203 SNMP 91 Software 101 Adding to the Applications Library 118 Analyzing Distribution 123 Change History 119 Creating Recognition Rules 103 107 112 Database 97 Deployment 21 Managing 121 Metering 126 Monitoring Installations 167 Status Values 118 Version Recognition Rules 116 Software Activity Details Report 126 Software Distribution Agent 149 Check Paths 154 Client Agent 165 Clients Referencing Install Directory 157 Command Switches 200 Compliance Reports 123 Creating MSI Files 151 Creating Package Definitions 153 Customizing 163 Deleting Package Definitions 161 Error Messages 195 Filtering Clients 162 Kit Settings 162 Logging Options 167 Monitoring 121 165 Office 2000 Kits 151 Package Definitions 152 Planning 121 Pre and Post Processing Commands 157 Preparing Installation Kits 149 Preparing Installation Kits for Non MSI Packages 150 Printing Package Definitions 160 Remote Installations 149 Saving Package Definitions 160 Selecting Packages 161 Specifying LULOGON 157 Transform Files 152 Usage Reporting 126 Using InstallShield 150 Viewing Progress 168 Windows Installer Service MSI Packages 150 Wizard 149 161 Software Identification Manager 101 Software Identification Wizard 107 Softwar
77. AM Console In the Autorun dialog select Install Deinstall Products 2 Inthe File Locations dialog of the Oracle Universal Installer enter the location in which you want to install the Oracle Client and enter the Oracle Home name Click the Next button 3 Inthe Installation Types dialog select Custom and click the Next button 4 Inthe Available Product Components dialog select the Oracle OLE DB Provider and Oracle ODBC Drivers We also recommend you install the standard Client Configuration programs as this enables you to create and configure the Local Net Service Name When you have selected all the components you want to install click the Next button to install the Oracle Client You must install the Oracle Client with the Oracle OLE DB Provider and the Oracle ODBC Drivers components on each Vector AM Console you want to use with an Oracle database Specifying the Local Net Service When you have installed the Oracle Client you must create a Local Net Service Name for the PC This enables you to specify a name with which Vector AM can reference your Oracle database To configure the Local Net Service 1 Inthe Configuration and Migration Tools folder select Net Configuration Assistant If you installed the Net Configuration Assistant as part of the Oracle Client installation it opens automatically when the installation is complete 2 Inthe Welcome dialog select Local Net Service Name configuration and click the
78. ARD BIOS NDSERVER PCOTRNSPRT BIOSDATE OBJECTID CLIENTVER LEKDEPTYPES Software Distribution SWOSTATUS NODENAME J0OBID JOBPKGID ISACTIVE ENTRYIO ENTRYTIME ENTRYTYPE ENTRYSTATUS ENTRYOETAIL KFSWOISTDB SWOSTATETYPES ENUMERATOR EDITTIME STATENAME EDITHOST PLATFORMS INSTYPE PKGDEF NOTES OBJECTID SWOENTRYT ENUMERATOR TYPENAME One to one relationship Software Inventory PKGSTATUS FOUNDDATE PKGTYPE RECOGNIZEDBYVI VENDOR OBJECTIO FKPACKAGES OBJECTID NODENAME PACKAGE PKGVERSION VENDOR PKGDEVICE PKGPATH PKGPATHVAL PKGPATHSRCG FKPKGRPTOB lt One to many relationship PACKAGES PACKAGE PKGVERSION PKGTYPE PKGCOMMENT RULES PKGID PKGHIODEN OBJECTID PKGTYPE OBJECTID Package Policy Manager T NODENAME VERFOUND LGNAME ISINSTALLED PACKAGE ISPERMITTED ISMANDATORY ISOKVERSION VERWANTED FKNOOES FKPACKAGES LGCLIENT NODENAME FKGROUPS NODENAME LGNAME FKNODES LGPACKAGE LGNAME VERSION PACKAGE ISPERMITTED ISMANDATORY FKPACKAGES LGFILTER NAME ROOT FILTER Software Metering NODENAME DOMAINNAME COLLATIONTIME SECONDSINFOCUS CONTINUATION PKGUSAGE STARTIME FKPACKAGES Asset Management ASSET TYPES NODEREQUIRED ASSETTYPE SHOWGENERALTAB SHOWPURCHASETAS SHOWWARRANTYTAB SHOWUSEREXTTAB ASSETS NODENAME MANUFACTURER MODEL SERIALNUM SUPPLIER PURCHDATE MAINTRENEW SUPPORTCONTACT ITEMSIZE aty FKNODES Group Definitions GROUPS GR
79. ASK Returns the hardware network uled this parameter returns the subnet mask for the selected Job name specified by the user Client Supplied by the Update When the operation is run inter Hardware Inventory operation actively the parameter returns an empty string PC Remote Control Vector AM is fully integrated with Vector s companion product PC Duo Remote Control It is a sophisticated Remote Control package which enables you to view interact with and control other PCs on local and remote networks As well as being able to view the user screens you can interact with applications on users PCs and transfer files to and from the PC The Remote Control operation can be configured to automatically launch the application you are using to control Client PCs As this is a Command Launch operation you can customize it to include tokens in the command line For example you can pass the name of the PC that is currently selected in the Console using the NODE token The Browse Clients Operation Use the Browse Clients operation to manage files on one or more Clients at your Site using an Explorer style interface Working with Directories Like the Windows Explorer application directories are shown in the left pane of a Browser window To create a directory right click in the Browser s tree and choose Create Directory from the shortcut menu To delete a directory right click its entry in the tree and c
80. Administrative Tools and Computer Management The Computer Management window is displayed 3 In the Computer Management tree expand Shared Folders right click Shares and choose New File Share The Create Shared Folder Wizard is displayed 4 Click the Browse button and create a new folder 5 Enter a Share name and Share description 6 Select the Apple Macintosh check box and enter a Macintosh share name 7 Click the Next button to continue 8 Select an access permission option for the share 9 Click the Finish button to create the share 10 In the Computer Management window right click on Shared Folders in the Computer management tree and click on Configure File Server for Macintosh 11 In the File Server for Macintosh Properties window that appears click on the drop down menu next to Enable Authentication and select Apple Clear Text or Microsoft This will enable the authentication of user credentials between the PC and Mac when using shares 182 CHAPTER 18 Macintosh Clients 12 Click OK to close the window and save the authentication settings 13 To add the new Offline Area to an existing Site select the Offline Paths operation in the Site Management folder and click Add For more information see Creating Offline Areas on page 41 To create a new Site using this share select the Create or copy a Site using custom settings option in the Site Creation Wizard For more information see C
81. Agent Click the Finish button to complete the Software Distribution Wizard and start the operation If you submitted the operation as a Job the Submit Job dialog is displayed Specify the details of the Job and click Submit to schedule it For more information see Scheduling Operations on page 73 After specifying the information and choosing the Submit button you can view the Distribute Software Job in the Jobs database Customizing the Distribute Software Operation By customizing the Distribute Software operation you can define default values for distribution kit paths kit expiry dates and log file locations in the Software Distribution wizard To customize the Distribute Software Operation 1 Right click the Distribute Software operation and choose Customize from the shortcut menu CHAPTER 15 Software Distribution 2 Inthe Customize Software Distribution dialog select the Software Distribution tab 3 Enter the default values you want to use for Distribute Software operations then click OK to save your settings and close the dialog The settings are automatically used the next time you perform a Distribute Software operation To avoid repeatedly customizing and resetting an operation create a new operation variant that includes your preferences Distributing Windows Installer 2 0 Windows Installer version 2 0 is an improved version of the Microsoft installation and mainte nance service that enabl
82. Applications on Macintosh Clients In general Vector AM uses the same method to identify applications on Macintosh systems as that used on Windows recognition rules look for named files and optionally for specific file properties such as file size and file date However in addition to these standard rules Vector AM can also use the Creator Code and Bundle Identifier information from Macintosh files to create Macintosh specific recognition rules This section describes how to create recognition rules that use these properties To create recognition rules for Macintosh applications 1 Inthe Applications Library right click the Appli cations pane and choose Add Application Software Identification Wizard The Software Properties dialog is displayed 2 Enter a Name Type and Vendor for the appli cation Select Macintosh in the Platform list and click the Next button to continue The Sample Location dialog is displayed 189 3 Enter the details of a location where the appli cation is installed and click the Next button to continue The Software Identification dialog is displayed The Software Identification dialog lists the File name Creator Code and Bundle Identifier for the files in the location you specified Double click each file you want to use to identify the application e When the file has a Bundle Identifier or Creator Code a message is displayed asking if you want to use this information to identify the
83. Asset Types dialog enter a Filename for the file or click the Browse button to choose a file and location In the Delimiter list select the character that is used as a field separator in the file you want to import If the import file contains header information enter the first line of data in the Start import at row field Choose an On Error option to specify what action you want the application to take if it encounters a problem when importing infor mation from the specified file Click the OK button to close the dialog and export the Asset Type information To export asset types 1 In the Assets Database window choose Export Asset Types in the File menu In the Export Asset Types dialog enter a Filename for the file or click the Browse button to choose a file and location CHAPTER 12 Assets Database 3 In the Delimiter list select the character you want to use as a field separator You must choose a character that is not already used in an asset type 4 Choose All to export the entire assets table or choose Selected only to export the rows selected in the Assets Database window 5 If you want to add any explanatory information to the export file select the Add header check box and enter the information in the text field 6 Click the OK button to close the dialog and export the Asset Type information Importing Asset Data The option to import Asset data from a delimited text file enables you to ea
84. Browse dialog For more information see Collecting System Variables Because no user intervention is required for these prompts you can make these invisible to the user by selecting Hidden in the Type tab Type enables you to specify the data that the user prompt can accept e AlphaNumeric prompts accept alphabetic and numeric characters e Alphabetic prompts accept only alphabetic characters e Numeric prompts accept only numeric characters e Non Editable prompts restrict users to selecting an entry from a list of potential responses You can specify the list entries in the Pick List tab e Hidden prompts collect environment variables INI file information and network settings directly from Client PCs They are not displayed to the Client PC user Case Selects the case for user replies to ensure the consistency of the data The Case tab applies only to prompt types of AlphaNumeric and Alpha betic Length Controls the maximum length of a value to be entered for this prompt The length value must be between 1 and 50 The Length tab applies to all prompt types except Non Editable and Hidden prompts Pick List Forces users to select a reply from a drop down list To use a pick list in a prompt select the Include pick list information check box and select the values from which a Client PC user can choose in the list To add a value to the list click the Add button enter the value in the Add Value dialog and
85. Changes to the Offline Area settings are automatically implemented on each Macintosh Client when the Client application next runs This section describes how to make changes to these settings To access the Macintosh Configuration Manager 1 Inthe Macintosh Finder choose Connect to Server in the Go menu to mount the PC on which the Offline Area is located The Connect to Server dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Connect to Server dialog enter the server address and click the Connect button 3 Inthe log on screen enter the name and password you specified in the Client kit instal lation and click the Connect button A list of share points is displayed 4 Select the share point corresponding to the Offline Area and click the OK button to mount the Offline Area The Macintosh Client dialog is displayed 5 Open the MacAdmin Configuration Manager folder and click the Config Manager icon 6 Select the share point you want to configure and click the OK button 184 CHAPTER 18 Macintosh Clients 7 Enter the log on details for the share point and eoe Settings click the OK button CRA Distrit Si Entering License Details a The Macintosh Client settings are initially a protection S Timer configured for evaluation mode This enables you to set up and run a maximum of five Macintosh raakaan Clients for thirty days To enable full Client access Default Agent Control n for your installation you must enter the Macinto
86. Cs in an organi zation A common practice is to associate Sites with network domains Displaying Site Details You can view a Site s database location and license details using the Network Site Details dialog To display the Site Details click Database and Licensing in the Site Management folder The Network Site Details dialog displays the Site s name database location the licenses used by the Site maximum license usage for your installation and number of remaining licenses When you have finished viewing the details click the Close button Offline Areas Offline Areas are shared directories that are used to transfer data from and relay instructions to Clients This enables Console users to access data and manage Clients even when they are not available across the network So for example when you run an inventory operation from a Console or Scheduler it collects data from the Client directories in the Offline Area rather than directly from the Client PCs themselves Vector AM automatically creates an Offline Area when you create a new Site you can also add additional Offline Areas to a Site to distribute the work of collecting Client data across your network Offline Areas are best located on intermediate servers This enables you to work with Clients when Console PCs are unavailable and minimizes network traffic in organizations with multiple connected networks because you can set up a local Offline Area for each
87. E ROMNAME FKNODES HWMULTMED NODENAME HWDATE MMNAME MMINFO MMTYPE FKNODES NODEWISTORY NODENAME RSCNAME ENTRYDATE ENTRYCLASS ENTRYTYPE SEVLEVEL DETAILA DETAILS FKNODES HWMEMORYSIMM NODENAME HWOATE MODULESIZE MODULESPEED MODULETYPE MODULENAME ERRORMASK SLOTID FKNOOES 50 CHAPTER 4 Managing Sites SITEPROP Site Properties Stores the details of These binary links offer improved performance the Site database over the text based links such as those based on Metts ke the NODENAME field SWDISTDB Software Distribution Package Definitions defines software packages that are available for distribution The table is maintained by the Package Definition Editor SWDJOBS Software Distribution Jobs records the details of scheduled active and completed distribution Jobs SWDJOBPKGS Software Distribution Job Packages records all software packages submitted by any Distribution Job SWDSTATUS Contains the status logs of Soft ware Distribution Jobs It records an entry for each step of each package on each Client in a Job SWMCONCURRENT Records the peak simulta neous usage of applications that have been enabled for concurrent monitoring This can be used to ensure compliance for applications used under concurrent licensing SWMDETAIL Software Metering Details contains the collated software usage data collected from Clients SWMSUMMARY Software Metering Summary contains the amalgamated software usage
88. EGOWNER REGORG NETDOMAIN NETCOMMENT WINSERV FILESHARE PRINTSHARE DEFPRINTER DOSFCBS DOSFILES DOSBUFFERS WINDIR HWSERNO HWTIMEZONE COUNTRYCODE CODEPAGE FKNODES HWPORT NODENAME HWODATE PORT ADDRESS INFO HWTYPE FKNODES HWWINS NODENAME HWODATE PERMSWAP EMMEXCLUDE NETHEAPSIZE DNETHEAPSIZE TIMERCRIT RESSYS RESGDI RESUSER DISK32B1T FKNODES HARDWWIN NODENAME WINLOG FKNODES HWMEMORY NODENAME HWODATE STARTADOR ENDADOR HWNAME HWTYPE BUSNO FKNODES HWSERVICE NODENAME HWDATE HWNAME HWSTATE HWTYPE FKNODES HWSHARE NODENAME HWODATE SHARENAME LOCALPATH HWCOMMENT FKNODES HWSMS NODENAME HWOATE CLIENTID LOGONSRV SERVERSHR MIFPATH FKNODES HWSYSFILE NODENAME HWODATE FILENAME FILEDATE FILETIME FILESIZE FKNODES MWWETCARD NODENAME HWDATE CARD INFO SPEED MACGADDRESS IPADDRESS SUBNETMASK FKNODES HWwWBUS NODENAME HWDATE HWNAME BUSTYPE ADDRESS HWTYPE FKNODES HWOMA NODENAME HWDATE CHANNEL PORT HWNAME HWTYPE BUSNO FKNODES HwDO RVR NODENAME HWDATE DRVNAME SEGMENT HWOFFSET ENTRYPOINT FKNODES HWOOSMEM NODENAME HWOATE ADDR HWOWNER HWSIZE HWTYPE FKNODES HARDWARE NODENAME HWDATE HWTIME STATUS TEMPLATE HWLOG OBJECTID FKNODES HARDWUSR NODENAME HWUSERINFO FKNODES 49 HWORIVE NODENAME HWDATE HWORIVE HWLABEL HWMEDIA HWSIZE HWFREE HWFORMAT HWSERNO HWSTATUS BYTESSECT SECTCLUSTER FKNODES HWROM_ NODENAME HWOATE SEGMENT ROMSIZ
89. I file value option and click the Browse button 5 In the Open dialog select the INI file that contains the data you want to collect and click the Open button 6 Inthe Section name field enter the name of the INI file section from which you want to collect the data do not include the square brackets Use a text editor such as Notepad to view the sections in the INI file 7 Inthe Key name field enter the name of the variable or parameter name you want to retrieve 8 Click OK to close the Value Browse dialog The Default value field contains the settings specified in the Value Browse dialog 9 Inthe prompt editor select the Type tab then select Hidden The Client user does not need to see the INI file prompt as the information is collected automatically 10 Click the Apply button The INI file variable is specified for collection along with any other prompts in the current User Prompt file When collecting data from INI file values ensure that you take account of file location differences between the Console where you created the User Prompt file and the Client PCs on which it will be used Always test the INI file variable collector before distributing the file Testing Prompt Files When you have created a Prompt file click the Test button on the Editor s toolbar to check how the file will appear on Client PCs e The first dialog shows you how the User Prompt file will be presented to users Answer the p
90. It then uses this directory to make its data available for collection and to receive instructions from Vector AM Consoles or Schedulers For PCs that are not connected to a network or where it is inappropriate to permanently install the Client application Audit mode enables you to collect data as needed This data can then be transferred to an Offline Area and managed as part of a Site using standard operations PCs that are not normally connected to the company network but can access the Internet can run the Web Client This is installed and operates through the Vector AM Portal For more information on how to configure the Web Client refer to Using the Portal on page 144 Offline Areas An Offline Area is a shared directory that can be located on any PC on your network Consoles and Schedulers communicate with Client PCs through their own subdirectories on this intermediate share Offline Areas can be located on any convenient PC in a LAN environment You can create multiple Offline Areas to minimize the communications workload across your network CHAPTER 1 Introducing Vector Asset Management Vector Asset Management Architecture C oO Client PCs EN oO Offline Area oof a N CF Console Scheduler N N VEEN Sites Consoles The Vector AM Console enables users to manage and process Clients remotely Consoles are used to execute op
91. LAN that contains Vector AM Clients However for testing and evalu ation purposes you can locate the Offline Area on a PC where the Console application is installed The only requirements are that you can define the network path to an Offline Area and that all Consoles Schedulers and Client PCs can connect to the Offline Area 39 CHAPTER 4 Managing Sites Viewing and Managing Offline Areas The Offline Area Manager enables you to view and manage the Offline Areas associated with a Site It displays details of the Offline Areas and Clients assigned to each Offline Area Use it to perform housekeeping tasks such as deleting unused directories and obsolete metering data and to view and reassign Clients To open the Offline Area Manager 1 Right click on the Offline Areas entry in the Console tree Clients section and choose the Manage Offline Areas option 2 Inthe Analyze Site Offline Areas dialog choose the analysis options you want to use Select Include unused directories to identify Client directories that are no longer in use Include metering data to quantify old software metering data stored in the Offline Areas To view only obsolete metering data enter a value in the Only include metering data older than field 3 Click the OK button to continue Vector AM analyzes the directories in the Site s Offline Areas and displays the results in the Offline Area Manager You can also open the Offline Area Manager
92. Logging Hardware Inventory Scans 79 Software Metering 127 LUCLIENT INI 30 176 LULOGON EXE 156 157 158 LUTINFO REF 89 LUTPACKAGE DB 118 Machine Groups 186 Macintosh Clients Identifying Applications 189 Installing 185 Installing the Client Kit 182 Inventory Operations 187 Settings 183 Mail Server 143 Managed Clients Compliance Report 124 Managed Packages Compliance Report 124 MAXRETRY Token 74 Metering Deleting Data 127 Software Usage 126 Microsoft Access Databases Linking to the Portal 142 Microsoft Setup Command Line Parameters 200 Monitoring Distribution Jobs 165 Installed Software 121 Jobs in Progress 75 Software Usage 125 MSI Packages 150 MST Files 152 Multiple Sites 39 N NETJOBEVT Table 46 NETJOBLOG Table 46 NETJOBS Table 46 NETOPER Table 46 Network Device Discovery 91 Network Site Details Dialog 39 Network Topologies 94 Network Variables 88 New Application Status 118 New Asset Type Dialog 130 New Column Wizard 130 New Sites 7 Node Properties Dialog 54 NODEPROP Table 47 Nodes Deleting 68 Operations 54 55 NODES Table 46 Not Authorized Packages Compliance Report 124 0 OBF files See Operation Backup Files ODBC Data Source Administrator Dialog 45 ODBC Databases 14 Offline Area Account 9 Manager 40 Settings 63 Offline Area and Client Kit Dialog 8 17 Offline Areas 8 39 69 Groups 55 Locating 17 39 Selecting for Scanning 53 Offline Paths Dialog 41 Offline Paths See Offline Area
93. MM DD nn minus nn days For example if installer is run YY MM DD nn today s date is 2004 01 11 YYMMMDD nn _ YYMMMDD returns MACADDRESS Returns the Network MAC O4JAN11 address Supplied by the Update Hardware Inventory TIME Returns the current time For operation example 18 53 NODE n Returns the Client or Node HOUR Returns the current hour For name Optionally to return the example 18 first n characters of the name enter a value in brackets MINUTE Returns the current minute For example 53 For example NODE 5 returns ACCOU when the name DBCONNECT Returns the location of the Site is ACCOUNTS database and the details required to connect it PROGFILES Returns the path of a Client s Program Files directory In the DSNACCESS Returns the Data Source Name Package Definition Editor the of the current Site plus logon token can be used as part of name and password informa tion Used by the Database e Check paths in the Viewer to identify the Site data Summary tab base The Install command of the DSNNAME Returns the DSN of the Site Sena database e User commands in the Pre post processing tab SDSNPWE pam permeate SITE tei the name of the current ite SDSNUSER eee SITEOFFLINE Returns the location of the first Offline Area defined for the cur IPADDRESS Returns the TCP IP address of rent Site For example the selected Client wecsrv lupush JOBNAME When the operation is sched SUBNETM
94. Microsoft Access Databases 45 Site Database Tables 00 cece eee eee 46 Chapter 5 Working with Clients 00 000000 ccc 51 The Offline Scanner 00000 c eee eee ee 51 The Find Clients Operation 0 0 0 eee eee 52 Viewing Clients in the Console 00e0 ease 53 Performing Operations on Clients 54 GOUDS cts ei ee i ee ede eee ee 55 Configuring Clients 0 0 0 0c eee eee 60 Managing Clients with Active Directory 66 Deleting Clients 0 0 0 000 68 Chapter 6 Working with Operations 000 c eee 69 Performing Operations 0 0 e eee eee ee 69 Operations and Clients 0000 eee aeee 69 Creating and Customizing Operations 69 Importing and Exporting Operations 70 Deleting Operations 00 0 eee eee 71 Sched lerS i raira iei a EE a a a ean EA a 71 Scheduling Operations 2000 cece eee 73 Monitoring Schedulers s anuau aaan aaaea 75 Monitoring JobS 0 6 0 eee eee 75 JOD LOGS riea a EA heed amp eee ea 76 Chapter 7 Hardware Inventory 000 ccc ccc tence ees 77 Viewing Hardware Inventory Results 77 Customizing Hardware Inventory Operations 80 Exporting Hardware Inventory Data 81 Selecting Clients for Inventory Operations
95. N 172 CHAPTER 16 Other Operations based operation Vector AM has the ability to reach PCs on routed networks providing a Wake on WAN capability To wake Clients from the Console click the Wake Clients operation and select the Clients or group you want to start Alternatively right click the operation and choose Submit Job to schedule it Vector AM provides Wake on LAN as an independent command launch program that can be used with automated processes such as virus scans and software distributions that are run during off peak periods when PCs are powered off It enables Vector AM to switch on PCs or to confirm that PCs are switched on For software distribution you can achieve precise timings by posting data and instructions to the Offline Areas then sending a Wake on LAN WAN signal to switch on the PC at a specified time The software distribution instructions are then processed when the PC starts Creating Database Operations In addition to the Database Viewer Vector AM also includes a utility called DButil which enables you to maintain and update your Site database Use it to create customized operations that make your own SQL routines available from the Console DButil can overwrite data delete tables and compromise the integrity of your database Always test new DButil operations on a copy of your database before using them with live data To create an Operation to use DButil 1 Right click an existi
96. Next button to display the Net Service Name Configuration dialog 3 Select Add to create a new Net Service Name and click the Next button to display the Net Service Name Configuration Database Name dialog 4 Select Oracle 8i or later database or service and click the Next button to display the Net Service Name Configuration Service Name dialog 5 Enter the Service Name of the Oracle database you want to use with Vector AM Click the Next button to display the Net Service Name Config uration Select Protocols dialog The Service Name is specified when you create the database on the Oracle server 6 Select TCP to specify the protocol to be used for communications between Vector AM and the Oracle database Click the Next button to display the Net Service Name Configuration TCP IP Protocol dialog 7 Enter the Host name or IP address of your Oracle Database Server Select the port number on which you want to communicate with the database server Click the Next button to display the Net Service Name Configuration Test dialog 8 Select Yes perform a test to check the connection details and click the Next button to test your configuration Click No do not test and click the Next button to display the Net Service Name Configuration Net Service Name dialog 9 Inthe Net Service Name field enter the name by which you want Vector AM to refer to the database Click the Next button to display the Net Service Name Configuration A
97. OUPID GROUPNAME NODENAME GROUPID GROUPID MAILUSER FKGROUPS GRPCOMMENT FKNODES GROUPSQL NATURALLANG OBJECTID Active Directory ADOUMEMBERS NODENAME ouio FKNODES 47 48 CHAPTER 4 Managing Sites DE TATE OBJECTID STATUS DETAIL LASTEVENT NODENAME DOMAINNAME KITVERSION FKNODES FKDEPPROFIL NETJOBS JOBNAME FROMHOST FROMUSER TOHOST ATDATE JOBSTATE JOBTYPE CONTEXT J0810 TOTCLIENTS OKCLIENTS ERRCLIENTS CURSTATUS CURRETRY MAXRETRY OBJECTIO FKFROMHOST FKTOHOST Client Deployment LTER OBJECTID FILTERMODE ISGLOBAL DETAILS FKOEPTYPES FKOEPPROFIL DEPPROFILE OBJECTID PROFNAME PRIORITY SETTINGS FKDEPTYPES OBJECTID TYPENAME LASTVERSION SETTINGS STARTDATE ENDDATE TOTCLIENTS OKCLIENTS ERRCLIENTS RETRY CLIENTLOG FKNETJOSS FKFROMHOST FKTOHOST Patch Management SUSPENDING TPINGID TACTIVITY TFILEREQUESTED TSTATUS NODENAME TITEM TOEVICE TPLATFORM TERROR TMESSAGE DPROKY TCLIENTIP TCLIENT TLOGFILE TLANGUAGE TPINGIO TACTIVITY TFILEREQUESTED TSTATUS NODENAME TITEM TDEVICE TPLATFORM TERROR TMESSAGE DPROXY TCLIENTIP TCLIENT TLOGFILE TLANGUAGE FKNODES EVENTLIST FKNETJOBS HOST DOMAINNAME STATUS STARTDATE WAKEINTVL WAKECOUNT JOBCOUNT MAXACTIVE ALLOWSOP DEFPRIOR OBJECTID SUSITEMIDX TITEMKEY TGUID TPRODUCT TBASEPRODUCT TMAJVER TMINVER TPLATFORM TLANGUAGE TBUILD TSPMAJVER TSPMINVER Site Settings SITEPROP PROPERTY PROPVAL NETO
98. PER OPERNAME OPERTYPE OPRCOMMENT OPERCTX SKIPERROR DEFHOST CONNFAIL OBJECTID OTIMESTAMP TVERSION SUSITEMSTRIDX SUSITEMSTR THASH THASH TPRODUCT TPRODUCT TSTRINGID TTITLE TLANGUAGE TEULA TICON TURL TDESCRIPTION SUSAPPROVEITEM TPROVIDERNAME TNAME TSTATUS NMISSING NUPDATED DAPPROVALTIME USIMPORT ODENAME NSUSSERVERTYPE TTIMESTAMP NODENAME HWOATE CREATEDATE FKNODES HWENVVAR NODENAME HWDATE ENVVAR ENVVALUE ISSYSTEM FKNODES Hw ORT NODENAME HWDATE STARTADDR ENDADDR HWNAME HWTYPE BUSNO HAL FKNODES HWIRQ NODENAME HWDATE INTLEVEL VECTOR HWNAME BUSNO HWTYPE HAL FKNOODES HWPRINTER NODENAME HWOATE HWNAME PORT DRIVER SETTINGS HWREMARK HWLOCATION DEFAULTPRN FKNODES HWNETSTK NODENAME HWDATE CATEGORY INFO FKNODES HWMA NODENAME HWDATE FLOPPYA FLOPPYB BOOTDRIVE NUMDRIVES LASTDORIVE CDROMVER SCREENTYPE DISPDRIVER PREREMCTRL MONITORTYPE XRES YRES COLRDEPTH REFRESH VIDEODAC VIDEOMEM CPUTYPE CPUMMX CPUMAKE CPUSPEED COPROMAKE CPUCOUNT TOTALRAM MEMREALSIZE MEMREALFREE MEMEXTSIZE MEMEXTFREE MEMEXPSIZE MEMEXPFREE LARGESTEXE EMSVER BIOSSYSVER BIOSSYSDATE BIOSVIDVER BIOSVIDDATE IPADDRESS IPXADORESS MACADDRESS SUBNETMASK KEYBTYPE KEYBDRIVER MODEMTYPE MODEMPORT MODEMTYPEB MODEMPORTB MOUSE MOUSEDRIVER POMAKE PCMODEL PCSERIALNUM FKNODES HWORVMAP NODENAME HWODATE HWORIVE REDIRECT FKNODES NODENAME HWDATE OSNAME OSVER OSBUILD R
99. Reports 138 HWMAIN Table 46 Import Asset Types Dialog 131 Importing Asset Data 132 Groups 59 Operations 70 INI File Variables 88 Install Types for Package Definitions 154 Information 155 Parameters 199 Selecting 161 Installation Commands 199 Installation Kits 151 Installation Monitoring 167 Installed amp Authorized Compliance Report 123 Installed OK Compliance Report 123 Installing Enterprise Portal 141 Non MSI Packages 150 Office 2000 151 Installing Clients 21 Automatically 26 Interactively 21 with Active Directory 34 with Scripts 35 InstallShield 150 Parameters 199 Interactive Client Deployment 22 Inventory Analysis Settings 31 61 Customizing Operations 118 Macintosh Settings 187 Operations 77 80 Unscanned Clients 82 Viewing Stored Details 79 Inventory Analysis Settings 61 ISS files 199 212 J Job Logs 79 Printing 119 Tokens 74 Viewing 76 JOBNAME Token 75 Jobs Aborting 76 Database 75 Deleting 76 Holding and Releasing 76 Modifying 76 Monitoring 75 Monitoring Software Distributions 165 Retrying 75 Scheduled 75 Submitting 73 Tokenized Logs 74 K Kit Settings Macintosh 183 Windows Clients 162 Knowledgebase 207 L LG_ALLNODES Table 46 LG_CLIENT Table 46 LG_FILTER Table 46 LG_GROUP Table 46 LG_PACKAGE Table 46 LG_RESULTS Table 46 Load Audit Data Operation 176 179 Locations 94 Log Files 125 Locations 163 Options in Package Policy Manager 125 Software Metering 127 System Events 168
100. S Registry Identifications list use the File menu Print command e To view and edit the directories to be excluded from software inventories use the File menu Settings command Unidentified Software The Unidentified Software tab of the Software Identification Manager lists the locations of execut able files that Vector AM has not been able to iden tify Use it to find sample installations on which you can base new definitions for the Applications Library and to help detect unauthorized software installations Vector Asset Management Console Sea File View ja x Edit Application Library using stored client inventory data gt Confirmed Identifications Provisional Identifications Unidentified Software Applications Library Details Client Rese D83 C DBC D83 c DBs cC D83 C DB3 c DB3 c c c c c E c c ource Location Program Files Adobe Acrobat_com Program Files Common Files InstallShield Driver 7 ntel 32 Program Files Common Files InstallShield engine 6 Intel 32 iles Cor iles Common Files iles Common Files InstallShield ime 0700 Intel32 ime O701 Intel32 yal RunTime 09 00 Intel32 Program Files Common Files InstallShield Professional RunTime 09 01 intel32 Program Files Common Files InstallShield Professional RunTime 10 00 Intel32 Program Files Common Files microsoft shared ink Program Files Common Files VMware VMware Virtual Ma
101. TIME lt M M DD YY 60 where DSNACCESS supplies the current Site s DSN and the Username and Password of the logon MM DD YY 60 selects all data that is more than 60 days old for deletion You can use the following tokens with Command Launch operations Token Description DATE Returns today s date in the form 26 January 2004 DD Returns the current day For example 26 MM Returns the current month in two digit format For example 09 MMM Returns the abbreviated name of the current month For exam ple SEP MONTH Returns the full name of the cur rent month For example SEPTEMBER YY Returns the year in two digit format For example 04 YYYY Returns the year in four digit format For example 2004 DDMMYY Returns today s date in day DDMMYY nn month year format plus or DD MM YY nn minus nn days For example if DD MM YY nn _ today s date is 02 01 2004 DDMMMYY nn DDMMMYY 12 returns 14JAN04 MMDDYY Returns today s date in month MMDDYY nn day year format plus or minus MM DD YY nn nn days MM DD YY nn MMMDDYY nn 169 170 CHAPTER 16 Other Operations Token Description Token Description YYMMDD Returns today s date in year KITDIR Specifies the path with a trailing YYMMDD nn month day format plus or backslash from which an YY
102. The Wizard creates rules for the identification of the application and adds them to the Applications Library e Software Identification Wizard Version Identification Which files do you want to use to identify different versions of the application Directory XAMPP xampp apache bin Available files File name Version information Giconv L B ab exe Apache HTTP Server 2 2 14 Apache Software Found B abs exe Apache HTTP Server 2 2 14 Apache Software Found BS ApacheMonitor exe Apache HTTP Server 2 2 14 Apache Software Found B apr config bat 4 Required items Files of type x ApacheMonitor exe Version identification method Use properties of these files to identify versions C Use these files to identify only version 1 0 lt Back Cancel Help If you want Vector AM to determine the version number by extracting it from the properties of a file select Use properties of these files to identify versions and click the Next button The Version Identification Properties dialog is displayed Extracting Version Numbers Some manufacturers encode software version information in the timestamp or product version properties of files Using these properties to perform software recognition enables you to provide automatic version recognition for software installed on your Client PCs Use the Version Iden tification Properties dialog to select the properties from which you want Ve
103. Use the Assets Database window to record and display the details of the hardware and software assets held at each Site within your organization By default the window lists all the assets stored in the Site database but you can also open a Details view to select the data displayed in the Assets list and an Edit view to enter and update asset infor mation To view or update the records of an asset Click the Edit button in the toolbar to display the Edit view in the top right of the Assets Database window To view the details of the Site Database or to select the data displayed in the Assets list Click the Details button in the toolbar To resize columns Click the right edge of the column you want to resize drag the edge of the column to the required position then release the mouse button To select a record In the Assets Database window click the row selector An arrow symbol is displayed If you have the Edit view open the record is displayed ready for editing To rearrange columns 1 Click and hold the mouse on the column you want to move 2 Without releasing the mouse button drag the column to its new location As you drag a black vertical line is displayed to indicate the column s current position 3 Release the mouse button when this line is positioned correctly You can also order columns in your SQL statement when listing the fields that will be selected 130 CHAPTER 12 Assets Database
104. Vector Asset Management User Manual This manual describes how to set up Vector Asset Management 6 0 It describes how to use the e Vector AM Console e Vector AM Client e Hardware Inventory e Software Inventory e Software Distribution e Software Metering e Vector AM Portal To download the latest updates and supplements to the manual in PDF format visit http Awww vector networks com support documentation php Copyright Vector Networks Technologies Ltd Hi Resolution Systems Ltd and MetaQuest Software Inc The information in this document is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by Vector Net works Technologies Limited Vector Networks Inc or MetaQuest Software Inc Vector Networks Technologies Ltd Vector Networks Inc Hi Resolution Systems Ltd and MetaQuest Software Inc assume no responsibility for errors in this document The software described in this document is supplied under a license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license PC Duo and its logos are trademarks of Vector Networks Technologies Ltd MacAdministrator and MacAdministrator 3 are trade marks of Hi Resolution Systems Ltd MetaQuest is a trademark of MetaQuest Software Inc All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners PART NUMBER VAM600 00 Contents Chapter 1 Introducing Vector Asset Management 1 System Requirements
105. Vector Data Logs directory of the Scheduler PC It records errors such as losing and recovering access to the database and is mainly used for troubleshooting 5 By default the Scheduler appends its status messages to the existing log file when it starts If you want the Scheduler to overwrite the log file each time it starts clear the Append to log file check box 6 By default Schedulers check for new Jobs every 60 seconds If you want to change the check frequency enter a new value in the Wake up Interval field Increase the Wake up Interval if you need to reduce traffic on slow or congested networks 7 If you want to change the maximum number of Jobs that can be simultaneously managed by the Scheduler enter a new value in the Max active jobs field To allow the Scheduler to run an unlimited number of Jobs set the value to 0 8 If you want to prevent Jobs from being displayed in the Windows desktop as they run select Hide running jobs 9 Select Run jobs as low priority to prevent Jobs from affecting the performance of the PC where the Scheduler is running 10 If you want to record all Scheduler messages in the log file select the Debug and Verbose check boxes 11 If the PC is running Windows NT 2000 XP Vista or Windows 2003 or 2008 Server and you want the Scheduler to run as a Service click the Run Service button If you want the Scheduler to run as a background application click the Start button To c
106. Wizard that enable you to generate rules for the identification of applications not included in the library Vector AM uses a two stage process to scan PCs for their installed software e The Vector AM Client analyzes the Windows Program List in the registry It can also take a snapshot of the directory structure on the PC collecting the sizes dates and attributes of files together with version information when available This information is copied to the offline area The scan frequency is specified in the Client s configuration settings For more information on configuring Clients see Controlling Client Behavior on page 30 e When you run a software inventory operation the Console or a Scheduler processes the data in the Offline Area using the rules in the Vector AM Application Library The processed inventory results are saved directly in the Site database when you run an Update Software Inventory operation or displayed using the Software Identification Manager when you run the interactive version of the operation Results in the Site database can be viewed using the Software Identification Manager or displayed using Vector AM views and reports Collecting Software Inventory Data Each new Vector AM Site contains two types of software inventory operation in the Software Scan folder Update Software Inventory Interactively Displays the inventory results without saving the data to the database Use this operatio
107. YPOS inns Sag ei ees ode ee ee 130 ASSGIS enie n bao a a les yee wa ed aka ee 131 Importing and Exporting 0 e eae e eee 131 Chapter 13 Reports and Database Views 0000055 133 Customizing Reports 0 0 0 cece eee eee eee 133 Creating Reports 0 0 cece eee eee 133 Scheduling Reports 00 0 cee eee ee eee 133 ReportViewer Command Syntax 0000e ae 134 Database Views 0 0 0 cee eee eee 135 Printing Database Views 0 2 0 e eee eee eee 138 Saving Database Views in HTML format 138 Database Viewer Command Syntax 5 139 Chapter 14 The Vector Asset Management Portal 141 Configuring the Portal assan c cece eee ee 142 Using the Portal 002 eee eee E ee 144 vi The Web Client 0000 c eee eee eens 146 Chapter 15 Software Distribution 00 000 e eee 149 The Software Distribution Process 149 Preparing Installation Kits 0 0 0055 149 Configuring Package Definitions 152 Using the Software Distribution Wizard 161 The Software Distribution Agent 000 165 Monitoring Distribution Jobs 2005 165 Chapter 16 Other Operations 2 03 rss eae aeara 169 Using Tokens in Command Launch Operations 169 PC Remote Control 00
108. a Select MacAdmin Software Audit and the 1 Inthe Windows menu of the Configuration click the Schedule button The Schedule Manager choose Settings Agent dialog is displayed Schedule Agent MacAdmin HardwareAudit This Agent performs a hardware audit of the MacAdmin Chent machine Run Agent at v Startup C Shutdown Note Running an agent at Shutdown only works on pre Mac OS X systems _ Everyday at 12 00 Cancel b Inthe Schedule Agent dialog select a Run Agent option and click the OK button to save your changes 6 Inthe Agent Control File dialog click the Save button to save your changes The new settings are applied to all Clients using the Offline Area Changing Offline Areas If you need to change the Offline Area used by your Macintosh Clients you can change the central location setting and have all the Clients automatically switch to the new share point when they next run To do this you must first create a new Offline Area and install the Macintosh Client kit and then enter the details of the new share point in the Client kit of the old Offline Area To change the Offline Area used by Clients 1 Open the Configuration Manager and choose Edit MacAdministrator Folder Location in the File menu The MacAdministrator Folder Location dialog is displayed 2 Enter the name of the Offline Area share in the Shared Folder Name field and the account details 3 To specify a new Offline Area enter the IP addres
109. ables you to print custom Reports on your inventory and asset data and to save your data in HTML and CSV formats for use outside the Vector AM Console A range of predefined database views are supplied in the Console s Reports folder by default You can customize them for your own use or create new Views for specialist use within your organization To create a Database View Right click an operation in the Console and choose Create Database View from the shortcut menu The Database View Properties dialog is displayed The Database View Properties Dialog Database Views select information directly from your Site database and display it in the Database Viewer Use the Database View Wizard to create your own customized reports or to export the data in HTML or CSV format 135 To specify the View Properties 1 In the Operation name field enter the title you want to appear in the Console In the Operation description field enter the description you want to appear under the Operation name in the Console In the Title of database view field enter the text for the title bar of the View By default views are identified in the Console by a standard icon To specify your own icon for the view enter the location of the graphic in the Icon path field In the Select the folders in which the operation will appear list select the Console folders from which you want to access this operation Choose the method you want
110. access many more fields than are available to Crystal Reports It also enables you to export data to a delimited file for use in external applications for further analysis and processing 81 82 CHAPTER 7 Hardware Inventory For printed reports you can define the layout of the report file using space and tab characters and by specifying the location of tokens on the page Non token data is printed without alteration You can build your own set of Report templates For data export construct a single line template format string with the tokens and a suitable separator character Note that because commas may be used in some data items we recommend you use a different delimiter character in the token file Example tokenized report definitions are available in the Console s install directory e SAMPLE FMT is an example multi line report that shows substitution of various tokens e SAMPLE_EXPORT FMT is a delimited file which can export data for use in an external application Refer to the online help for more information and a comprehensive list of available tokens Many token names are different from the corre sponding field names in the database Token names must be in upper case If you do not want to generate tokenized reports each time you run an Update Hardware Inventory operation create a new variant of the operation that generates a tokenized report Selecting Clients for Inventory Operations Update Hardware I
111. access the Offline Area Usemame db Domain Password Verify password The account must have user privileges and must be available locally on each Client or on the domain of all the Clients in the Site lt Back Cancel Help The Offline Area is a share on which Client PCs save their inventory data This data can be collected and saved in the Site database at any time using the inventory operations in the Console s Hardware Scan and Software Scan folders 4 By default Vector AM Clients use the Offline Area account to access the Offline Area share If you want Clients to use another account to access the Offline Area select Use the following account and enter the account details in the Username Password and Verify Password fields If you specify your own account it must have read write and modify privileges ideally with Interactive Logon disabled and must be valid for all Client PCs that will use the Offline Area To change the Offline Area account after you have created a Site click Offline Area Account in the Console s Enterprise Management folder 5 If the PC on which the Offline Area is located belongs to a Windows Domain enter its Domain name 6 Click the Next button to display the Client Deployment and Network Device Discovery dialog 7 Select the type of Client installation you want to use Deploy Standard Client to install the Vector AM Client on the Windows systems yo
112. ake more reports available for the Portal through our Web site and in future releases You can also add your own reports to the Portal or change the reports that are displayed To add a report to the Portal 1 On the PC where the Portal is installed open Windows Explorer locate the Portal s instal lation directory and navigate to Web WebVD Sites CommonReports Reports Each Reports directory corresponds to a section in the Portal For example the System Information directory corresponds to the Portal s Get System Information section 2 Open the directory in which you want the report to appear Each subdirectory corresponds to a drop down list in that section of the Portal 3 Copy the new report into the subdirectory in which you want it to appear and close Windows Explorer 4 Inthe Windows Start menu choose Programs Vector Asset Management Portal Update Reports to register the new report with the Portal The report is displayed when users refresh or next re open the Portal Using the Portal When the Vector AM Portal is installed on your IIS server it automatically creates a group called PCDEPortalUsers You must add all users that need to access the Portal to this group You can then make the Portal available by providing normal links to it from pages on your intranet site or by entering the following URL into the address field of the browser servemame pcdeportal where servername is the nodename of
113. amed directory for example c Windows If you want to exclude the subdirectories but not the files in the named directory enter a after the asterisk for example c Windows To exclude the files in a directory but not its subdi rectories enter c Windows Program Files 33 Enable compression To reduce network traffic Vector AM Clients normally compress software inventory data before transferring it to the Offline Area If you do not want the Client application to compress the inventory data clear this check box Software Metering To help Asset Managers identify where best to deploy their resources the Client application can gather data on which software applications are being used on Client PCs and the length of time each application is used for Use the Software Metering tab to enable or disable the collection of software metering data by Clients and to control the frequency with which application use is recorded F Client Kit Settings S Offline area Inventory analysis User prompting Directory snapshot Software metering Pre and post processing 2 Software metering collects data on the applications used on each Client Use this tab to control the frequency with which new Clients collect the data and the frequency with which they save it Enable data capture Iv Scan interval io e Snapshot interval o rites Metering push interval 4 kous OK Cancel Help Factory defaults x A
114. ange event data generated by Jobs NETJOBS Contains the Scheduling Logging and other information that enable an operation to be executed by a specified Scheduler NETOPER Stores the operations available at the Site NODEPROP Node Properties stores data associated with each Client including all user prompted information Each record contains the Client name the property name for example DEPARTMENT and the property value NODES Stores the names of Clients and key items of Client data PACKAGES Contains the details of applications that can be identified by the Update Software Inventory operations PKGRPTDB The Software Inventory Results Each record contains the Client name the location of the application and the date it was found PKGTYPES Software Inventory application types holds the various application categories such as SPREADSHEET REGAPPS Contains additional software inventory information collected from the Add Remove programs section of Client s Registry RESRCES Resources holds the Client PC Resource disks and share definitions It records each combination of Client and associated resources Resource records include encrypted access information and other characteristics Table Category Clients NODES NODENAME HWADDRESS NETADDR NOLOCATION DEPT OWNERNAME OWNERTELE NETTRNSPRT USERNAME RATING OSNANE OSVERSION cpu CPUSPEED TOTMEMORY MAKE ISREADONLY MODEL NOBACKUP DOMAINNAME NETC
115. ant amount of time and disk space on a large network with many Clients you can spread the work amongst several Schedulers and control how long the collation data is saved for To distribute the software metering workload 1 Click Software Metering Settings in the Software Metering folder The Software Metering Settings dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Select a host to set its offline areas list select the Scheduler that is currently running the Collator and deselect all the entries in the Select offline areas for the host list By default all Offline Areas are assigned to the first entry in the Select a host to set its offline areas list 3 For each Scheduler you want to assign work to a Inthe Select a host to set its offline areas list select the Scheduler b Inthe Select offline areas for the host list select the Offline Areas that you want the selected Scheduler to collect metering data from If you want to assign all Offline Areas to the selected Scheduler select the Assign all offline areas to this host check box 4 lf you want to change the Scheduler respon sible for summarizing the software metering data select another entry in the Which host runs the summarizer list Because it works with all the metering data the Summarizer can be assigned to only one Scheduler for the whole Site To change the frequency at which metering data is deleted 1 Inthe Software Metering Settings dialog select the Enable purgi
116. aphical representations of the devices on your network so you can see the relationships between the different elements you have selected To create a topology diagram 1 Right click the Network Topologies folder and choose Create Diagram from the shortcut menu The Topology Diagram dialog is displayed 2 Enter a Name for the diagram 3 Click Add to specify the network devices you want to display in the diagram 4 Inthe Topology Filter dialog choose a method for selecting the devices to be displayed Select Router and select a router from the list By default the diagram includes all devices assigned to the router To restrict the diagram to devices assigned to specific ports deselect the All ports option and enter the ports you want to display IP Range Subnet and enter the range of addresses or subnet mask you want to display Click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog When you have specified all the devices you want to display click OK to close the dialog and create the diagram 95 96 CHAPTER 9 Network Devices 97 Chapter 10 Software Inventory Software inventory operations collect information on the applications installed on Client PCs Vector AM supports this using an Application Library which enables it to recognize many common appli cations automatically discovery utilities which assist in the identification of applications and a Rule Editor and Software Identification
117. ariables 88 Collection Areas for Audit Data 176 Completing Deployments 36 Configuring 30 60 Configuring Audits 176 Configuring with Active Directory 67 Creating Groups 55 Deleting 68 Deploying 21 Deploying with Active Directory 34 210 Deploying with Scripts 35 Detecting 44 Directory Snapshot Settings 32 62 Distributing Software 149 Error Messages 197 Event Log 79 Filtering 162 Hardware Inventory Components 82 Installed Software 101 Installing with Active Directory 34 Interactive Deployment 22 Inventory Analysis Settings 31 61 Kit Settings 162 Loading Audit Data 179 Offline Area Settings 63 Operations 54 55 69 Populating the Console 52 Removing from Package Policies 122 Scanning for 53 Software Inventory Process 118 Software Metering Settings 33 63 Standalone 175 System Variables 87 Unscanned Inventories 82 Upgrading 204 User Prompting 89 Viewing 53 Waking 171 Windows 9x 35 COLLATOR LOG 127 Color Coding in Package Policy Reports 124 Command Files 173 Command Launch Operations 169 Tokens 140 Command Line Parameters 199 Command Syntax in Database Views 139 Community Strings 92 Compliance Reports 123 Configuring Clients 60 using Active Directory 67 Configuring the Portal 142 Confirmed Identifications 101 Console Checking Schedulers 73 Clients View 79 Creating Operations 69 Populating 52 Populating with Clients 44 52 Upgrading 203 Controlling Client Behavior 30 Custom Groups 55 Custom
118. ase 125 Package Recognition Rules Creating 118 Packages Adding to Package Policies 122 Analyzing Distribution 123 Monitoring Installations 166 167 Version Recognition 118 Packages Database 97 118 Exporting 118 PACKAGES Table 46 PC Audits 175 Configuring 176 Loading Audit Data 179 PC Remote Control 171 PCDSCHEDULER LOG 72 PKGRPTDB Table 46 Policies Compliance Report 124 Policy Conformance 123 Portal 141 Adding Reports 144 Choosing the Default Site 143 Configuring 142 Installing 141 Removing Sites 143 213 Selecting Sites 144 Specifying an E mail Server 143 Viewing Reports 145 Post Process Commands 157 178 PPM_Log TXT 125 Pre Process Commands 157 178 Pre Process commands 191 Printing Database Views 138 Hardware Inventory Details 80 Job Log 119 Package Definitions 160 Software Inventory Reports 119 Production Sites 13 Profiles 23 Configuring with Active Directory 67 Progress Information for Jobs 76 Progress Messages 195 Prompt Editor 86 Prompting Deleting Questions 87 Environment Variables 87 File Distribution 89 Network Variables 88 System Variables 87 Provisional Identifications 100 101 102 Q Question Editor 86 Questioning Users 87 R Rapid Rule Creation 103 Recognition Rules 118 Creating 103 107 112 Editing 112 214 REF Files 85 Releasing Jobs 76 Remote Control 171 Remote Installations 149 Report Viewer 134 Reports 133 Adding to the Portal 144 Creating 133 Generating in HTML 1
119. at ically creates an Offline Area for it In addition CHAPTER 5 Working with Clients Console users can add more Offline Areas to a Site to manage workloads and help reduce network traffic across distributed networks The Offline Areas section of the Clients folder contains a non editable dynamic group for each Offline Area currently assigned to the Site Each group contains all the Clients that use that Offline Area To view the Clients registered to an Offline Area expand the Offline Areas folder and select the appropriate group in the tree Active Directory Active Directory enables organizations using Windows 2000 XP Vista Windows 7 2003 and 2008 Server to centrally manage and store information on network resources and to manage and control the applica tions installed on networked computers If you have Active Directory installed on your network and have customized your hardware inventory operations to collect Active Directory data Vector AM automatically creates a non editable dynamic group for each Active Directory unit that contains one or more Client PCs To view the Clients in an Active Directory group expand the Active Directory folder and select the group in the tree Working with Custom Groups Only groups in the Custom Groups folder are editable You can add groups to this folder and modify or delete existing groups When you create a group you must choose whether its membership will be fixed or dynami
120. atabase perform an Update Hardware Inventory and Update Software Inventory on the PCs You can then analyze the data and create reports as for standard Clients 180 CHAPTER 17 Audit Clients Audited PCs count against your license limit Re auditing Clients Audit support is intended for single collections of data Rerunning the Load Audit Data operation with the same disk can copy the data into fresh subdirectories each time but the new copies are ignored as the Clients are already in the Site database If you want to load updated data for previously published Clients or if you have repeated the Audit data capture to collect revised data use the following procedure To update audit data 1 Delete the Offline Area Offline ID directory for each Audit Client 2 Delete the Audit Clients from the Clients View Clients created using the Audit method are listed in the Audit Clients Group 3 Delete all files from the audit disk used previ ously 4 Repeat the audit process on the Client PCs using the new audit settings and user prompt questions 5 Check the Load Audit Data operation is configured then run the operation to copy the data to the Offline Area 181 Chapter 18 Macintosh Clients Vector Asset Management includes the ability to manage Macintosh Clients running OS 7 5 3 to 9 2 2 and OS 10 2 4 or later Wherever possible Vector AM treats Macintosh Clients in the same way as PC Clients so that working
121. ate the Scheduler is active 6 When the Offline Scanner has detected all your Clients you can disable it using the Offline Scanner Options in the Site Management folder For more information see Schedulers on page 71 The Find Clients Operation The Find Offline Clients operation provides the ability to make a single check for new Clients Because it runs only once and does not save Clients inventory data to the Site database it enables you to quickly add new Clients to a Site and does not require you to continuously use Scheduler resources as for the Offline Scanner Unlike the Offline Scanner the Find Offline Clients operation can be customized to search one specific Offline Area Therefore before using the operation make sure that it is configured to perform the correct search To search for new Clients 1 Inthe Client Deployment amp Maintenance folder right click the Find Clients operation and choose Customize from the shortcut menu The Customize dialog is displayed 2 Select the Autopopulate Scan tab 3 Ensure the Enable offline scan check box is selected 4 By default the operation is configured to search all Offline Areas associated with the Site To restrict the search to a specific Offline Area select its entry in the Offline area list For information on how to view the Offline Areas associated with a Site see Viewing and Managing Offline Areas on page 40 5 Click the OK button to
122. ation and for Full variants the number of files on the Client If a software scan is running slowly try the following methods to improve its performance e During a Directory Snapshot the Vector AM Client opens each file of the types specified in its configuration settings in order to collect version information To minimize the time needed for this configure the Client application to exclude directories that do not contain appli cation files When performing a Directory Snapshot Clients collect version information from EXE and COM files For information on configuring Clients to collect version information from other file types see Directory Snapshot Settings on page 62 e Similarly Full software inventory operations can generate a lot of data especially when the Client is a server To reduce the amount of data transferred across your network customize the software inventory operations and Site Settings to check only those drives and directories that are likely to contain application files e On large networks you can improve the perfor mance of software scans by splitting the Clients across several software inventory Jobs and assigning the Jobs to different Schedulers Software Identification Manager When you run an Update Software Inventory Inter actively operation the results of the scan are displayed in the Software Identification Manager The results are divided into four categories Confi
123. atively to create identification rules using an installation from a Client PC a Inthe Client list select a Client on which the application is installed b Inthe Resource list select the disk or share on which the application is installed 2 Inthe Directory field enter the location of the application for which you want to create identifi cation rules Alternatively click the browse button to search for the location 3 Click the Next button to specify the files that you want to use to identify the application The Software Identification dialog is displayed 109 Software Identification Software inventory operations identify the applications installed on Client PCs by checking for distinguishing features such as installed files and the location and properties of the files Use the Software Identification dialog to select the files that Vector AM can use to identify the application To select files for application identification 1 For each file you want to use to identify this application double click its entry in the Available files list to add it to the Required files list 2 By default Vector AM uses the names of the selected files to identify applications If you want to create a rule that checks for specific file properties such as the file size or timestamp select the file in the Required items list and click the Specify properties button r 5 Software Identification Wizard Software Identification
124. ause the criteria are evaluated against the Site database each time the group is used they enable you to create self maintaining groups e Fixed groups contain Clients that have been manually selected by Console users They can contain any combination of Clients but they can only be updated manually The Groups Folders When you create a Site Vector AM adds the following sections in the Console s Clients folder All Clients The All Clients section is a dynamic group that contains all the Clients found in all the Offline Areas assigned to the Site If the Offline Scanner is enabled new Clients are automatically added to this folder when they first save their data to an Offline Area If the Offline Scanner is not running you can detect new Clients by running the Find Clients operation Custom Groups Custom groups are user config urable collections of Clients When you create a Site Vector AM automatically adds a selection of useful dynamic groups to this section You can customize these pre defined groups for your own use or you Can create your own groups to suit the requirements of your installation For example you can create a dynamic group to identify all PCs which have the hardware and software required by a specific application Offline Areas Offline Areas are shared direc tories used to collect data from and relay instruc tions to Client computers When you create a new Vector AM Site the Site Creation Wizard autom
125. ble VersionInfo Vv VersionInfo files e g exe dll exe Versionlnfo excludes Enable compression V Cancel Help Snapshot drives When directory snapshots are enabled by default Vector AM collects data from all local drives on Client PCs To restrict the inventory scan to specific drives enter the drives in this field using a comma separated list For example to collect inventory data from only the C and E drives of the Clients type C E Enable VersionInfo Some software manufac turers encode software version information in application files Select this check box to configure the Client application to search for version infor mation in the specified file types VersionInfo Files By default Clients collect version information from EXE files Use this setting to specify other types of file from which they can collect version information For example to collect version information from other program modules enter EXE DLL OCX Take care when changing this option as each extra file type increases the workload of the Client VersionInfo Excludes To prevent Clients from checking files for version information in specific directories enter the paths of the directories in this field You can specify multiple locations by separating each path with a comma For example Windows Program Files Common Files Use a trailing asterisk wildcard to exclude all subdirectories and files in the n
126. ble and disable Macintosh support in Vector AM and to control the inventory information held for Macintosh Clients To specify inventory settings for Macintosh Clients 1 Inthe Site Management folder of the Vector AM Console click the Specify Macintosh Settings operation The settings dialog is displayed 2 Select the options you want to use Enable Macintosh support Deselect this check box to prevent all software and hardware inventory operations in this Site from collecting Macintosh Client data Macintosh nodename creation Choose an option to choose the name by which Vector AM refers to Macintosh Clients Select e Network MAC address to create a Client name based on the network physical address of Macintosh Clients e MachineName from hardware inventory data to use the name specified in the Macintosh set up Vector AM automatically uses the MAC address when no machine name is assigned to a Client Collect hardware inventory Deselect this check box to prevent the collection of hardware inventory data from Macintosh Clients in this Site Collect software inventory Deselect this check box to prevent the collection of software inventory data from Macintosh Clients in this Site Exclude application names Enter the names of applications you want to exclude from software inventories To avoid entering many similar application names you can use an asterisk as a wildcard For example to exclude all applications whose
127. c If you choose a fixed group you must add Clients to it manually If you choose a dynamic group you can use any combination of the attributes held in the Site database to select the group members To create a group right click Custom Groups in the Console s Clients folder and choose the Add Group option to open the Group View Wizard The Group Properties Dialog Use the Group Properties dialog is to specify the name of the group you want to create the type of group and whether you want to customize the layout used to display members details To specify the group properties 1 Enter a Name for the group Enter any extra information about the group in the Comment field 2 Choose the Type of group you want to create Select Dynamic custom group to create a group in which the group members are selected by specified criteria Fixed custom group to create a group in which users select the group members manually 3 If you selected Dynamic custom group choose the method with which you want to specify the Client selection criteria 4 By default new custom groups display the Name CPU type CPU Speed Memory Net Address Department and Owner for each Client they contain To specify a different set of display information for the group s Clients deselect Use standard column set 5 Click the Next button to continue The Database Fields Dialog The Database Fields dialog is displayed when you select the natural lan
128. c Client Deployment dialog select the Deployment tab 2 Select your exclusion settings To add an exclusion filter to the list click the Add button To change the details of an exclusion filter select its entry in the list and click Edit e To delete an exclusion filter select its entry in the list and click Remove n Automatic Client Deployment s Deployment Exclusions Schedule Add one or more filters to exclude computers from all deployments Domain OU Node name IP address _ Kit Type HOME PS362224 Al kit types im a Edit Remove Close Hep Scheduling Automatic Client Deployment The frequency and timing of Automatic Client Deployment for a Site is controlled by the Schedule settings To aid the rapid population of new Sites Automatic Client Deployment is configured by default to search your network for potential Clients at hourly intervals starting immediately it is activated Network overload is avoided by limiting each deployment cycle to a maximum of 10 nodes Use the Schedule tab to optimize the deployment settings for your instal lation and to specify any periods during which deployments must not take place To schedule automatic Client deployments 1 Inthe Start date list enter the date on which you want the deployment to start 2 Inthe Start time field enter the time at which you want the deployment to start 3 In the Host
129. cation and choose Add Version Rule from the shortcut menu The Set Version Rule dialog is displayed 2 To completely change the current version number of the rule set select Replace existing version number To concatenate a value to the version number select Append to existing version number For example if a previous rule identified the application as version 6 and this rule identifies the minor version number select the append option to add the minor number to the existing version number 3 If you want Vector AM to identify the application with a different string to the tested value enter the string you want to use in the Version template field For example if the rule identifies WinWord 10 but you want the software inventory to display the version name by which it is commonly known type Word XP in the Version template field 4 Click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog An application definition can contain several Set Version Rules in Optional Rule Blocks This enables you to create definitions that progressively refine the version number of an installed applica tion For example by using the Append to existing version number option in the Set Version Rule 116 CHAPTER 10 Software Inventory dialog you can create a set version rule that first identifies version 4 x of an application another rule that resets the version to 4 02 and finally a third rule that identifies version 4 02b Ext
130. ccess information on current and historical system configurations software utilization and license compliance and software deployments and migrations To install the Reporting Portal 1 Install Microsoft Internet Information Server IIS on the PC from which you want to run the Portal see System Requirements on page 2 2 Insert the Vector Asset Management CD and click Portal in the Autorun screen to start the installation 3 Read the License Agreement and click the Yes button to continue with the installation 4 Inthe Welcome dialog of the installer click the Next button to continue 5 Inthe Choose Destination Location dialog click the Browse button to select the installation location Click the Yes button to continue 6 Inthe Check Setup Information dialog click the Next button to start the installation 7 Inthe Completion dialog select Yes want to restart my computer now and click the Finish button to complete the installation of the Portal When the PC has rebooted the installer configures the Portal This takes a few minutes 8 Inthe Setup Complete dialog select Yes want to open the Portal now and click the Finish button The Portal is displayed To make Oracle based Sites available through the Portal 1 Install the Oracle Client on the Portal server and configure it to connect to your Oracle database For more information on setting up the Oracle Client see Oracle Databa
131. cece eee eee eens 171 The Browse Clients Operation 0000 171 Waking Clients 0 0 0 cee ceca 171 Creating Database Operations 4 172 Chapter 17 PUGH CUENtS sen os pos as esa ay eagannna EEES ior aa E 175 The Audit Process 0 00 0c cee eee 175 Configuring the Audit Client 05 176 Performing Audits 000 0 eee eee eee 178 Loading Audit Data into Vector AM 179 Chapter 18 Macintosh Clients 0 00 00 0 ccc cece eens 181 Creating Offline Areas for Macintosh Clients 181 Installing the Macintosh Client Kit 182 Client Settings 0 0 0 0 cece eee eee 183 Installing Macintosh Clients 200000 185 Machine Groups 00 c cee eee cee eee eee ees 186 Inventory Operations 0 00 c eee eee 187 Restrictions 2s Gon a a aE avbeile aye dations 190 Chapter 19 Extending the Product 0c cece eee c eee eee ee 191 Executing Commands at Clients 191 Executing Commands at Consoles 192 Appendix A Error Messages o i cG g Get ries pni e Whe We ie 195 Progress and Error Log Messages 2 5 195 Error Messages on Client PCs 0 005 197 Appendix B Installation Commands 0 199 InstallShield Command Line Parameters 199 Microsoft Setup Parameters
132. change the type of query click all and choose a new Comparison Operator For example to create an expression that lists all Clients which belong to the SALES department or the MARKETING department choose any To create an expression that lists all Clients except those which belong to the SALES and MARKETING departments choose none 2 Click lt Click here to add new condition gt The Wizard creates a default query 3 Inthe default query click the Field Selector and select the database field you want to search from the drop down list 4 Click the Condition Selector and select the test that you want to use to select data 5 Click the Condition Value at the end of the condition and enter the value you want to identify You can use the and characters as wildcards For example to select from all entries in the NODENAME field type to select all PCs with names that start with J type J 6 To add another condition repeat steps 2 through 5 To add a nested condition right click lt Click here to add new condition gt and choose Open new bracket To temporarily remove a condition from the query deselect the check box at the left of the line 57 CHAPTER 5 Working with Clients To delete a condition click the Condition Identifier and choose Delete Current Row 7 When you have specified all the Client selection conditions for the group select the Preview tab to list the Clients that will be returned by
133. chedulers manage the execution of operations that users have scheduled from a Console They automatically run operations at a specified time and date and enable you to automate regular tasks such as software deployments The Sched uler can run in two modes e Asa background application In this mode the Scheduler can be started manually or automat ically from the Windows Startup folder It is closed when the user logs off When the Scheduler is running as a background application an icon is shown in the system tray of the Windows Taskbar The icon is displayed with a green clock face when the Scheduler is running and with a red clock face when the Scheduler is stopped e Asa Windows Service This works in the same way as the background application except that the Service can run scheduled operations while no user is logged on The Scheduler application is installed as part of the Console installation However because the Scheduler is independent it can run when the Console is closed This enables you to run sched uled operations on any PC and to distribute your organization s workload across the network The Vector Administrator Account When the Scheduler is running as a Service it manages operations and accesses the Site data base using the account details specified during the installation of the Console software You can change the details of this account from the Vector AM Management folder To change the Vect
134. chine Importer gnu Program Files DVD Maker Program Files EpsonNet EpsonNet Setup tooll0 x64 Program Files Garmin VoiceStudio Program Files InstallShield Installation Information 20DFB9EA 8F74 474C AADF C Program Files Microsoft Games Chess DB3 DB3 DB3 DB3 DB3 DB3 DB3 DB3 To sort the list click a column heading The Unidentified Software tab will only contain valid results if the Client has recently performed a Directory Snapshot You must ensure that your Full software inventory operations are customized to report directories containing unrec ognized applications For more information see Customizing Software Inventory Operations on page 98 Use the Unidentified Software tab to perform the following tasks e To view the Clients on which the software was detected click the Details button e To view the directory in which the software was detected right click its entry in the Clients view and choose Browse Location from the shortcut menu e To create identification rules for the software that a file belongs to right click the entry in the Clients view and choose Create Identification Rules from the shortcut menu The Software Identification Wizard is displayed For more information on creating application definitions see The Software Identification Wizard on page 107 Displaying Saved Software Data In addition to viewing the software inventory data found
135. chitecture is ideal for providing feedback of event and progress information in real time Total Control Users can stop and reschedule Jobs or change the list of Client PCs to be processed All of this and immediate real time management of PCs can be accomplished through the single consistent user interface of the Vector AM Console 6 CHAPTER 1 Introducing Vector Asset Management Chapter 2 Creating Sites Before you can use Vector AM to manage the PCs in your organization you must create a Site database and Offline Area The database stores the inventory and metering data collected from Vector AM Clients and also contains information on the operations you can perform installation instructions for software packages application recognition rules and information logs The Offline Area is a shared directory through which Client computers make their raw data available for collection and from which they collect instructions and configuration changes Vector AM Sites and Offline Areas are created using the Site Creation Wizard The Wizard guides you through the process of naming and locating Sites and specifying the Offline Area share It can also create configured Client kits and deploy them across your network to the PCs you want to manage Creating an Evaluation Site This section describes how to create a new Site using the default options in the Site Creation Wizard This method enables you to build a working fully fea
136. cific names Choose filenames that are application specific For example PRINT DLL could be a component of many applications but WINWORD EXE is specific to Microsoft Word Similarly if an application always creates its own subdirectories as part of an installation you can create rules that check for these directories rather than a specific file Choosing unique files and placing them at the top of the application definition helps reduce the scope for recognition failures and increases the efficiency of software inventory operations Avoid too many file rules Too many rules can restrict the application defini tion to one installation of an application and cause recognition failures for other installations that are only slightly different For example checking for an optional component such as TUTORIAL HLP may prevent Vector AM from recognizing an appli cation when the file is not installed 117 Version information checks Check whether the application manufacturer has specified the application s version number in the timestamp datestamp or version information properties of their application files Vector AM can extract this information using Version Rules and automatically keep the application definition up to date without the need to extend the application definition whenever a new version of the applica tion is released Use flexible file property checks Precise file size checks can cause a recognition failure w
137. cintosh Client dialog is displayed 5 Double click the MacAdmin Client Installer For OS X Clients the Authenticate dialog is displayed Enter the name and password of an account with administrator privileges on the target Client and click the OK button to start the installation For Pre OS X Clients the installation begins 6 When the installation is complete a confir mation message is displayed Click the OK button to restart the Macintosh Client The hardware and software data of the computer is saved to the Offline Area If the Offline Scanner is enabled the data is automat ically collected and save to the Site database If the scanner is not enabled use the Find Clients operation to add the Client to the Site You can then view the data and save it to the Site database using the hardware inventory and software inventory operations as normal When first installed the Macintosh Client settings are configured for evaluation mode To enable full Client functionality see Entering License Details on page 184 Machine Groups Machine groups enable you to specify different configuration settings for different subsets of Macintosh Clients For example you can use them to have different sets of Clients save their inventory data at different times of day to help spread your network s workload MachineGroup New MachineGroup Name MachineGroup Profile Automatically assign to this MachineGrou
138. ckages InstallShield Command Line Parameters This section summarizes the command line options that can be used with the InstallShield SETUP application These switches are optional but a slash or a dash must precede each option You must separate multiple options with a space but do not put a space inside a command line parameter For example r fInstall ins is valid but r f Install ins is not R Causes SETUP EXE to automatically generate a silent installation file ISS file which records your responses to the installation prompts The file is stored in the Windows folder SMS The SMS option prevents a network connection and the SETUP EXE from closing before the installation is complete The option must be entered in uppercase and placed first in the command line The SMS command option is not supported on Windows 3 x versions of InstallShield F lt path CompiledScript gt By default InstallShield looks for compiled script INS files in the directory where the SETUP EXE is located Use this option to load a script file from another location When using long paths and file names with options enclose the expressions in double quotation marks F1 lt path ResponseFile gt By default InstallShield looks for response ISS files in the directory where the SETUP EXE is located Use this option to load a response file from another location If an alternative compiled script is specified using the F o
139. click the tree and choose Add Package Distribution Definition from the shortcut menu You can also create a new Definition using Add Package Distribution Definition in the Package menu 2 Amessage is displayed asking if you want to link the new definition to a Software Inventory Package If you are creating a Package Definition for a standard software package click Yes and select the application from the Select Package dialog Otherwise click No 3 In the Add New Package Definition dialog enter a Name for the new Package Definition and click OK The new definition is added to the tree 4 Click the plus symbol adjacent to the new definition then click the Summary Install Types and Pre Post Processing sections to enter the details of the definition Package Definition Summary Information Use the Summary category of a Package Definition to record general information about the package that this definition is used to install and to enter the check paths that the system uses to determine whether the Package is installed Check paths are tested before the Agent attempts to install an application on a Client If any of the specified files are present the Agent assumes the package is already installed and continues on to the next Client install You can specify multiple check paths to check for different locations and 154 CHAPTER 15 Software Distribution multinational versions of an application The check paths are also
140. cluded in new Sites use the Export Library option to replace this file 5 Inthe Open dialog select the DB file you created and click the Open button The defini tions are imported Software Inventory Data When software inventory data is saved to the Site database each instance of an application found on a Client is allocated a record in the Software Inventory Results table The process automatically compares all the applications identified against the existing records e Ifthe application was not previously installed on that Client or this is the first time the application is identified by an application definition a new record is created and the status is set to New e If anew version of an application is identified the status of the existing record is shown as New Version Any new options detected are added to the record When different versions of an application are covered by separate definitions the application name must be identical in all the definitions otherwise they are treated as different applications e If there is no corresponding scan result for a previously recorded application the status is shown as Removed e If a previously recorded application has not changed since the previous software inventory the status is shown as Unchanged Software Reports Vector AM includes a range of pre formatted soft ware inventory reports For example the Software Inventory Change Summary Report lists Clients
141. commends that you copy the ClientKit directory to a suitable server location that is accessible to the target Client PCs We also recommend that you use a version specific Kit folder name such as Vector AM Client v6 0 so that more than one version of kit can be present during an instal lation or upgrade cycle This also allows older version Client MSI files to be accessed for uninstallation 3 In the Windows Start menu choose Settings Control Panel 4 Inthe Control Panel select Administrative Tools 5 Inthe Administrative Tools window select Active Directory Users and Computers 6 Inthe Active Directory Users and Computers window right click the organizational unit on which you want to install the Vector Asset Management Client and choose Properties from the menu 7 Inthe Properties dialog select the Group Policy tab 8 Inthe Group Policy tab click New to create a new policy for the organizational unit Enter a name for the policy then click Edit 9 Inthe tree of the Group Policy window select Computer Configuration Software Settings Software Installation 10 Right click the Software Installation folder and choose New Package 11 In the Open dialog browse to the Kit directory of the Offline Area or the copy directory that you want to assign to the Clients Select the Vector AM Client kit MSI file and click Open 12 In the Deploy Software dialog select Assigned to automatically install the Client
142. correct problems Run Now Choose this option to start the selected Job immediately When the Job is completed it is returned to the Scheduler s queue pending its next run if it was a regular Job or deleted if it was defined as Once only Abort Choose this option to abort a Job that is currently running The Job ends when the Sched uler finishes processing the current PC anda comment is posted in the Job Log and Client Log Delete Choose this option to delete the selected Job Any associated log information generated by the Job during previous runs is also deleted This option is available only for Jobs in Pending or Holding status Modify Job Choose this option to update the details of the Job and to reschedule it In the Modify Job dialog update the details and click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog You can apply changes to any Job that is not currently running Operation details are reloaded each time a Job runs so any updates are automatically included when the Jobs next runs Modify Clients Choose this option to change the Clients assigned to the Job In the Select Clients dialog select the Clients and groups you want to assign to the Job then click OK to save your changes and close the dialog Job Logs When a Job is complete the details of the Job and any messages recorded during the course of the Job are transferred to the Job Log database The level of information recorded depends on the
143. create a rule that uses this information click No to create a rule that uses the file name The files are added to the Required items list 9 To specify additional checks on a file such as its size or timestamp select its entry in the Required items list and click the Specify properties button The File Rule dialog is displayed 10 To specify the application version identified by these files select the Use these files to identify only version option enter the version number and click the Finish button The Wizard creates rules for the identification of the application and adds them to the Applications Library Alternatively to extract the version number from the file properties select Use properties of these files to identify versions and click Next The Version Identification Properties dialog is displayed 11 The Version Identification Properties dialog lists the properties associated with the selected file Any version information associated with the file is listed in the Product Version fields To extract the application s version number from the file properties select each Product version field you want to use and click the Select button When you have selected all the fields that contain version information click the Finish button to create the identification rule and close the wizard For more detailed information on software identifi cation and rule creation see The Applications Library on page 105
144. create a group at the same level as the selected location e Add Child Location to create a sub group within the selected location Devices assigned to a child location are not displayed in the parent location The Location dialog is displayed 2 Enter a Name for the group 3 Click Add The Network Filter dialog is displayed To select devices by router and port assignment a Select the Router location option b Inthe Router list select the router that is connected to the devices you want to identify c By default the filter includes devices on all the router s ports If you want to restrict the filter to devices on specific ports enter their numbers in the Ports field To select devices by IP address a Select the IP Range Subnet option b Inthe Range field enter the IP addresses for the devices You can specify a range in the form 90 0 0 128 90 0 0 255 or you can use a wildcard such as 192 168 31 4 Click OK to create the filter and close the Network Filter dialog 5 If you want use the specified Name as the location property for the devices in the group select the Override Client Network Device location property check box You cannot override the location property of a network device when it is locked For more infor mation see Device Properties 6 Click OK to close the dialog and add the group to the Console Network Topologies The Network Topologies folder enables you to create gr
145. ctor AM to extract the information P Software Identification Wizard Version Identification Properties Which file properties do you want to use to identify the application version Some manufacturers include the application version in the properties of files To extract this version information for use in application recognition select the file that contains the version information and select one or more entries from the Available property field list ltem ApacheMonitor exe M Specify the property fields that contain version information ISVERSIONINFO VERSION1 VERSIONINFO VERSION2S or choose from the available property fields Property Value Product version fields Tand2 2 2 Hours and minutes 01 00 Product version field 1 2 Product version field 2 2 Product version field 3 14 Product version field 4 Hours 0 Hours tens 0 Hours units 1 Minutes 00 Minutes tens 0 hd lt Back Finish Cancel Help To extract the version information from the selected file 1 Inthe Filename list select the file that contains the version information The Available file properties list displays the values of the properties for the file you selected 2 Inthe Specify the property fields that contain version information field enter the tokens that specify the location of the version information Alternatively double click the properties that contain the version informat
146. ctory is used e The name by which the Client is known to the network e The total size of the files in the directory e The total size of any obsolete metering data To work with the directories right click an entry and choose an option in menu To move a Client directory to another Offline Area select the directory in the list and drop it on the new entry in the Offline Areas list Site Summary The Site summary provides an overview of the directories and Offline Areas in the current Site If you selected the Analysis options in the Analyze Site Offline Areas dialog it also summarizes the space taken by obsolete data and unused directories Configuring the Client Kit When you create an Offline Area as part of a new Site or add an Offline Area to an existing Site Vector AM includes a pre configured Client kit in its Kit subdirectory This contains the Client appli cation and the configuration settings that the system uses when you add new Clients to the Offline Area The Configure Client Kit dialog enables you to view and edit the kit settings of an Offline Area You can also specify the default settings that are used to create new Client Kits by selecting the Configure Client Kit operation in the Management folder To configure the Client kit of an Offline Area 1 In the Offline Area Manager right click the Offline Area and choose Configure client kit The Configure Client Kit dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Config
147. d from the Vector Web site Disk Space 8MB Network Any Microsoft Networking compati Support ble environment Vector Asset Management Portal User Operating Windows 95 98 ME NT4 SP6 or System higher 2000 XP 2003 Server or Vista Additional Internet Explorer 5 5 or later with Software Javascript cookies and Active X enabled Java 1 1 2 Vector Asset Management Portal Server Operating Windows NT Server 4 SP6 2000 System Server XP Professional or 2003 Server Additional Internet Information Server IIS Software SMTP Server must be accessible to enable email messages Disk Space 50 MB Vector Asset Management Web Client Operating Windows 95 98 Me NT 2000 XP System 2003 and 2008 Server Vista or Win dows 7 Additional Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Software IE must be 5 5 or later The Java run time must be installed and enabled in the web browser Disk Space 8MB Note Installation requires Administrator privileges Architecture Vector AM s Active Host Architecture has four major components Clients The Vector AM Client application includes hardware interrogation agents a customizable user information collection program and Agent software for software distribution Clients are accessed using shared repositories called Offline Areas When it first runs the Client creates its own directory in the Offline Area
148. d more Inclusion Filters to the profile click the lower Add button 4 Click the Increase or Decrease M button to adjust the priority of the profile Automatic Client Deployment works through the list of Profiles in priority order with profiles at the top of the list taking precedence If a node belongs to more than one profile Vector AM uses only the highest list entry to control the deployment Repeat steps 2 through 4 to add more deployment profiles 28 CHAPTER 3 Deploying the Vector AM Client Excluding Computers from Automatic Client Deployments By default Vector AM attempts to install the Client application on all PCs identified by the Inclusion Filters associated with your Client deployment profiles If there are some computers on your network on which you do not want the Vector AM Client application to be installed you can make sure that they are omitted from all deployments by specifying their details in the Exclusions tab of the Automatic Client Deployment dialog If the account and password combination specified as the Vector Administrator Account is not valid for all nodes on your network you must exclude the nodes on which the account will not work When the administrator account has different passwords in different parts of your network repeated network connection failures can cause the account to be locked out To specify computers you want to exclude from Automatic Client Deployment 1 Inthe Automati
149. d password of an account that Macintosh Clients can use to access the Offline Area and click the OK button The Network Share Point dialog is displayed Network Share Point Select the share point that you want to use as the MacAdministrator shared folder If the desired share point is not listed then either it is not correctly shared or the entered user does not have privileges to access it The Network Share Point dialog lists the share points available for use Select the Share Point of the Offline Area and click the OK button to start the installation When the installation is complete a message is displayed to confirm that the share point is mounted Click the OK button to quit the instal lation The Locations dialog is displayed Locations Select the location to configure Internet Address Zone Machine 1 a 10 0 0 1 Servers Windows 2000 The location of the Offline Area is automatically selected in the Locations dialog Click the OK button to confirm the selection The Mount Location dialog is displayed 183 9 Inthe Mount Location dialog enter the name and password the account you created and click the OK button The Configuration Manager is displayed Client Settings The Macintosh Offline Area contains centralized settings that control the behavior of Macintosh Clients For example it specifies when Clients save their data to the Offline Area and which Offline Area Clients use
150. d when prompting for installation The Client PC is being rebooted prior to the installation Reboot required for package installation The package installation needs to reboot the Client PC before the installation can be completed The user is prompted with a message Other application s have refused the reboot An application running on the Client PC has refused an attempted reboot This can happen when an application prompts a user to save their changes and the user cancels the close message User refused system reboot at this time When prompted the Client PC user chose not to perform a system reboot Package was installed successfully Thank you The Installation has completed successfully Skipping installation of package Package This Client is not eligible for this installation check the Operating Systems specified The Client PC is unable to install this Pack age The Client PC is running an operating system that is not supported by this installation APPENDIX A Error Messages Deleting package entry Package beyond expiry date The expiry date for the distribution Job has been reached without the package being installed Failed to install package Package Insufficient disk space to proceed with installation This package is being put into Holding status The Client PC failed the free disk space check as specified in the Package s Distribution Definition Failed to install package Package Insufficient
151. data from Clients This data is used in various reports such as the Software Total Users by Day report UNRECAPPS Unrecognized Applications lists unrecognized applications found on each Client VENDORS Lists the Vendors supplying third party software Fields with names that begin with FK are foreign keys to the OBJECTID field in the specified table For example FKNODES fields are linked to the OBJECTID field in the NODES table 51 Chapter 5 Working with Clients Clients are computers to which the Vector AM Client has been deployed They automatically begin collecting hardware and software data from their hosts as soon as the deployment has finished When the first inventory is complete the Client creates its own subdirectory in the Offline Area specified in the Client settings and copies the data to the subdirectory Vector AM uses the subdirectories created in the Offline Area to identify the PCs it can manage and to add them to the Site to which the Offline Area is assigned For more information on specifying the Offline Area used by Clients see Controlling Client Behavior on page 30 Vector AM provides two methods of detecting Clients in the Offline Area and adding them to the Site database The Offline Scanner regularly checks the Offline Area for new Client directories and saves their information to the Site database The Find Clients Operation makes a single check for new Clients and adds them to the Si
152. dates field allows you to specify the names of any updates that are to be installed prior to any normal revision numbered updates Required Update names are alphanu meric for example Mandatory201001 Use a comma to separate multiple required update names 7 This dialog also enables automatic updating to the latest version Client which simplifies update roll outs The version displayed is that of the running Console for example 6 0 It is not possible to update to a Client version that is newer than the Console When this setting is used it takes priority over any entries in the Required Updates and Revisions fields 8 Run the Client Configuration Operation to update the selected Clients When this feature is enabled the Vector AM Client checks the Versions Server at regular intervals If it finds any required updates or higher numbered updates that have not been excluded the list of files needed for each update is obtained from the Definitions Server and the update packages are copied from the Downloads Server If selected the latest version Client is installed before the Required Updates Lastly any numbered revisions are applied sequentially Logs for each self update cycle are written to the installed Client s Logs subdirectory To disable Automatic Self Updating 1 Right click on Configure Client in the Client Deployment and Maintenance folder and select Customize The Customize Client Configuration tab dialog opens
153. disable the collection of software metering data by Clients 63 64 CHAPTER 5 Working with Clients Customize Client Configuration es Pre processing and post processing Miscellaneous General Offline Area Inventory analysis User prompting Directory snapshot Software metering Automatic Self Updates Software metering collects data on the applications used on each Client Use this tab to control the frequency with which Clients collect the data and the frequency with which they save it Modify setting Iv Enable data capture IV M Scan interval Seconds m Snapshot interval 60 Minutes E Metering push interval 24 Hours To configure software metering settings 1 Select the Software metering tab 2 Select the Modify Setting check boxes of the settings you want to change 3 To prevent the collection of software metering data by Clients clear the Enable data capture check box Note that although the following settings have no effect on software metering when data capture is disabled they are used to trigger other Client actions 4 By default the Vector AM Client application records the names of the applications that are currently open on the Client PC every 10 seconds To change the frequency with which these snapshots are taken enter a new value in the Scan interval field 5 By default the Client application saves metering data to file every 60 minutes To change the frequenc
154. dows Installer e Configure a Package Definition using the Package Definition Editor see Configuring Package Definitions on page 152 Package Definitions are profiles that define how a software package must be installed and include the kit location SETUP command syntax and other relevant information Vector AM is supplied with standard Package Definitions for many common third party applica tions Usually it is necessary to create or modify a Package Definition only when installing internally developed applications or when you have special installation requirements e Distribute the Package Definitions to the Offline Area see Using the Software Distribution Wizard on page 161 The Wizard helps you specify how a Package is to be distributed e The Software Distribution Agent part of the Vector AM Client reads the Package Definition and installs the Package see The Software Distribution Agent on page 165 After performing a software distribution you can monitor the progress of installations on individual PCs using the Software Distribution Jobs Viewer see page 165 or by checking the error and progress logs Preparing Installation Kits To minimize disruption most installers enable you to configure installation kits to install their software without user intervention This section describes how to create these silent installation kits using the following tools e InstallShield e Microsoft Setu
155. e Inventory 97 Adding and Modifying Package Details 118 Client Settings 32 62 Clients 118 Customizing Operations 98 118 Directory Snapshot 177 Macintosh Settings 187 Operations 97 Options 99 Packages Database 118 Process 97 Publishing Data 118 Reports 119 Site Settings 99 Status Values 118 Version Recognition Methods 118 Software Inventory Change Summary Report 119 Software Inventory Status Values 118 Software Metering 125 Choosing Schedulers 126 Configuring 126 Deleting Data 127 Excluding Applications 127 Log Files 127 Software Metering Settings 33 63 Software Prompt for Package Report 119 Software Recognition Rules 118 Software Total Users by Day Report 126 SQL Command Files 173 Defining Dynamic Groups 59 SQL Server Databases 14 User Accounts 11 SQLWizard 59 Standalone Clients 175 Subdirectory Rules 114 Submit Job Dialog 73 SUMMARIZER LOG 127 Summary Information for Package Definitions 153 Suspending Jobs 76 SWDISTDB Table 50 153 SWDISTMONITOR LOG 168 SWDJOBPKGS Table 50 SWDSTATUS Table 50 SWJOBS Table 50 SWMDETAIL Table 50 SwPkgsPrompt RPT 119 Syntax in the Database Viewer 139 System Variables 87 T Tables 46 Tokenized Job Logs 74 Tokens Command Launch 169 Date and Time 75 215 in HTML files 139 in Package Definitions 156 Length restricted 75 Topology Diagrams 94 Transform Files 152 U Unidentified Software 100 101 104 Unmanaged Packages Compliance Report 1
156. e Properties dialog for the new database then select the Permissions tab 5 Inthe Permissions tab ensure all the Create permissions such as Create Table and Create View are selected then apply these settings To create an Vector AM user account for a SQL Server database 1 Inthe SQL Server Enterprise Manager select the Security folder 2 Add a New Login account 3 Select SQL Server authentication option and select the Vector Asset Management database as the default database 4 Inthe dialog s Database Access tab select the Permit option for the Vector AM database 5 Confirm the password details and apply the settings Oracle Databases The procedure for installing Oracle and creating a new database is complex and beyond the scope of this manual If you want to use Oracle to host an Vector AM Site database refer to your Oracle 12 CHAPTER 2 Creating Sites documentation or your Database Administrator for more information on creating databases and tablespaces When you have set up Oracle you must set up a local net service that enables Vector AM to communicate with its Site database This section describes how to create a local net service for Oracle 9i using TCP IP For more information on using other versions of Oracle and other communi cations protocols refer to your Oracle documen tation To install the Oracle 9i Client 1 Insert the Oracle Client CD on the PC from which you want to run the Vector
157. e column in pixels 7 Click the button adjacent to the Font field to choose a typeface and size for the column s text 8 Click the button adjacent to the Background color field to change the color of the column 9 Select the Blank if value is zero option if you do not want to display zeros in the column Repeat steps 1 through 9 for each column you want to change When you have finished click the Next button to continue The Preview Dialog The Preview dialog displays the Clients view that will result from the query you specified in the Enter Database Query dialog together with the columns the view will contain and any formatting you specified To change the layout or the query used to select the Clients click the Back button To use this view as the standard layout for all new groups created in this Site select Make this the Standard Column Set To create the group click the Finish button 59 Importing and Exporting Groups You can copy custom groups to other Sites using the import and export options in the Console The group definitions are saved as text files with an extension of GBF Group Backup Files They contain the filter expressions that define dynamic groups and list the members of fixed groups To export group definitions to a file 1 Right click the Custom Groups folder and choose Export Groups from the shortcut menu The Save As dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Save As dialog select the location
158. e database The accounts of users who access Sites using this method must have public and db owner privileges for the database Enter the configuration options for your database then click the Next button to continue The Offline Area and Client Kit Dialog Offline Areas are shared directories located ona network Vector AM uses them to transfer data from managed PCs to the Console and to transfer instructions and installation information from the Console to the Clients s r Offline Area and Client Kit How do you want to configure the Offline Area The Offline Area is a share used to transfer data between Consoles and Schedulers and Client PCs Select an Offline Area option and specify a Client Account Offline Area Options Create local share for Offline Area C Use existing share for Offline Area Location ID Vector Data Ciient Data Browse Share Name LUPUSH Vv iv Client Account Use the Offline Area account Use the following account The account must have user privileges and must be available locally on each Client or on the domain of all the Clients in the Site Usemame db Domain Password Verify password Cancel Help Use the Offline Area and Client Kit dialog to specify the name location and access details of the Offline Area where you want Client PCs to push their inventory data The data in the Offline Area is retrieved by Vector AM Consoles
159. e for Windows Installer SETUP EXE must be followed by the command options suggested by the Custom Instal lation Wizard For more information on the parameters that can be used with installers see Appendix B Installation Commands 7 Select the installation options you want to use Privilege required Privileged installs are common amongst applications that support Windows NT 2000 XP Vista 2003 and 2008 Users without administrator privileges can perform privileged installations using the Software Distribution Service Package Definitions for Windows Installer must select the Privilege required Reboot allowed and Reboot required options Login required Specifies whether the user must be logged on before installation starts CHAPTER 15 Software Distribution Use UNC Path Causes the Client to make a UNC Universal Naming Convention network connection when it runs SETUP or a software distribution command Use this for installers that remember where they were installed from You must select the UNC Path option when you install Windows Installer packages User input required Enables the user to interact with the installation process Visible Determines whether the Client user can view the installation If an installation requires responses from the user ensure this check box is selected Applications that use the Microsoft Setup install method may ignore the Visible check box Use the Q1 option in the Install
160. e identification of the application adds them to the Applications Library and then runs a software inventory This automatically promotes the application to the Confirmed Identifications tab for all selected Clients For all other Clients the application is promoted when the Update Software Inventory operation is next run Version Identification In addition to identifying the software installed on Clients Vector AM can distinguish between specific versions of the software If you want to identify which versions of an application are installed on Clients use the Version Identification dialog to specify the files and properties that can be used to isolate the different versions To select files for version identification 1 For each file you want to use to identify this version of the application a Double click its entry in the Available files list to add it to the Required files list b By default Vector AM checks only for the presence of this file If you want it to check for specific properties of the file such as its size timestamp or version information select the file in the Required files list and click Specify properties The File Rule dialog is displayed For more information on specifying properties see File Rules on page 113 2 If you want to specify the application version identified by these files select Use these files to identify only version enter the version number and click the Finish button
161. e source Crystal Report file for example cpu rpt CSD MANY Enables the Client Selection Dialog CSD to return multiple Clients OUT DATAEXPORT Specifies that ReportViewer is to export the report results to a file JOB JOBNAME Provides ReportViewer with the scheduled Job name FMT lt format gt Defines the output file format See the table below for supported formats The default format is a Crystal Report with data FILENAME lt exported_report_file_name gt This optional parameter provides a file name for the exported report If this is not specified the report will be written to a file named on the following basis lt SITE gt _ lt report_file_name gt _YYYY_MM_DD lt ex t gt for example VAM_CPU_2009_01_30 PDF Export File Formats Format Description Crystal Crystal Report with data default MSWord Exports to a Microsoft Word document DOC PDF Writes an Adobe Portable Document Format file PDF RptDef Exports a Crystal Report definition file RPT TAB Writes a text file with TAB delimited items Unless the command line specifies an alternative location exported reports are written into the Generated Reports subfolder of the Vector AM Console install directory Use double quotes to enclose any tokens or parameter values that might contain spaces Database Views The Database Viewer provides on screen listings of the data held in Site databases It also en
162. e tree Each group within the folder contains one or more categories of devices and the Details view lists selected information for each device the group contains To display the information held for a device double click its entry in a group list The Devices Properties dialog is displayed It lists all the information held in the Site database for the selected device It also enables you to update or change property values held for a device without updating the information held on the device itself To update a device property 1 To display the properties of a device double click its entry in a device group view 2 Inthe Device Properties dialog select the property you want to update and click Edit The Property dialog is displayed 3 In the Property dialog a Enter a Value for the property b If you want to prevent the Network Device Discovery job from overwriting the value when it next runs select the Locked property check box c Click OK to save your changes For example to specify the type for an unknown device edit the DeviceType property enter a type in the Value field and select the Locked Property option to specify that you do not want the property to be overwritten when the Network Device Discovery job next runs Properties marked Read Only cannot be changed 93 4 Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog Device Groups Device groups enable you to organize the devices found on your netwo
163. eating Groups in Package Policy Manager You can create Client groups from the contents of the Analyzer s list views and then use them to investigate policy exceptions or as the basis for new package policies For example if your network includes several Clients where an unmanaged package is installed you can use this option to create a group from the Clients and then apply a policy to that group To create a group 1 In the Compliance tree select the report from which you want to create a group 2 Inthe Compliance List select the Clients you want to add to the group 3 Choose Make Fixed Group in the Edit menu The Create a New Fixed Group dialog is displayed 4 Inthe Create a New Fixed Group dialog type a Name for the group and a Comment if required then click the OK button The group is now available in the Console and the Package Policy tree Package Policy Log File Package Policy Manager includes a logging facility that enables you to view the details of a policy analysis and search for potential problems such as conflicting package policies or database problems By default no logging file is created To create a log file 1 Choose Options in the Tools menu The Global Options dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Reporting Log Type list select the type of log file you want to create Silent creates no log information Debug lists the Clients being processed Verbose lists the Clients and the names of pac
164. eb Client is similar to the normal Client but is deployed over the Internet or corporate intranet instead of the local area network It is suitable for PCs that are not acces sible on the LAN but connect to an Internet or intranet server The Portal is used to configure the Web Client kit for deployment This is normally performed manually by those PC users following instructions e mailed to them Once deployed Web Clients return their inventory information through the same web server This information includes the same hardware and software inventory and software metering data as the normal Vector AM Client To configure the Portal for Web Client deployment 1 Configure an Offline Area for Web Client deployment 2 Add that Offline Area to the Portal 3 Activate the Web Client These steps are described more fully in the following sections The Web Client can be deployed to users running Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Installation requires administrator privileges and the Java runtime must be installed on the Client PC The Web Client normally installs directly from the web server but the complete kit can also be downloaded for later offline installation Configuring the Offline Area When you create an Offline Area as part of a new Site or by adding an Offline Area to an existing Site Vector AM includes a pre configured Client kit in its Kit subdirectory by default This contains the Vector AM Client and the setting
165. eck box enter the location and name of the prompt file in the User prompt reference path and file field and click the Reload button To update the current user prompts click the Edit button The standard Vector AM installation contains a Get User Data operation which is pre configured to collect information from Client users with a default prompt file For more information on using this operation and creating and configuring prompt files see Chapter 8 User Prompting on page 85 Active Directory integration Active Directory is a service included with Microsoft Windows 2003 Server and 2008 Server It provides the ability to centrally manage and store information on network resources and can act as the central authority for network security It also enables users to centrally manage and control the applications installed on networked computers If you have implemented Active Directory and want to collect information on the organizational units to which your Clients belong select the Capture AD data option To automatically create dynamic groups that correspond to the organizational units identified by Vector AM select the Enable AD OU group creation option For more information on groups see Groups on page 55 Exporting Hardware Inventory Data You can create customized reports containing the highest level hardware inventory data Generating tokenized reports from hardware inventory opera tions enables you to
166. ected to your network or where space or security are ata premium However it is not possible to issue commands to these Clients or to use Software Distribution or Software Metering To deploy the Client application 1 Inthe Interactive Client Deployment tree select a group that contains the computer you want to deploy the Client to 2 Right click the computer choose Deploy and choose the Deployment Profile you want to use The Confirm Deployment dialog is displayed 3 Check the details of the Profile you selected then click Deploy to start the installation The Deployment in Progress dialog confirms whether the deployment has started success fully To check the progress of the Client deployment on a computer right click its entry in the Installation in Progress and Installation Failures folders Deployment Profiles Deployment Profiles control the deployments of the Client application to target PCs in both Inter active and Automatic Client Deployment Each Profile includes the location of the kit to be used to install the Client and specifies the type of instal lation the account to be used for the installation and logging and prompting options When you create an Offline Area as part of a new Site or add an Offline Area to an existing Site Vector AM automatically creates a Deployment Profile for each Client Kit in the new Offline Area You can use these Profiles unchanged to perform Client deployments modify them
167. efinition you can choose to hide the application from reports This enables you to prevent reports from displaying applications that you do not want to manage For more information see Adding and Editing Appli cation Definitions on page 112 To omit applications from the inventory right click an entry in the list and choose Exclude Location e To print the Clients view use the File menu Print command e To edit the unrecognized software options or to view and edit your current exclusion settings use the File menu Settings command The Applications View The Applications View lists confirmed identifica tions by application The view also displays the number of installations detected for each applica tion and if you entered the number of licenses purchased it also shows whether the number of installations detected exceeds your current license limit To display the Applications View deselect the Details button To sort the list click a column heading Use the Applications View to perform the following tasks e To display the Clients on which an application was detected right click the application and choose List Locations The Clients are listed in the Software Locations dialog e To display the rules used to identify an appli cation right click the application and choose Goto Application Definition e To display the number of each different version of an application installed right click an appli cati
168. ehavior The Vector AM Client kit includes a configuration file called LUCLIENT INI which determines the way in which each Client works This file is copied to each Client as part of the deployment process and its settings control such behaviors as the Offline Area used to transfer data to the Console the frequency with which data is transferred to the Offline Area and the inventory and metering data to be collected by the Client When you create an Offline Area a configuration file containing default setting options is automati cally added to each Client kit in the Offline Area You can change the default behavior of the Client you create from an Offline Area by editing the settings of its Client kits You can change the behavior of installed Clients using the Configure Clients operation in the Client Deployment amp Maintenance folder To edit the Client Kit settings 1 Inthe Credentials and Kit Location tab of the Deployment Profile click the Configure Kit button Alternatively right click the Offline Area in the Offline Area Manager and choose Configure Client Kit from the menu 2 Select the tabs that contain the settings you want to change For example to change the frequency with which Clients transfer inventory data to the Offline Area select the Offline Area tab 3 Select the OK button to update the Client Kit settings The details of the settings are described in the following sections Offline Area
169. eploy the Vector AM Client is to use the methods built in to the Console namely interactive or automatic deployment However when you are setting up a production environment Vector recommends that you use Active Directory For information on e Deploying Clients Interactively see below e Deploying Clients Automatically see page 26 e Deploying Clients using Active Directory see page 34 e Deploying Clients to Windows Home Editions 95 98 and Me systems see page 35 The built in methods for deploying the Vector AM Client rely on cross network access to Adminis trative Shares also known as Hidden Shares on the target PCs This type of Share is only imple mented on workstation and server editions of Windows such as Windows NT 2000 XP Vista and Windows 7 Professional and higher editions and 2003 and 2008 Server A different procedure is required for Home Editions such as XP Home Vista Home and Windows 7 Home and also older versions such as Windows 98 which do not have Administrative Shares Deploying the Client interactively Interactive Client Deployment enables you to select the systems you want to deploy the Client application to It lists the nodes currently available on your network and the IP address and operating system of each computer so you can pick the computers you want to manage It also lists the status of ongoing deployments provides an interface to Client deployment histories and displays all c
170. erate a Job Log To view the log right click the log entry in the Jobs folder The Client Log attached to the main Job Log lists all the Clients and Resources that the Job attempted to process and the Job status for each Client Event Log Status changes detected during a hardware inventory operation are held as Events Scheduled inventory operations retain the Events in the Event Log which is accessed from the Job Log Use the Event viewer to organize Hardware Inventory Events by type and by PC For Hardware Inventory the Event types are as follows Event Description SysInfo System information SysFile System Files dates and sizes DOS DOS settings Memory Memory information Screen Basic display information Serial Serial ports Printer Printer ports Mouse Mouse NetCard Network card Floppy Diskette Disk Hard disk 80 CHAPTER 7 Hardware Inventory Event Description Drives Drives including logical drives Environment System or user environment variables ExtROM Extension ROMs DevDrv Device drivers IRQ IRQs SysProg System programs QDeck QuarterDeck products NetDrv NetDrv Network drivers NetProto Network protocols includes stacks MemMap Memory map ISR Interrupt service routines CPU Processor information USERINFO User information strings Drvshare Share names Prnshare Printer shares Multimedia Multimedia dev
171. erations on Clients and to view analyze and print Client data Consoles are also used to submit Jobs to Sched ulers Schedulers Vector AM Schedulers automate the performance of tasks on Client PCs Schedulers can run as a background application or as a Service Sites Sites enable you to organize your Client PCs into logical and business groupings For example you can create Sites that correspond to your business units your networks your domains or any other organizational unit within your business Each Site contains the data collected from the Clients assigned to its Offline Areas and information on the operations it is used to perform Sites can use any ODBC compliant database such as Microsoft Access Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle to store and manage Client data Site databases are typically installed on a file server All database access is performed through Consoles and Schedulers Multiple Consoles and Sched ulers can access a Site database provided the database location is shared Consoles and Sched ulers can also access more than one Site Benefits of the Architecture The Active Host Architecture has several benefits Consistent Support for Networked and Non Networked PCs Operations are performed through an intermediate server which automati cally collects inventory data and transfers instruc tions to PCs when they become available on your network This means that PCs do not have to be permanently connected
172. es e Customizing the default list of program folder shortcuts e Providing alternative locations for the Adminis trative Installation Point if you have multiple kit sources e Running additional command lines such as when you want to install or remove other packages e Including application profile settings for users created separately using a Profile Wizard Having specified these Wizard settings you are prompted to save them The name of the saved Transform is presented along with an example silent install command line such as setup exe TRANSFO RM S G OFFIC E2K Custom Outlook Setup File MST wait qn Make a note of this suggested SETUP command as it is used later in the Package s Definition using the Package Definition Editor You can modify the Transform you have created by re opening it in the Custom Installation Wizard Configuring Package Definitions Package Definitions are profiles that specify how and where software packages can be installed They include the kit location SETUP command syntax and other installation information Vector AM is supplied with a large number of Package Definitions that can be used without modification to install most common third party applications However you can use the Package Definition Editor to customize these Definitions to suit the needs of your network or to create Defini tions that enable you to control the installation of new and custom software app
173. es you to install software packages without the need to reboot PCs during the course of an installation It is included with Windows XP but it can also be installed on older operating systems This section describes how to install Windows Installer 2 0 across your network using the Distribute Software operation To provide a consistent and up to date method of installation across your network we recommend you install the kit on all Clients before installing any software packages with Windows Installer You can obtain Windows Installer 2 0 upgrade kits for Windows NT4 and 2000 INSTMSIW EXE and Windows 95 98 and Me INSTMSIA EXE from Microsoft at www microsoft com downloads Windows NT 3 5 1 Windows 3 and Windows for Workgroups are not supported by Windows Installer 2 0 To distribute Windows Installer version 2 0 1 Save the Windows Installer kits in a location that can be accessed across your network 2 Inthe Console click the Distribute Software operation In the Select Clients dialog select the Clients or group to which you want to distribute the kit then click the OK button 3 In the Select Package dialog select Windows Installer 2 0 MSI in the package list and click the Next button to continue 4 Inthe Select Install Type dialog select Typical to install the kit on Windows 95 98 and Me or select Admin to install MSI on Windows NT and 2000 Click the Next button to continue 5 In the Client Filter dialog
174. ess bf SERVER mi Close Help oa Select the Enable Automatic Deployment check box Select one or more deployment profiles to specify the installation kit and settings you want Vector AM to use to perform the deployment Specify one or more filters to identify the computers that each profile applies to Specify any computers that you want to exclude from automatic deployment If the account and password combination specified as the Vector Administrator Account is not valid for all nodes on your network you must exclude the nodes on which the account will not work When the administrator account has different passwords in different parts of your network repeated network connection failures can cause the account to be locked out 6 Define a deployment schedule that controls when and how often Vector AM searches your network for eligible computers 7 Click the Close button to activate automatic deployment Each time it runs Automatic Client Deployment generates a list of nodes that are eligible to install the Client application by scanning the domains organizational units and IP addresses specified in the Inclusion Filters and removing any nodes where an up to date version of the Client appli cation is installed where a Client installation is in progress or which are specified in the Exclusions tab Vector AM then deploys the Client kit to the remaining nodes The followi
175. est Site before updating your installation using this procedure Upgrading from a previous version of Vector Asset Management This section describes how to upgrade a Vector Asset Management installation from a previous version 1 Install the new Console To upgrade to the new Console insert the Vector Asset Management CD and follow the instructions for installing the Console During installation of the Console you can keep the existing key or enter your new key You can change the License Key at any time by clicking Apply a Key in the Vector Asset Management Tools program folder Note that the Remote Control and HelpDesk modules require separate keys 2 Upgrade your Sites This section describes how to update your existing Vector AM databases To update a Site database 1 When you first open a Site after you have installed a new version of the Console Vector AM asks if you want to update the Site Click the Yes button to continue Upgraded Sites cannot be used with previous versions of the Vector AM Console 2 Inthe Vector AM Database Upgrade dialog choose the features you want to update Select Operations To update the operations to the latest Vector AM standard Groups To update the dynamic groups used to select and identify Clients for operations Distribution Package Definitions To add new software package definitions for use in software distributions Software Inventory Rules To add new appli catio
176. esults Views The Database Viewer displays the changes affecting the selected PC The Stored Change History View lists all changes on the selected PC and the Stored Software Changes View lists software changes only From the Reports folder in the Console Crystal Reports is used to run the corresponding reports Software History Summary and History Summary These fixed format reports can be run against selected PCs To remove old changes from the Changes Table by default anything older than 60 days click the Delete Change History Data operation 120 CHAPTER 10 Software Inventory Chapter 11 Software Asset Management Software Asset Management is a powerful set of integrated features that enable you to plan and control the rollout of software to your users and to monitor software usage throughout your organi zation You can use it to help manage software requirements across the network to control your organization s spending by monitoring license usage and to identify the use of prohibited or illegal software Package Policy Manager Package Policy Manager is designed to help you plan and control the applications installed on your network and to regulate where the applications can be installed By identifying groups of PCs and the applications that can must and must not be installed on them the Package Policy Manager gives you the ability to analyze the key applica tions needed by the various people and depart ments
177. f the Client Note that this setting has no effect on 64 bit operating systems Clear the Windows analyzer check box to disable the collection of hardware inventory data from the Client s operating system Select the check box to reinstate the analyzer 61 Clear the OS Registry Identifications check box to disable the collection of Windows Program List Add Remove Programs information from the operating system registry Select the check box to reinstate the collection of registry data This information is used in both Fast and Full software inventory operations Clear the Microsoft Serial Numbers check box to disable the collection of the serial numbers supplied during software installations on Clients Select the check box to reinstate the collection of serial numbers The DMI BIOS checker collects hardware inventory data such as the PC vendor and model from the Client s BIOS using the Desktop Management Interface Clear this check box to disable the collection of data through the DMI 62 CHAPTER 5 Working with Clients Directory Snapshot Settings Directory snapshot data is used in Full variant software inventory operations Client data is transferred to the Site database as a compressed snapshot for each available drive on the PC When this feature is enabled by default the Client collects software inventory data for all drives on the host PC However because directory snapshots of large drives can re
178. fice sf Spreadsheet Complete 10 01 2002 7 00 00PM 4 MS Excel 2f Design Maintenance Active 10 01 2002 7 00 00PM 1 SRV Star Olfice a 13 Pending Active Hi Active with erors v Complete X Complete with errors cient Job Date Started __ Last Event Event Date iy oc 20 01 2002 10 15 00 AM 20 01 2002 10 15 00 AM CLUST_11 Word Processor 20 01 2002 10 1500AM_ Pre Process Failure 20 01 2002 10 15 00 AM KE CLUST12 Word Processor 20 01 2002 10 1500AM User Logon Delay 20 01 2002 10 15 00 AM X clust_2 20 01 2002 10 15 00 AM Reboot 20 01 2002 10 15 00 AM X ciust_3 20 01 2002 10 15 00 AM Load Control Delay 20 01 2002 10 15 00 AM cust_4 20 01 2002 10 15 00 AM Job Complete 20 01 2002 10 15 00 AM 4 i wi ok Oral Pending Cancelled Unknown Using the Distribution Jobs Viewer The Distribution Jobs window contains two panes Use the top pane to choose how you want to organize the display of distribution feedback use the bottom pane to display the details of installa tions on each Client e To display the data for individual Jobs click the Distribution Jobs tab This view contains the status of each Job the Scheduler responsible for monitoring each installation and the software package being installed 165 166 CHAPTER 15 Software Distribution To display the feedback for each software package distributed by software distribution Jobs click the Package Items tab To display information on the current stat
179. for the USB Blocking Appli cation are DisableUSBPorts reg EnableUSBPorts reg Use DisableUSBPorts reg to prevent the use of USB drives and EnableUSBPorts to remove the blocking These REG files are in Registry Editor Unicode format A privileged command is required to add one of these files to the Client s Registry For example regedit s C Program Files Vector Asset Management Client DisableUSBPorts reg This can be executed by the Vector AM Client if it is added to the Pre Process command Once the Client has been installed Customize the Configure Clients operation in the Client Deployment folder Customize Client Configuration Software metering Automatic Self Updates General Offline Area Inventory analysis User prompting Directory snapshot Pre processing and post processing Miscellaneous The Vector Client can execute a command before and after it runs Use this tab to specify the tasks you want Clients to perform Modify setting v Enable preprocessing v Pre process command tegedit s C Program Files Show command rr Enable post processing M r Post process command Show command I Canea too Hoe 191 192 CHAPTER 19 Extending the Product Remember to select the Modify setting check boxes see Pre and Post Processing on page 65 for more details These REG files are now included in the Client kit and will be installed
180. from the information that Vector AM used to make a provisional identification right click an entry and choose Rapid Rule Creation from the shortcut menu e To omit applications from the inventory right click an entry in the list and choose Exclude Location e To view the directory in which an application was detected right click the application in the Clients view and choose Browse Location from the shortcut menu By default the Provisional Identifications tab does not list applications that have been uninstalled since each Client s previous software inventory To display these applications right click the list and choose Show Removed Applications The Applications View The Applications View lists the applications identi fied using version information Use this View to perform the following tasks To list the Clients on which an application has been detected right click the application in the list and choose List Locations from the shortcut menu The Clients are displayed in the Software Locations dialog To define identification rules for this application using the Software Identification Wizard right click a Client in the Software Locations dialog and choose Create Identification Rules 103 CHAPTER 10 Software Inventory OS Registry Identifications Most applications save information about them selves in the operating system For example the Uninstall or change a program or Add Remove Programs
181. from Editor s Value Browse dialog You can use it to collect three types of variable e Local environment variables Network variables such as DOMAINNAME MACHINENAME and USERNAME e Specified values from INI files Environment Variables To collect an environment variable select the Environment variable option then select the variable from the list Note that the list shows environment variables for the Console PC the variables on Client PCs may differ To collect a variable not displayed in the environment variable list select a variable from the list click the OK button to choose the correct format string then edit the variable name in the Default field of the General tab 88 CHAPTER 8 User Prompting Network Variables To collect a Network variable select the Network variable option then select the variable from the network variable list INI File Variables The Value Browse dialog enables you to specify INI File variables for collection by the Get User Data operation For example you can use this procedure to collect INI file variables such as OfflinelDs To collect an INI File variable 1 Open the prompt file in the User Prompt Editor 2 Click the Add button to open the Add Database Key dialog Enter a name for the key and click the OK button to create a new database key 3 Inthe General tab enter a User prompt and click the Browse button to open the Value Browse dialog 4 Select the IN
182. fter the installation repeat steps 1 through 3 in the Post process area Specifying the LULOGON Pre Process Command for Windows Installer MSI Packages LULOGON EXE enables the installation of Packages kit that requires multiple reboots such as Internet Explorer 5 and early versions of Windows Installer before version 2 It does this 157 158 CHAPTER 15 Software Distribution by running as a Pre Process command ina Software Distribution Job facilitating reboots during the installation process The first phase of an installation is completed by a reboot LULOGON has configured an automatic privileged login for when the reboot happens and it has inserted itself to run again on the reboot LULOGON also disables the keyboard and mouse after the reboot removing the dangers of having an open PC with a privileged logon When the PC is rebooted it automatically logs on with the specified user account and the installation is completed The user is unable to use the PC during this phase of the install For the next reboot LULOGON disables the automatic logon It re enables the keyboard and mouse waits for the installation to complete then triggers the second final reboot To avoid problems caused by a premature reboot LULOGON waits for a specific application window to close and then waits for a further specified period When this phase is completed LULOGON triggers a reboot and returns control of the PC to the user
183. guage option and deselect the Use standard column set option in the Group Properties dialog It enables you to choose the fields displayed in the Client view for this group and the order in which the fields are displayed To add a field to the Client view click the Click to add new field option then click OU Name and choose the field you want to display from the shortcut menu e Tochange the sort order of the Client view click Not Sorted and choose an option To change the order in which a field is displayed in the Client view click the entry number and choose Move Up or Move Down To remove a field from the list click the entry number and choose Delete current field e When you have selected the fields for the Client view of this group Click the Next button to continue The Enter Database Query Dialog The Enter Database Query dialog is displayed when you select the Dynamic custom group option in the Group Properties dialog It enables you to specify the selection criteria that Vector AM can use to identify Clients that belong to the group If you selected the natural language option in the Group Properties dialog the Natural language query tab is displayed Use it to enter selection criteria using simple english like statements To create a natural language query 1 By default the Group Wizard creates a SQL statement that selects data which matches all the conditions specified in the query If you want to
184. hat are actually in use When running on Client PCs Software Metering enables you to monitor where an application is being used who is using it and the length of time it is used for You can then use Vector AM s pre defined reports to identify and predict software usage requirements across your organization and to control your licensing costs by spotting applica tions that are rarely or never opened 125 126 CHAPTER 11 Software Asset Management Vector AM collects and analyzes software metering data in a three process Software Metering Agents Metering Agents run on each Client and collect raw data on what software is being used and how long it is used for Agents poll the Client at the frequency specified in the Scan Interval setting of the Client configuration every 10 seconds by default and take a snapshot of all applications that are currently open They also condense the data and copy it to the Client s Offline Area at the frequency specified by the Metering Push Interval setting For more information see Software Metering Settings on page 63 Collation Collation is run offline by a Scheduler The Collation Job collects software metering data from each Client s Offline Area and saves it to the Site database where it can be viewed using the Software Activity Details report It can also remove old metering data from the Site database and the Clients Offline Areas By default the Collation Job is run by
185. he application File Rules Full software inventory operations compare the files found on Clients with the definitions specified in the Applications Library If a software installation matches the file names file properties and directo ries specified in an application definition the soft ware inventory operation reports the application as present Fast software inventory scans do not have access to any file information and assume that all file conditions are True Make sure that you include a Registry rule to make the definition suitable for Fast scans Use the File Rules dialog to specify a file that iden tifies this application and optionally the properties that the file must have To add a file rule to the application definition 1 Right click the Rule pane of the Applications Library and choose Add File Rule from the shortcut menu The File Rule dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Name field type the name of the file that can be used to identify the application For example to create a rule that identifies Microsoft Word using its executable file type WINWORD EXE File names can vary across different versions of an application For example manufacturers may add an suffix to a file name to differentiate between language versions of a file To check for different versions of aname with one rule use the question mark and asterisk characters as wildcards 3 By default Vector AM uses the names of insta
186. he Offline Path Share and Client Kit dialog select the Copy Client Kit check box and Copy One shot Kit check box then click the OK button 4 Click the OK button to close the Site Offline Areas dialog 4 Upgrade installed Clients We recommend that you upgrade the Vector Asset Management software on all Client PCs in order to take advantage of the improvements in the new version This section describes the various methods you can use to upgrade your Clients from the Vector Asset Management Console If you want to upgrade your Clients using Active Directory see Deploying the Client using Active Directory on page 34 To update Clients using Interactive Client Deployment 1 Inthe Client Deployment amp Maintenance folder click Deploy Clients Interactively 2 Inthe Interactive Client Deployment window select the Domain or Organizational Unit that contains the Clients you want to work with 3 Inthe Node list select the computers you want to upgrade right click and choose Deploy Vector AM Client 1 If no profiles are listed choose Add new deployment profile For information on creating profiles see Deployment Profiles on page 23 4 Inthe Confirm Deployment dialog click the Deploy button To update Clients using Automatic Client Deployment 1 Inthe Client Deployment amp Maintenance folder click Configure Automatic Client Deployment The Automatic Client Deployment dialog is displayed Select the
187. he Oracle Client Service of the Site database For more information on setting up an Oracle Client Service see Oracle Databases on page 11 d To change the details of the account with which you want Portal users to access the Site enter the User Name and Password of the account Re enter the password in the Confirm Password field For SQL Server databases the account must have public and db owner privileges e Click the Apply button to save your changes and close the dialog f Click the Next button to continue 5 In the confirmation dialog check the details of the Sites you selected and click the Finish button to add them to the Portal Choosing a Default Site If you have made multiple Sites available through the Portal users can select the data displayed in the reports by choosing the Site that holds the data for the Clients they want to work with Use the Make Default option to specify which Site is selected as the source of report data when users first open the Portal To select a default Site 1 Inthe Site Manager the current default Site is marked with an asterisk Select the new default Site in the list and click the Make Default button The asterisk shows the new default Site 2 Click the Close button to close the Site Manager When users re open the Portal it displays the Site they last used Removing Sites from the Portal Use the Remove Site option to prevent users from accessing informati
188. he other PCs 4 When Setup has finished copy the response file to the directory from which you started SETUP EXE Some applications such as the Vector AM Client provide an example Response file which can be edited and used for installations You can now configure a Package Definition to specify how the application must be installed For more information see Configuring Package Definitions on page 152 Preparing Kits for Microsoft Setup Packages This section describes how to prepare installation kits for Microsoft Setup applications such as Office 97 To create a Microsoft Setup Installation kit 1 Run Setup from the CD using the administrative option For example to create an administrative kit type h setup A N Follow the Setup instructions to copy the software package to a location that is acces sible to all PCs on which you want to install the software and to configure the kit Distributing Packages with Windows Installer MSI Windows Installer is a Microsoft service designed to improve the installation maintenance and removal of software packages The service called MSIEXEC is included in Windows XP 2003 Vista and 2008 It is also available in redistributable packages for Windows 95 98 Me NT4 and 2000 Each installation that attempts to use the Windows Installer first checks whether it is present on the Client If it is not installed the installation checks which operating system is
189. hen an application variant is installed For example applications that are shipped in multiple language variants often differ in size between the US English and the International English versions Similarly vendor supplied patches can include a new version of a file whose size is different to the original Using a size range can help you produce application definitions that reliably identify new versions of application versions Sometimes a new version of an application can be identified by the addition of completely new files or directories Rather than relying on a size change in one application file you may be able to check for a file that was not present in previous versions Use optional rule blocks to test for application versions Normally application identifications are confirmed when all tests within an application definition are passed successfully However rules embedded within optional rule blocks do not cause recogni tion failures This enables to create a series of optional rule blocks that identify specific versions CHAPTER 10 Software Inventory The Microsoft Word definition in the library uses this technique It first identifies the Word using a file rule to test for the main executable file and then attempts to identify the version using size and date checks in optional blocks This ensures Word is identified even when no version rule is defined for the version of the application that is installed Exporting a
190. hically for ease of use This enables you to view a graphical summary of your data to view data summaries or to drill down and view the details by individual PC and other report specific criteria To open a report click the button in the section you want to work with and select the report title To view the details of a report double click a section heading marked by the expand icon in the section list To view the details of a section in a report click the Group Tree sl button in the toolbar and select the section in the Report tree To return to a previously viewed section of the report select its entry in the breadcrumb trail shown beneath the report title Customizing Reports By default most reports available through the Portal use all data available in the selected Site Use the Customize option to limit the selected data to a specific period or to control other aspects of the data 145 To customize a report 1 Inthe Portal open the report and click the Customize button The Customize Report dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Customize Report dialog select the customization options you want to use For example to restrict the Software License Compliance by Vendor report to the data from the current calendar year select Year to Date in the period list and click the OK button Mailing Reports If all the users in your organization do not have access to the Portal or if you need to discuss specific a
191. hoose Delete Directory from the shortcut menu To rename a directory right click the directory and choose Rename Directory from the shortcut menu 171 To create an Application Definition that will enable software inventory operations to identify the files in a directory as belonging to an application right click the application s installation directory and choose Create Identification Rules The Software Identification Manager is displayed For more information on identifying software installed on Clients see The Applications Library on page 105 To display any updated directories right click in the File View and choose Refresh Working with Files Files are displayed on the right of a Browser window Right click the file to display the shortcut menu and choose Open to run the selected file Edit to edit a text file or a log file The file contents are displayed in a text editor such as NOTEPAD Print to print the selected file Delete File to delete the selected file Rename File to rename the currently selected file Create Identification Rules To create an Appli cation Definition that will enable software inventory operations to identify application files Refresh to display any updated files Waking Clients Wake on LAN is a firmware technique developed by Intel Corporation that enables PCs to be powered on remotely by sending special Wake up packets to their network cards In addition to LA
192. ication Concurrent user licensing provides shared access to an application Use this option when you want to monitor the number of licenses used over a period of time For more information on Software Metering see Chapter 11 Software Asset Management on page 121 8 Click the Next button to create identification rules for the application The Sample Location dialog is displayed Sample Location The Software Identification Wizard uses an installed instance of the application as the basis for the recognition rules it creates This enables it to display file and directory information from a real installation when you are choosing the items that best identify the application Fast software inventory scans do not have access to any file information and assume that all file conditions are True Make sure that you include a Registry rule to make the definition suitable for Fast scans r i Software Identification Wizard Sample Location x Specify the location of a sample copy of the software The sample is used to select the files and file properties on which the identification rules for this application are based F7 Use local copy Directory F XAMPP xampp apache bin lt Back E NEES Cancel Help To specify location details for the application 1 To create application identification rules using the installation on your Console select Use local copy Altern
193. ice names SMS Current SMS logon server SMSID NOIDMIF path To print the Event list or the Job Log list choose Print in the File menu To export selected Events to a file choose the Log to File option in the Event Viewer s shortcut menu Customizing Hardware Inventory Operations You can customize hardware inventory operations using the Customize Hardware Inventory dialog To display this dialog right click an Update Hardware Inventory operation in the Console then choose Customize and use the tabs to specify the options you want to use General Names and describes the operation You can also specify a default Scheduler for the operation when it is submitted as a Job Reporting Generates a report from the results of the operation This report can be in a standard format or in a user specified format Hardware This tab features the most significant Hardware Inventory settings The options in this tab are described in the next section Hardware Options Use the Hardware tab to control how hardware inventory operations work Display hardware inventory results Displays the hardware inventory results on screen when you run the operation interactively The data for each Client is displayed in a separate dialog Selecting this check box has no effect when the operation is submitted as a Job Use the Event Viewer to display any events generated by the operation Save results to the database in binary format
194. ify any addresses you want to exclude from the scan To specify the IP ranges you want to scan for devices 1 Select the Scan Range tab 92 CHAPTER 9 Network Devices 2 To adda search range to the list click the upper Add button and enter an IP range in the Add Values dialog You can enter the range in the form 90 0 10 128 90 0 20 255 or you can use a wildcard For example 192 168 31 0 192 168 31 255 is the same as 192 168 31 3 If you do not want to scan all the IP addresses in the ranges you specified click the lower Add button and enter the exclusion ranges in the Add Values dialog Community Strings Many network devices can be configured to require a password before they will reply to requests for information In SNMP these passwords are known as community strings or community names Use the Community Strings tab to specify the community strings required by the intelligent devices you want to manage so that the Network Device Discovery job can access their property data To specify the community strings that provide access to device information 1 Select the Community Strings tab 2 To add a community string to the list click Add type the string in the Add Values dialog and click OK To update an existing string select its entry in the list click Modify type the new value in the Edit Value dialog and click OK To delete a community string select its entry in the list and click Remo
195. ify the Schedule settings Selecting a Package and Install Type The first stage of the Software Distribution Wizard is to select the package you want to distribute To choose the package you want to distribute 1 Select the Package you want to install in the dialog list The Package description is displayed If the package you want to distribute is not displayed in the Select Package dialog click Cancel to exit the Wizard and use the Package Definition Editor to create or import the definition For more information see Configuring Package Definitions on page 152 2 Click the Next button to advance to the next stage of the Software Distribution Wizard 3 If the Package Definition you have selected for Distribution contains multiple Install Types the Select Install Type dialog is displayed Select the Install Type you want to use then click Next The Client Filter dialog is displayed CHAPTER 15 Software Distribution Filtering Clients Use the Client Filter dialog to identify which Clients the software package must not be distributed to The two types of filter you can apply are based on the Platform supported by the Package Instal lation and a free disk space check The Platform filter gives you control of PCs that have a multi boot configuration Any Clients that do not match the specified Platform are ignored when the Agent processes the Job To filter clients 1 By default the Client Filter selects a
196. ign your own name to an audit PC by creating a user prompt with a database key of NODENAME The Load Audit Data operation uses this response as the PC s node name Software Inventory Directory Snapshot By default the software inventory audit process collects data from the Windows Program List in the registry and also scans all directories on all fixed drives of each PC It writes a compressed directory snapshot file for each drive To disable the directory snapshot part of the inventory change the Disabled parameter in the Directory Snapshot section in LUCLIENT INI For example Directory Snapshot Disabled Yes 177 To restrict the snapshot to specific drives edit the Drives entry in LUC LIENT INI For example Directory Snapshot Drives C D E F The audit process skips any removable drives such as CD ROMs and any drives that are not present The directory snapshot is compressed and encrypted by default You can disable snapshot compression by changing the Directory Snapshot setting To disable compression on Windows 3 x PCs set the Win16CompressThreshold to 32000 to disable compression on Windows 95 or later set Win32CompressThreshold to 32000 For example Directory Snapshot Win16C ompressthreshold 32000 Win32C ompressthreshold 32000 The default setting of 1 forces the compression of data for drives that have more than one file The threshold settings are separated because PCs running 16 bit operating
197. in which you want to save the group definitions then enter a name for the file 3 Click the Save button to export the groups To import group definitions into a Site 1 Right click the Custom Groups folder and choose Import Groups from the shortcut menu The Open dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Open dialog select the GBF Group Backup File you want to import 3 Click the Open button to import the groups If the name of an imported group matches the name of an existing group at the target Site Vector AM adds _ 1 to the name of the imported group Other Group Actions The Groups shortcut menu enables you to create and modify the custom groups in the selected Site To display the menu right click an entry in the Console s Custom Groups folder It contains the following options CHAPTER 5 Working with Clients Modify Group To view or change the group name and definition Delete Group To delete the selected group Add Clients To add Clients to the selected group This option is available only for fixed groups Copy Group To create a new Client group based on the selected group Modify Display Format To change the layout of the Clients view for the selected group Refresh To refresh the Clients listed for the selected group Export List To save the Clients view to a text file Viewing Client Revisions The Vector AM Clients current versions and revision levels are collected by the Software Inventory Operat
198. in the asset type The General Purchase and Warranty tabs contain standard information that can be applied to any asset the User Extensions tab enables you to add your own customized data fields 5 Click the OK button to close the dialog and add the new asset type to the database Customizing Asset Data Although the Assets database contains many standard data items that can be used to collect information that is most commonly required for software and hardware asset management you can also customize the asset database to include information that is specific to your organization such as service intervals and license costs This section describes how to create fields to define your own data requirements using the New Column wizard To create a new record field for an asset type 1 Choose Add Column in the Edit menu The New Column dialog is displayed 2 Inthe USR_ field enter a name for the infor mation you want to collect The name is used as a title for the data in the Assets Database window 3 Click Next to display the Data types tab 4 Select the data type you want to use to store the asset data If you select a data type of Text you must specify a character type and the maximum number of characters that can be entered in the field 5 If you want to automatically populate the new data field with a default value enter the value in the Default value field 6 Click the Next button to display the Summary tab 7
199. ing a new Site Locating and Sharing Access Databases If you want to manage your Site using multiple Consoles and Schedulers all Consoles and Schedulers must be able to reference the Site database For Microsoft Access the Consoles and Schedulers must be able to access the database through drive letters that are permanently mapped to the database share Vector Networks recom mends you create the Site database on a share located on a Windows 2000 XP Professional 2003 or Vista system You must share the Site database directory by default Access databases are created in Vector Asset Management Data Databases with Public Full permissions and specify the Path in the Site Creation Wizard s database Configuration dialog when you create a new Site Consoles and Schedulers require read write create and delete access to the share holding the database If you want to protect the database from guest access setup the share so that it allows access from a specific account and specify the username and password in the UNC Universal Naming Convention path to the database The path 11 to the database is encrypted before it is saved You can include a domain name in the UNC path by prefixing it with the symbol SQL Server Databases To create a new SQL Server database for Vector AM 1 Start the SQL Server Enterprise Manager 2 Select your server from the list 3 Add a new database to the list and name it 4 Display th
200. interval if you need to reduce traffic on slow or congested networks 3 If you want to change the number of Jobs the Scheduler can manage simultaneously change the Maximum active jobs value To allow the Scheduler to run an unlimited number of Jobs enter a value of 0 4 Click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog The changes are applied when the Scheduler next wakes up Monitoring Jobs After submitting a Job you can monitor its progress using the Scheduled Jobs View in the Console s Jobs amp Schedulers folder It displays the name of each Job its status and its next sched uled start time It also contains information on the Console from which the Job was submitted the Scheduler selected to manage the Job the number of retries allowed and any postponements made by the user To manage a Job right click its entry in the Scheduled Jobs View and choose an option from the shortcut menu For information on monitoring software deployments see Monitoring Distribution Jobs on page 165 76 CHAPTER 6 Working with Operations Hold and Release Choose the Job Hold option to place the selected Job in Holding status and post pone execution of a Pending Job indefinitely Choose the Release option to release a Job back to Pending status so that it can be executed when it becomes due The system holds Jobs that generate execution errors This enables you to review log information and to investigate and
201. ion and can be displayed in a Custom Group To enable Client revision level display 1 Open the Clients Custom Groups folder and right click the Client Installed Version group 2 Select Modify Display Columns from the popup menu 3 Click on Click to add new field A new field will be added at the end of the list 4 Click on the new item s name and select Software Inventory Results VAM Client Current Revision from the menu 5 Click on the new item s entry number and use Move up to position the column 6 Click Next to edit the column heading and properties Run a Software Inventory Operation to update the revision values For more information on enabling the Automatic Self Updating feature see Client Self Updating on page 37 and Automatic Self Updating Settings on page 65 Configuring Clients The behavior of Clients is controlled by parameter settings specified by the Site Creation Wizard when it creates the Client Kit If you want to change these settings after you have installed the Client application you can use the Console s Configure Clients operation For example you can use the operation to change the frequency with which Clients push their data to the Offline Area and the frequency with which software metering data is collected Before you can use the Configure Clients operation you must customize it to specify which settings you want to change To specify the Client settings you want t
202. ion from the available property fields list The token for the property is added to the Specify the property fields that contain version information field For example if the version number of the product is specified in the first two product version fields select Product version fields 1 and 2 in the list and click the Select button The tokens that enable Vector AM to extract the version information are displayed in the Specify the property fields that contain version infor mation field For information on the tokens that extract version information from a file refer to the online help 3 When you have selected all the properties that contain the version information click the Finish button to create the application definition The Wizard creates rules for the identification of the application adds them to the Applications Library and then runs a software inventory This automatically promotes the application to the Confirmed Identifications tab for all selected Clients For all other Clients the application is promoted when the Update Software Inventory operation is next run 111 CHAPTER 10 Software Inventory Testing the Application Definition Test the application definition by running the Update Software Inventory Interactively Full Scan operation against a Client PC where the application is installed This enables you to check the application definition is working correctly before updating the Site database Addi
203. ions Library click the Edit Applications Library operation in the Console Automatic Application Recognition Rule Generation When Vector AM is performing a software inven tory operation it automatically generates applica tion recognition rules from the Clients Windows Program List information This information is avail able during Fast and Full scans Application 106 CHAPTER 10 Software Inventory names are compared with those already in the Application Library If the name does not match a new application rule is created using the applica tion s name and version number Version details are limited to the major and minor numbers to avoid the creation of unnecessarily precise rules Rules created in this way have Package automat ically created by Software Scan in their Appli cation Properties Many software vendors include a version number in their application s name which can mean a rule generated automatically from the Windows Program List needs some manual adjustments such as the replacement of part of the version number with a wildcard so that multiple minor versions are recognized Similarly software licenses are normally restricted to a range of version numbers Restricting the version number range for a rule facilitates more precise software asset management See Chapter 11 Software Asset Management on page 121 for more information License limits and usage can be determined from the App
204. isabled by default because it collects most of the hardware inventory information used in Vector AM Reports However 32 CHAPTER 3 Deploying the Vector AM Client it can if necessary be disabled on individual Clients to facilitate the investigation of software problems Registry Identifications This setting controls the collection of the application information from the Windows Program List in the Client s registry This is typically updated when an application or patch is installed on the Client PC This information is used in Fast variant software inventory operations to identify the software installed on Client PCs Inventory results are displayed by the Software Identification Manager See Chapter 10 Software Inventory on page 97 for more details Microsoft Serial Numbers This setting controls the collection of the serial numbers supplied during installation of Microsoft software The numbers are used in the Microsoft Serial Number reports to identify the source of installed Microsoft software User Prompting User Prompting enables Console users to collect data from Client users and from system files on Client PCs Select the Enable User Prompting tab to display the default prompts to users when the Client application is first deployed to their computers Click the Edit User Prompts button to customize the questions that are displayed when the Client is deployed For information on creating and editing the prompt
205. isplayed Use it to enter selection using Structured Query Language statements To specify the selection query 1 Type a SELECT statement that identifies the Clients you want to include in the group 2 When you have specified all the selection conditions for the group select the Preview tab to list the Clients that will be returned by your query 3 Click Finish to close the Wizard and create the view 137 Modifying Viewer Details The Database Viewer uses SQL Structured Query Language to retrieve specific items of data The main area of the Viewer displays the results of the specified query To change the query used to create the View click the Details button The Details section enables you to set the following options DSN Name The Data Source Name which identifies to the database you want to work with User ID The user name required to access the specified DSN User Password The password required to access the DSN SQL Code Contains a SQL Structured Query Language expression that selects the data displayed in the View and controls the order in which it is displayed To change the data displayed in the View type a new SQL expression in this field or click the SQLWizard button to build an expression using the SQLWizard For more infor mation see Importing and Exporting Groups on page 59 Updating the Displayed Results The Execute SQL button updates the main area of the Database Viewer with resu
206. it into the Kit directory of the Offline Area and customizes its settings If you chose to deploy the Client appli cation as part of the Wizard it also displays the Deployment and Inventory Progress dialog so you can check on the progress of the Client deployments you specified When the new Site is complete it is displayed in the Vector AM Console To display the Clients right click All Clients in the Clients folder and choose Refresh from the shortcut menu Creating Site Databases If you are evaluating Vector Asset Management or have a small installation of up to 50 Clients Vector Networks recommends you use a Microsoft Access or SQL Server Express database located on the same PC as the Console software You can create the database using the Site Creation Wizard s default options or if you want more control over the installation using the custom options Microsoft SQL Server Express can be installed from the Vector AM CD Microsoft Access drivers are installed as part of the Site creation process when you choose the Access option If you have more than 50 Client PCs at your Site or if your Site database is likely to exceed the 1GB limit on Access databases we recommend you use Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle as Vector AM includes native support for these applications However you can use other types of database through ODBC If you want to use a non Access database you must create a new empty database before creat
207. izable Options for Software Inventory 99 Customize Command Launch Dialog 172 Customize Hardware Inventory Dialog 80 85 89 Customize Software Inventory Dialog 99 Customized Data 130 D Database Configuration Dialog 11 16 Database Properties Dialog 11 Database Viewer 119 Database Views 135 Command Line Tokens 140 Command Syntax 139 Modifying 137 Printing 138 Saving as HTML 138 Scheduling Report Generation 140 Selecting Records 138 Databases Accessing Restricted 16 Adding Customized Data 130 Assets 129 Compacting Access Databases 45 Creating 7 Creating and Copying 15 Creating Reports 133 Deleting Clients 68 Jobs 75 Keys 87 Limits on MS Access 45 Linking 15 Locating 11 Operations 172 Options 13 Packages 97 118 Paths 11 Publishing Software Inventory 97 Schema 47 Selecting in Package Policy Manager 125 Settings 43 Tables 46 Types 14 User Accounts 11 Date Tokens 75 DBUtil 172 DBViewer 119 Debug Mode 178 Default Site Setup 7 Delete Change History Data Operation 173 Deleting Fixed Groups 59 Hardware Inventory Data 81 Jobs 76 Operations 71 Package Definitions 161 Sites 43 User Prompts 87 Deploying Clients Automatically 26 Interactively 21 to Windows 9x Systems 35 with Active Directory 34 Devices Groups 93 Properties 93 Topology Diagrams 94 Directory Snapshot 100 Directory Snapshot Settings 32 62 DisableUSBPorts reg 191 DISTMON EXE 167 Distribution Deleting Feedback 167 Jobs Viewer 165 Kits
208. ize the Load Audit Data Operation 1 Inthe Console right click the Load Audit Data operation and choose Customize from the shortcut menu The Customize Load Audit Data dialog is displayed 2 Select the Audit Loader tab 3 In the Audit device path field enter the device and path of the root location of the audit data To load the data from a diskette enter the location of the drive for example A To load the data from a share located on your network enter the Offline Directory Path used at the Client during the audit data capture process 4 Inthe Offline path list select the location of the Offline Area in which you want to store the audit data The audit data is loaded from the Audit Device Path and saved in subdirectories within this area It can then be collected using a standard inventory operation 5 In the Offline Prefix field enter a prefix for data collected using this operation By default the OfflineID of Clients begins with LU If you want to identify the Audit Client data in the Console or group it using a SQL expression enter a new prefix of up to four characters 6 Click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog To load the audit data into the Offline Area click the Load Audit Data operation The audited PCs are automatically added to the All Clients groups and the Audit Clients group in the Custom Groups folder To collect the audit data from the Offline Area and save it to the Site d
209. k the Next button 7 Inthe Settings dialog enter a Job name and enter the details of any files you want to use to log the deployment Click the Finish button 205 For more information see Chapter 15 Software Distribution on page 149 Upgrading the Software Application Library When an older version Vector AM Console is upgraded to v6 0 any existing Application Library rules are exported to the Packages folder with one file per Application Once this has been done the rules are deleted and replaced with a new Library This reflects a change in library architecture from versions prior to v6 0 Any locally defined rules can be re imported using their files in the Packages directory See Exporting and Importing the Application Library on page 118 for more information Upgrading from PC Duo Enterprise 4 x This section describes how to upgrade to Vector Asset Management from a PC Duo Enterprise 4 installation Compared with PC Duo Enterprise Vector AM databases include several new tables to support features such as Network Devices and the Group View Wizard The Console includes several reports that enable users to work with the new information Note however that discontinuation of support for online Clients means that some opera tions have been changed or removed The update procedure is essentially identical to the procedure described in Upgrading from a previous version of Vector Asset Management
210. kages being processed It also identifies any policy conflicts such as when a software package is identified as both prohibited and mandatory for the same Client All lists the Verbose information plus the managed status of each package 3 By default the log file is named PPM_Log TXT and saved in the Vector Asset Management Data Logs directory If you want to create a different log file type a name for the new file in the Log File field 4 Click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog The information is appended to the specified log file the next time you run the Run Analysis command Selecting Databases By default Package Policy Manager works with and saves its results to the current Site database However if your organization maintains multiple site databases you can choose the database you want to work with To select a Site Database 1 Inthe Package Policy Manager choose Tools in the Options menu The Global Options dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Database field type the DSN of the database you want to work with 3 Click the OK button to close the dialog and load the policy information for the new database To exit the Package Policy Manager When you have finished your analysis choose Exit in the File menu Software Metering While Package Policy Manager monitors and regulates the software that is installed on your network Software Metering gathers and analyzes data on the applications t
211. kit on all PCs in the organizational unit Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog 13 Close the Group Policy window and the Properties dialog The Client kit is installed when each computer is next rebooted Deploying the Client to Windows Home Editions 95 98 and Me You can automate the deployment of the Vector AM Client to Windows Home Editions such as XP Home Vista Home and Windows 7 Home as well as Windows 95 98 and Me systems by adding the LoginScript BAT file to the existing Login Script of your network PCs This batch file checks the Client application is not already installed on the PC running the script If the Client software is not installed the batch file maps a network drive to the location of the Client kit and calls ROLLOUT EXE ROLLOUT EXE checks there is sufficient free disk space to install the Client application on the PC s C drive and if the target PC passes the tests calls SETUP EXE to install the Vector AM Client in silent mode Finally LoginScript BAT disconnects the mapped drive To deploy the Vector AM Client using script files 1 If you want to customize the Client kit before using it to deploy Clients open the Offline Area Manager select the Offline Area that contains the kit you want to use and edit the kit settings For more information see Viewing and Managing Offline Areas on page 40 36 CHAPTER 3 Deploying the Vector AM Client You can also edit the Client
212. le computer To search a different set of IP addresses select another entry in the Scan IP range list To search for devices later deselect Perform Network Device discovery For more information on device discovery see Chapter 9 Network Devices 4 Click the Finish button to create your Site If you are creating a new Site the wizard copies the default Vector AM Client Kit into the Kit subdi rectory of the Offline Area and customizes it with the information supplied in the Wizard The Site database is then added to Console tree 19 20 CHAPTER 2 Creating Sites Chapter 3 Deploying the Vector AM Client The Vector AM Console communicates with network computers through a small Client This Client is responsible for collecting data on the software and hardware installed on the host computer and requesting information from the computers users In its standard installed mode the Client is also responsible for collecting infor mation on the frequency with which software is used controlling and checking software installa tions and performing commands from Consoles and Schedulers After you have created a Site you must deploy the Client to each computer you want to manage This chapter describes how to customize the Client settings for use in your installation and the methods you can use to deploy the Vector AM Client across your network While you are evaluating Vector Asset Management the simplest way to d
213. les you to specify different settings for different populations of Clients and when necessary to supply different account details to provide access to different domains For example you can set up different profiles when you want different Clients to use different Offline Areas To specify the account details and kit location for a profile 1 Specify the account that can be used to install the Client application Select e Use Vector Administrator Account to use the default account for your installation This is the account specified when the Console application was installed To view or change the account details click Vector Administrator Account in the Console s Enterprise Management folder e Use custom credentials to specify an alter native account with which the Client appli cation can be installed on target computers and enter the User name and Password of the account The account must have Admin istrator privileges and if the account belongs to a domain you must also enter the Domain name 2 By default Vector AM uses the Offline Area account to access the Client installation kit To use the specified account to access the Client kit select Use Deployment Credentials to access Client Kit location To view or change the Offline Area account click Offline Area Account in the Console s Enterprise Management folder 3 Enter the location of the kit you want to use to install the Client application Select
214. lete distribution feedback from the database select one or more entries in the Jobs list right click your selections and choose Purge Job Data in the shortcut menu Configuring the Distribution Monitor By default Vector AM automatically monitors all software distributions and stores the installation feedback from each Client indefinitely If you do not want to monitor the distribution of software packages or you want to delete the feedback data use the Software Distribution Monitoring Settings dialog to change the Monitor s settings To open the dialog click Monitor Software Distri bution in the Software Distribution folder s Define the settings for software distribution feedback monitoring m Software Distribution Monitoring Settings Enable software distribution monitoring Purge feedback from clients after how many day 0 Purge database of completed jobs after how many days 0 Purge database of all jobs after how many days 0 Logging options No logging Log errors Log errors and additional information Cancel Disabling the Distribution Monitor To disable monitoring of new Distribute Software Jobs deselect the Enable software distribution monitoring check box To re enable distribution monitoring select the check box Each distribution Job checks whether feedback monitoring is enabled only when it starts If you start a distribution Job while monitori
215. lication Properties dialog Right click the application name in the Application Library tab and choose Application Properties from the shortcut menu Using the Applications Library The Application Library tab displays the definitions currently held in the Site database It lists the name of the application the application type and the vendor The Version field displays the version of the application identified by the definition or an asterisk if the definition can identify multiple versions 1 Vector Asset Managemers Como Sa File View e ee es sex Edit Application Library m Applications Library Application Version Type Vendor Platform Adobe Acrobat 8 1 0 Standard 810 DTP Adobe Systems Incorporated Windows Adobe Acrobat 9 Standard 900 DTP Adobe Systems Incorporated Windows Adobe Acrobat 9 Standard English 9 1 0 UNKNOWN Adobe Systems Incorporated Windows Adobe Acrobat 9 2 0 CPSID_50026 UNKNOWN Adobe Systems Incorporated Windows Adobe Acrobat and Reader 6 0 3 Upd 6 0 3 UNKNOWN Adobe Systems Incorporated Windows Adobe Acrobat and Reader6 0 4 Upd 604 UNKNOWN Adobe Systems Incorporated Windows Adobe Acrobat and Reader 6 0 5 Upd 6 0 5 UNKNOWN Adobe Systems Incorporated Windows Adobe Acrobat and Reader 6 0 6 Upd 6 0 6 UNKNOWN Adobe Systems Incorporated Windows Adobe Acrobat Distiller 6 0 006 00 UTILITY Adobe Systems Incorporated Windows Adobe AIR 1507 UTILITY Adobe System
216. lication definition it is normally listed as unrecognized software For example if the name of a file matches a file rule but the file size does not match the size check Vector AM will not recognize the parent application However rules embedded in optional blocks do not cause a recognition failure when a check fails This enables you to create application definitions that include tests for several different versions of an application By embedding each version test within an optional rule block you can ensure the applica tion is recognized even when several tests fail To add an Optional Rule Block to an Application Definition 1 Right click the Rule pane in the Applications Library and choose Add Optional Block from the shortcut menu 2 Enter a name for the rule in the Option field 3 Click the OK button to create the optional rule block and close the dialog To add rules to the new block right click its entry in the Rule pane and choose an option from the shortcut menu Version Rules Vector AM can identify specific versions of applica tions by the files installed and by the properties of those files such as their size or timestamp Use 115 version rules in conjunction with file rules to specify the properties with which Vector AM can identify application versions To specify the version number for an application 1 Inthe Rule pane right click the File Rule that uniquely identifies this version of the appli
217. lications Package Definitions are stored centrally in the Global Site When you add or edit Package Defini tions using the editor the modifications are made to the SWDISTDB table in the Global Site database To start the editor from the Console click the Edit Distribution Definitions operation Using the Package Definition Editor The Package Definition Editor lists all available Package Definitions in alphabetical order in the tree To view the settings for a Package Definition expand the definition then click a category The settings are displayed on the right of the window Each Package Definition contains the following categories Summary Stores basic information such as the package name check paths and any notes about the Package Definition Install Types Specify the operating systems on which the software package can be installed and what installation options are to be used Many packages support different types of installation for different operating systems different levels of use or for installing optional components Different install types usually have different commands and command options You can create a different install type for each of these options as part of a single Package Definition Pre Post Processing Specifies any commands that you want the system to execute before and after the main installation command runs 153 To create a package definition 1 Inthe Package Definition Editor right
218. lick Global Site The Global Site dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Global site list select the database you want to use as the Global Site 3 Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog When you create a new Global Site it contains only the standard definitions supplied with Vector AM To copy changed definitions to a new Global Site use the export and import options in the Package Definition Editor For more information see Configuring Package Definitions on page 152 Changing Logon Settings for the Site Databases Consoles and Schedulers require a logon account to access Site databases that are held in Oracle or SQL Server A logon account is also required for password protected Access databases You can specify the details of the logon account when you create a Site database with the Site Creation Wizard s custom Site options You can also specify and change the logon account settings for a Site database from a Console To specify or change Database logon settings 1 Click Logon Information in the Enterprise Management folder The Site Settings dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Site list select the Site for which you want to change the logon account details and enter the details of the new account in the Username Password and Verify password fields 3 Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog The new settings take effect the next time you start the Console Deleting Sites When you delete a Si
219. lients that are not currently available 9 Click the OK button to submit the Job and close the dialog The Job is added to the database and displayed in the Scheduled Jobs folder The Scheduler runs the Job at the specified date and time When the Job has finished it is deleted if it was defined as Once only or returned to the Scheduler s queue in Pending status if it is sched uled to be repeated Each time the Job runs it is unpacked and re initialized so that any modifications made to it since the previous run are implemented Using Tokens in Log File Names When you specify the Logging information for a Job you can include tokens in the Log file name This enables you to identify the source of the log file and when the Job was run By default the file name of a log file is set to OPERTYPE_ HOST_ DDMMYY LOG For example if you submit an Update Hardware Inventory operation to Scheduler S1 for 20 September 2011 a log file called HWINV_S1_200911 LOG is created You can create a log file name using any combina tion of the following tokens e RETRY The Job retry number A value of 1 is used for the first retry If the name of the log file does not contain the RETRY token the system adds the retry number to the end of the name For example HWINV LOG becomes HWINV_1 LOG for the first retry MAXRETRY The maximum number of retries For example you can use this token with RETRY to create file names
220. ll software inventory operations can report unidentified executable files Files that include version information are listed in the Provisional Identifications tab of the Software Identification Manager any remaining files are listed in the Unidentified Software tab Use this option to specify that you want to include any non identified files in software inventories and to specify the file extensions you want to include For example enter EXE OCX DLL to identify all files with these extensions as executable files For more information see The Software Identifi cation Wizard on page 107 Attempt automatic identification of unrecog nized applications Some manufacturers encode the name and version number of an application in their application files Select this option if you want Vector AM to identify installed applications using this information The applica tions are listed in the Provisional Identifications tab of the Software Identification Manager For more information see Provisional Identifica tions on page 102 If this option is not selected all executable files not identified by application definitions are displayed in the Software Identification Manager s Unidentified Software tab 3 Click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog Optimizing Software Inventory Operations The speed of a software inventory operation is affected by the Scheduler or Console running the oper
221. ll the platforms where the associated Package Definition allows you to distribute the software Deselect any platforms that you do not want to distribute the software package to 2 If you want to change the Free space check specified in the Package Definition select the Drive you want this install to check and enter a new value in the Space field Enter 0 in the Space field if you do not want the system to perform a space check 3 Click Next to open the Settings dialog Changes to Client Filter settings in the Wizard affect only the current operation They do not affect the Package Definition itself Specifying the Kit Settings Use the Settings dialog to specify the location of the Installation kit from which you want to install the software package and to control how and when the package is distributed To specify the Kit settings 1 Inthe Kit location field enter the location of the kit you want to use to install the software package or click the Browse button to select the directory This location is usually a UNC Path and must include any necessary user name and password information 2 Inthe Expiry date field enter the last date on which the system should attempt to distribute this software The date must be in dd mmm yyyy format such as 14 Feb 2012 If the system has not completed the distribution by this date the operation is cancelled by the system 3 If you want to allow users to postpone the installation of
222. lled files to identify applications However you can extend file rules to check for specific file properties such as its size or timestamp This enables you to create version checks as you can use these properties to distinguish between different versions of the same file To add a property check to a file rule choose a property check box and enter the values you want to test for To check the size of a file select Enable file size check select a test option in the drop down list and enter the file size in the entry fields We recommend you specify a range rather than an exact value because file sizes can vary across different systems To check the timestamp of a file select Enable time stamp check select a test option in the drop down list and enter the timestamp range the file must have You can enter the time in 12 or 24 hour format For example to enter a timestamp of 10 p m type either 22 00 or 10pm e To check the datestamp of a file select Enable date stamp check select a test option in the drop down list and enter the date stamp range the file must have 113 114 CHAPTER 10 Software Inventory Enter the date in the format MM DD YY or DD MMM YY For example to specify a datestamp of 25 August 2005 type 08 25 03 or 25 Aug 2005 e Some manufacturers encode software version information in the timestamp or product version properties of files To check the version information of a file for a specific
223. logging IV Enable realtime mode Installation Prompts Prompt before instaling Refusal imt Taher Display error messages only Suppress all messages Redeployment Settings These settings are only applied when the profile is executed by Discovery Automatically redeploy Never C Every 20 days IV Automatically upgrade client to latest version OK Cancel Help 3 By default Client installations are performed when users next log on or reboot their PCs To force Vector AM to perform the installation immediately select Enable real time mode 4 Choose a User Prompting option Select e Prompt before installing to display a message on the target PC before the Client installation starts To allow users to postpone the installation type the maximum number of postponements they can make in the Refusal limit field To prevent users from postponing the installation enter 0 e Display error messages only to restrict the Client installer to displaying error messages 25 26 CHAPTER 3 Deploying the Vector AM Client e Suppress all messages to prevent the display of all Client installation messages 5 The Redeployment Settings enable you to automatically update existing Clients and to perform regular one shot audits of PCs where the Client application is not installed Select e Never to prevent automatic redeployment of the Client application e Every to redeploy the Client applica
224. lose a Scheduler right click its entry in the Console s Schedulers View and choose Shutdown from the shortcut menu Scheduling Operations You can submit an operation as a scheduled Job and schedule it for a specific date and time using the Submit Job dialog You can schedule the following operations Update Hardware Inventory Collects hardware asset information from Client PCs such as network shares drive sizes and video settings Update Software Inventory Lists the applica tions installed on Client PCs Get User Data Presents Client users with ques tions It can also collect environment variables and INI file settings directly from Clients Distribute Software Deploys and installs applica tions on Clients Command Launch Operations Run external applications from the Console To submit an Operation as a Job 1 Inthe Console right click the operation you want to schedule and choose Submit Job from the shortcut menu 2 Inthe Select Clients dialog select the Clients or groups on which you want to perform the operation You can also select all Clients belonging to one or more Offline Areas The number of Clients and Groups selected is shown in the status bar at the bottom of the dialog Check this is correct then click the OK button Schedulers evaluate dynamic groups each time they run an operation This ensures that Client changes are reflected in the operation even if the changes occurred after the Job was s
225. lts determined by the expression specified in the SQL Code field You can also use the F5 shortcut key or Execute SQL in the Query menu to update the results 138 CHAPTER 13 Reports and Database Views Modifying Database Views To change the order of columns in the Viewer results click and hold the mouse on the column you want to move then drag the column to its new position To resize a column point to the right edge of the column so the cursor changes to a double arrow symbol then drag the column edge to the new position Records in the Database Viewer can be sorted by column To change the sort order of records click a column heading Selecting Records in the Results Each row in the Data View represents a distinct record of associated data You can select individual or multiple records to be printed using the following techniques To select an individual record Click the selector at the left of the record An arrow is displayed To select multiple adjacent records Click and drag on multiple record selectors to select the records Alternatively click the first record then hold down the Shift key and click the last record To select multiple non adjacent records Hold down the Ctrl key and click each record Printing Database Views Use the Database Viewer s Print facility to generate custom reports To print a report 1 Select the records you want to print then click the Print Report button or cho
226. ludes a minimally interactive installation progress dialog When installation is complete the user clicks Finish and the Web Client performs an initial inventory scan on the PC The results are returned to the Offline Area The new Clients will appear in the Vector AM Console s Clients Web custom group 148 CHAPTER 14 The Vector Asset Management Portal 149 Chapter 15 Software Distribution Software Distribution enables you to remotely distribute and update software packages to Clients and Servers on your organization s networks Because you can configure the Distribute Software operation to install software with no user inter vention it can be used to keep your network up to date with a minimum of disruption In addition because the operation uses the standard installers that are supplied with new third party software it can be used to install software safely with a minimum of preparation Three main components are used to distribute software packages to PCs the Package Definition Editor which stores Package Definitions the Software Distribution Wizard which is used to organize distribution operations and the Software Distribution Agent which runs on Client PCs The Software Distribution Process Vector AM uses a four stage process to distribute software to Client PCs e Prepare the installation kits This section describes how to use three common installation kits InstallShield Microsoft Setup and Win
227. m an audit from removable disk 1 Create an audit disk by copying the audit software to the root directory of a blank diskette or writable CD For PCs running Windows 95 or later copy the contents of the AuditClientKit directory from the Console s installation directory For PCs running Windows 3 copy the contents of Vector AM Audit 16 bit directory 2 Insert the disk in the PC and run AUDIT EXE If the Audit requires more than 300KB and the output device runs out of space Vector AM prompts you to restart with a fresh disk To perform an audit from the Vector AM CD 1 Insert the Vector Asset Management CD anda blank disk in the PC 2 Run AUDIT EXE from the CD s LU32 AUDIT 32 bit or 16 bit directory To perform an audit from a network share 1 Copy the contents of the Audit Client Kit to a network share that is accessible to all the PCs you want to audit 2 On the PC you want to audit run the appro priate version of AUDIT EXE from the share Loading Audit Data into Vector AM When the data capture is complete you must copy the audit data to the Offline Area of a Site using the Load Audit Data operation in the Hardware Scan folder of the Console Once there you can save the data to the Site database using hardware and software inventory operations as normal Before using the Load Audit Data operation you must customize it to specify the Offline Area to which you want to copy the audit data To custom
228. main name HOME Network Location F Network Shared Resources CPU type AMD Athlon tm II X4 640 Processor MMX at 3013 MHz Video Displays Memory size 3326 MB ga Printers Operating system Windows 7 Professional Service Pack 1 System Environment PC vendor System manufacturer T User Environment PC model System Product Name ys System Configuration PC serial number System Serial Number Network interface 23 Windows Services Multi Media o ep Bus am Processors and Memory a IRQ Resources Af Port Resources CPU type AMD Athlon tm II X4 640 Processor MMX at 3013 MHz JY 1 0 Memory CPU make AMD a ROM and BIOS Co processor type Internal 3 Miscellaneous Number of 4 2 processors Total Memory 3326 MB B Comparing Clients Other stored to compare the Client with data p f from the Site database In addition to displaying the latest inventory data for individual Clients the Hardware Inventory Clientname stored to compare the current window can compare Client inventories This Client with stored data you have previously enables you to check Client inventories against opened standard PC configurations and to search for problems caused by different PC architectures oe The Compare with list automatically includes a To compare the currently selected Client with stored entry for the currently selected Client Use another Client this option to identify any changes made to the Client since the previous inventory 1 Choose an entry in
229. menu 2 Inthe Add New Install Type dialog enter a Name for the Install Type and click the OK button 3 In the tree click the new Install Type and enter a Description 4 Inthe Platforms supported section select all the operating systems on which you want to use this Install Type When you use a Package Definition to install a package only the platforms specified are available for selection 5 To specify a default location for the package s installation kit a Click the Browse button to open the Path Builder dialog b Inthe Path field enter the location and name of the kit you want to use to install the appli cation The path must be accessible from all the Client PCs on which the software will be installed The path is interpreted by each Client when the application is installed so it must not include host specific information c Ifthe kit location is protected enter the details of an account that can be used to access the kit 155 d Click the OK button to save the kit details The kit location is displayed in the Kit path field Alternatively to specify the location of the kit path when you install the package using the Distribute Software operation leave the field blank 6 In the Install command field enter the name of the package s installation command and the parameters you want to use For example setup exe wait TRANSFO RMS O ffice Setup MST qn If you are creating an Install Typ
230. n certificate The m option must be followed by a number which indicates the number of permitted unlocks settings Filename ini Enables you to specify an INI file which contains the customized settings to be used during SETUP see the following section for more details on this option Specifying SETUP Settings file information in SETUPINI You can use the settings option to load the Windows Installers Service parameters from a SETUP INI file The SETUP INI file must be located in the same directory as the Package s SETUP EXE along with the MS files The file has the following structure msi Specifies the path to the Administrative Installation Point Corresponds to the i command option mst Specifies the Transform to be used with this installation options Enables you to set or override properties in the MSI or mst files display Used to specify the user interface level during setup Corresponds to the q command option Possible values are None Basic Reduced and Full An example INI file is shown here MSI MSI MyServe AdminPoints Offic e2K Data 1 MSl MST MST1 Custom Outlook Setup File MST Options Displa y Display Nione 201 202 APPENDIX B Installation Commands Appendix C Upgrading to Vector Asset Management Version 6 0 This chapter describes how to upgrade to Vector Asset Management 6 0 from previous versions We recommend you evaluate the new software using a t
231. n identification rules for use with software inventory operations You are prompted each time Vector AM finds a modified rule so you can choose whether you want to update your defini tions We recommend you accept the updates unless you have customized the rules for use within your organization 3 Click the Upgrade button to apply the new features to the Site database The database is updated to the new standard You can run the Database Upgrade at any time by clicking the Upgrade Database Settings operation in the Site Management folder 204 APPENDIX C Upgrading to Vector Asset Management Version 6 0 When the upgrade is complete run hardware and software inventories for all Clients in the database to update the database tables 3 Upgrade the Client Kit When you create an Offline Area Vector AM adds two Client kits a standard installed Client kit and a One shot kit that are pre configured to create Clients that save their data to that Offline Area If you intend to use this kit to update your installed Clients or create new Clients for your Site you must update the kit on your existing Offline Areas before starting any deployments To copy the new Client kit to an Offline Area 1 Right click the Offline Areas folder in the Console tree and choose Modify Offline Area from the shortcut menu 2 Inthe Offline Paths dialog select the Offline Area in which you want to place the new kit and click the Edit button 3 Int
232. n when you want to check the results before saving them Update Software Inventory Saves the results to the Site database without user intervention Use this operation when you do not need check the results or when you want Vector AM to automati cally perform the inventory at a specified time Fast and Full inventory variants Each of these software inventory operation types has Fast and Full variants The Fast variant uses the Windows Program List in the Clients registry only while the Full variant uses information from the Clients registry and also its file and directory struc ture One significant advantage of the Fast variant is that the Windows Program List in the registry often contains details of the software vendor version and install location as well as the application name This means that identification rules can be generated automatically as part of the software inventory operation CHAPTER 10 Software Inventory The Full variants process more data and so are slower to complete They are also more compre hensive for example allowing identification of applications that have not been properly installed A Full scan also includes provisional identifica tions that are based on actual file version informa tion and not on recognition rules Similarly unrecognized applications are those where none of the library rules are recognized and no version information was found Valid Full software invento
233. name starts Apple enter Apple Exclude install paths Enter the paths of any folders you want to exclude from software inventories Use a trailing asterisk to exclude subfolders and applications in the subfolder For example to exclude the contents of all folders in the Applica tions folder enter Applications To exclude multiple paths separate each path with a comma or a semi colon For example MAC OSX Applications Disk Tools Exclude Special Folders Enter the names of any Special Folders you want to exclude from software inventories Exclude Creator codes Some manufacturers include identification codes and other infor mation in the Creator Code property of their application files Use this field to specify the Creator Codes you want to exclude from software inventories Exclude Bundle Identifiers Enter the names of any third party software manufacturers you do not want to include in software inventories For example to exclude all Adobe applications from Macintosh inventories enter Adobe Creator Codes are similar to Bundle Identifiers but generally contain less information about the appli cations However Creator Codes are available on all versions of Macintosh OS while Bundle Identi fiers are available only on OS X or later 3 Click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog The changes take effect when you next run inventory operations against Macintosh Clients Identifying
234. name and location in the Output file field 4 Click the Next button to continue The Database Fields Dialog Use the Database Fields dialog to select the fields that are displayed in the view and the order in which the fields are displayed from left to right To add a field to the view click Click to add new field then click OU Name and choose the field you want to display from the shortcut menu To change the default sort order of the view click Not Sorted and choose an option To change the order in which a field is displayed in the view click the entry number and choose Move Up or Move Down To remove a field from the view click the entry number and choose Delete current field When you have finished selecting the fields for the view click the Next button to continue The Enter Database Query Dialog The Enter Database Query dialog specifies the selection criteria for the data displayed in the view If you selected the natural language option in the Database View Properties dialog the Natural language query tab is displayed It enables you to enter selection criteria using simple english like statements To specify the selection query 1 By default the Wizard creates a SQL statement that selects data which matches all the condi tions specified in the query If you want to change the type of query click All and choose a new Comparison Operator For example to create an expression that lists all Clie
235. nd Importing the Application Library When you create a new Site a standard library of application definitions is included as part of the Site creation process If you create or modify an application definition you must copy it to all your Sites to ensure that the application is recognized on all Clients within your Vector AM installation Use the export and import functions of the applica tion library to copy individual definitions or the entire library To export application definitions 1 To export a single application definition right click its entry in the Applications Library and choose Export Application from the shortcut menu Export single application definitions to the Packages sub folder This folder also contains any previously generated rules that have been replaced during a Console software upgrade Alternatively to export all application defini tions right click a definition and choose Export Library from the shortcut menu 2 Inthe Save As dialog enter a File name and location for the definition file and click the Save button 3 In the Site to which you want to copy the definition open the Site Identification Manager 4 Right click an application in the Application Library and choose Import Application from the shortcut menu The Applications Library of a new Site is populated from the LUTPACKAGE DB file in the Vector AM installation directory To ensure that customized application definitions are in
236. neGroup Profile dialog make sure the Agent Control Profile is selected Click the Save button to attach your changes to the MachineGroup and close the dialog 7 Inthe MachineGroup dialog click the Save button to create the group and attach the profiles The group is listed in the Configuration Manager The Clients in the group will switch to the new settings when they next run If a Client belongs to more than one machine group the group whose name comes first in alpha betical order determines when the Client data is saved to the Offline Area For example if a Client is a member of groups A AB and C the Client saves its data according to the agent control profile assigned to group A A machine group profile always takes precedence over the profile assigned to the default group Inventory Operations Hardware and software inventory operations handle Macintosh Clients in the same way as Windows Clients This enables you to select any mixture of Windows and Macintosh Clients when you run an inventory operation and allows you to view inventory data using the standard Vector AM interface However Macintosh systems have a different file architecture to Windows systems and store different information about installed applications CHAPTER 18 Macintosh Clients To manage this Vector AM uses separate settings to control how the inventory operations work with Macintosh Clients Use the Specify Macintosh Settings operation to ena
237. ng and Editing Application Definitions While automatic rule generation and the Software Identification Wizard generate basic recognition rules creating and editing application definitions manually gives you greater control over the attributes used to detect an application It also enables you to refine those rules and to optimize the software inventory operations for your organi zation To add an application definition to the Applications Library 1 Right click the Applications pane and choose Add Application Build Custom Definition from the shortcut menu 2 Type the name of the application in the Name field 3 Inthe Type field click the down arrow and select a category of software that best describes how the application is used Alterna tively enter a new category in the field 4 Inthe Vendor field click the down arrow and select the vendor from the list Alternatively enter the name of a new vendor in the field 5 If you want to use this definition to identify only one version of the application type the version number in the Version field If you want to use this definition to identify multiple versions of the application use an asterisk wildcard Creating definitions that include identification rules for all versions of an application minimizes the number of records required in the Application Library However we recommend that you restrict the range of an individual application definition to those major and min
238. ng is disabled monitoring cannot be re enabled for that Job Purging Feedback Data Collection of software installation feedback is performed by two processes The Client is respon sible for collecting feedback from the installation process and saving the data in the Offline Area The Distribution Monitor DISTMON EXE is responsible for collecting the data from the Offline Area and saving it to the Site database By default this feedback data is stored indefinitely However you can use the Software Distribution Monitoring Settings dialog to remove old feedback data using the purge options To automate the deletion of feedback from the Offline Area type a non zero value in the Purge feedback from clients field The system will automatically delete all data that is older than the specified number of days e To delete feedback data from all distribution Jobs in which all Client installations are successfully completed or halted due to failure type a non zero value in the Purge database of completed jobs field and click the Purge completed jobs now button The system deletes any completed Jobs that are older than the specified number of days To delete feedback data from all distribution Jobs regardless of whether the Client installa tions are complete type a non zero value in the Purge database of all jobs field and click the Purge all jobs now button The system deletes all feedback data that is older than the specified
239. ng of software metering Client data and database check box 2 Inthe Purge Client data after how many days field enter the number of days for which you want to keep the raw metering data 3 Inthe Purge collation database after how many days field enter the number of days for which you want to keep the collated metering data Software Metering Logs Software Metering includes a logging facility that enables you to view the details of the Collator and Summarizer Jobs that are used to produce the Software Metering reports The information is 127 recorded in COLLATOR LOG and SUMMA RIZER LOG in the Vector Asset Management Data Logs directory To choose a logging option 1 Click Software Metering Settings in the Software Metering folder The Software Metering Settings dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Software Metering Settings dialog select a Logging option Choose No Logging to record no logging information the default setting Log Errors to record all errors found during the Collator and Summarizer Jobs Log errors and additional information to record all errors found during the Collator and Summarizer Jobs plus extra information on the scope of the metering data collected such as each Client processed and excluded data 3 Click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog The data is appended to the log files when the Collator and Summarizer Jobs are next run Customizing Software Metering When Vec
240. ng operation and choose Create Operation in the shortcut menu 2 Inthe Add New Operation dialog select Command Launch in the Type list and click OK 3 In the Customize Command Launch dialog enter an Operation name and select the Operations view tabs in which you want to display the operation 4 Select the Command Launch tab and type DBUTIL EXE in the Program field 5 In the Command line field type DSNACCESS PRO MPT UserMessage SQLUPDATE SQL SQ LStatement where DSNACCESS is an Vector AM token that specifies the DSN connection to the Site database PROMPT UserMessage specifies the text of the user prompt that is displayed before the operation is run Omit this parameter if you want this operation to run with no user inter vention SQLUPDATE SQL SQLStatement specifies a single SQL command or the name of acommand file The file can contain multiple SQL commands and must be located in the Console s installation directory DButil supports the Vector AM tokens in addition to SQL commands For more information see Using Tokens in Command Launch Operations on page 169 6 Choose the Run once only option and click OK to create the operation You can now run the operation from the Console or submit it as a job For examples of how to create an operation using DButil see the Delete Change History Data operation in the Console Creating SQL Command Files Using a separate file allows
241. ng sections describe the process of setting up Automatic Client Deployment in more detail Selecting Deployment Profiles Deployment Profiles control the installation of the Client application on computers found on your network Each profile includes the location of the kit to be used to install the application the type of installation the account to be used to access target computers and logging and prompting options for the installation The Deployment tab enables you to specify the Profiles you want Vector AM to use for automatic deployments and to identify the computers that each profile applies to 27 To select a profile for Automatic Client deployment 1 Inthe Automatic Client Deployment dialog select the Deployment tab 2 Click the upper Add button The Deployment Profiles dialog is displayed It lists the deployment profiles that are available for use with Automatic Client Deployment 3 Select the Profile you want to use and click the Select button The profile is added to the Active Profiles list of the Automatic Client Deployment dialog and e Ifthe Profile you selected has no Inclusion Filter assigned to it a warning message is displayed Click OK enter the Client identifi cation criteria you want to use in the Inclusion Filter dialog and click OK e Ifthe Profile you selected already has one or more Inclusion Filters assigned to it the identification criteria are displayed in the filters list To ad
242. nition it will generate a new rule automatically e Delete Rule to delete the selected rule The Software Identification Wizard The Software Identification Wizard helps you create new application definitions It guides you through the process of specifying the file directory and file property that will enable Vector AM to uniquely identify an installed application Use it to create entire definitions or to create basic rules that you can refine later To open the Wizard right click the Applications pane and choose Add Appli cation Software Identification Wizard Specifying Software Properties The Software Properties dialog enables you to supply the name and type of the application and its source This information is used to categorize the application in various reports and views To specify the details of the application 1 Inthe Name field enter the name of the appli cation or click the down arrow and select the name from the list 2 Inthe Type field enter a category for the appli cation or click the down arrow and select the category from the list 3 In the Vendor field enter the name of the appli cation s manufacturer 4 If you have purchased a specific number of licenses for this application type the number of licenses in the Licenses field CHAPTER 10 Software Inventory When you enter the number of licenses Vector AM compares the number of instances of the appli cation it has detected with this n
243. nmapping of the drive that contains the Offline Area when you are running in a non Windows Networking environment To change the pre process command settings 1 Select the Pre and post processing tab 2 Select the Modify Setting check boxes of the pre process settings you want to change 3 If you want the Client application to execute a command before it runs select the Enable pre processing check box If you want to disable the pre process command deselect the Enable pre processing check box 4 lf you want to specify or change the pre process command to be executed enter the new command in the Pre processing command field 5 If you want the command to be displayed on the Client PC as it is executed select the Show command check box To assign a post process command to Clients 1 Select the Pre and Post processing tab 2 Select the Modify Setting check boxes of the post process settings you want to change 65 3 If you want the Client application to execute a command after it runs select the Enable post processing check box 4 lf you want to specify or change the post process command to be executed enter the new command in the Post processing command field 5 If you want the command to be displayed on the Client PC as it is executed select the Show command check box Automatic Self Updating Settings Self updating allows the Vector AM Client to check for updates and update itself automatically This
244. nother Net Service dialog 10 Select No and click the Next button to create the Net Service Name and close the assistant You must now run the Vector AM Site Creation Wizard using the custom site options to create an Oracle Site database To do this select Create or copy a Site using custom settings in the Wizard s Site Creation Mode dialog then select Oracle in the Database Type dialog You must also specify the Local Net Service Name you created in the Wizard s Oracle Database Configuration dialog Creating Production Sites Vector Asset Management is designed to work as a distributed scalable system However the location of the Offline Areas Consoles and Sched ulers and the deployment of your databases can make a big difference to the performance of your installation Before creating a Site to manage the PCs on your network Vector Networks recom mends taking some time to plan your environment and its future growth The following examples illus trate different configuration options for different types of organization Small to Medium Environments For environments with fewer than 500 Clients on a LAN a single PC can be used to host the Site database Offline Area Console and Scheduler Separate Consoles and Schedulers can be installed on separate PCs to allow multiple users to manage the Site and access information Medium sized and distributed Environments If you have between 500 and 3000 Clients or a large n
245. nstallation includes more than 50 Clients Oracle Choose this option to use Oracle version 8i or later to host the Site database SQL Server Remote MSDE Choose this option to use a Microsoft SQL Server Express SQL Server 7 or 2000 database or when you want to link this Console to an MSDE Site database on another computer For installations with no more than 50 Clients MSDE Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine can be substituted for SQL Server Other ODBC Choose this option to link to your database using ODBC You must supply an existing system Data Source Name DSN for the database Select the type of database you want to use and click the Next button to continue The Site Creation Options Dialog Use the Site Creation Options dialog to choose the set up options for your Site Create new database overwriting any existing files Select this option to create a new Site If you are creating multiple Consoles for the Site database only select this option when setting up the first Console 15 Link to an existing database Select this option to use this Console with an existing Site database For example if you are creating multiple Consoles for the Site database select this option when setting up the second and subsequent Consoles Copy database from the following Site Select this option to copy an existing Site database to a new location This option may require you to update distributed Schedulers so that they refe
246. nt is deployed using a Client kit that is installed as part of the Console The kit contains the executable files necessary to collect inventory and metering data and to implement commands specified at the Console It also contains settings that determine how the Client software works including the directories to be monitored for installed software the frequency with which software usage is metered the frequency with which inventory data is collected the location of the Offline Area used to transfer data to and from the Console and the frequency with which collected data is transferred to the Offline Area If you chose to create Client Kits as part of the Site Creation Wizard or when adding a new Offline Area to an existing Site Vector AM automatically creates pre configured Kits that include the location of the Offline Area and copies them to the Offline Area You can then use these kits to rollout the Client application across your network without further customization You can choose from two types of kit Vector AM Client permanently installs the Client application on the target computers In this mode the Client runs at a specified interval and automat ically collects data and implements operations Vector AM One shot Client installs the Client collects and transfers data from the target computer and de installs itself In this mode no software is left installed so it is ideal for computers that are not permanently conn
247. nts that belong to the SALES department or the MARKETING department choose Any Similarly to create an expression that lists all Clients except those which belong to the SALES and MARKETING departments choose None 2 Click lt Click here to add new condition gt The Wizard creates a default query 3 Inthe default query click the Field Selector and select the database field you want to search from the drop down list 4 Click the Condition Selector and select the test that you want to use to select data 5 Click the Condition Value at the end of the condition and enter the value you want to identify You can use the and characters as wildcards For example to select from all entries in the NODENAME field type to select all PCs with names that start with J type J 6 To add another condition repeat steps 2 through 5 To add a nested condition right click lt Click here to add new condition gt and choose Open new bracket To temporarily remove a condition from the query deselect the check box at the left of the line To delete a condition click the Condition Identifier and choose Delete Current Row 7 When you have specified all the selection conditions for the view select the Preview tab to display the data that will be returned by your query 8 Click the Finish button to close the Wizard and create the view If you selected the SQL option in the Group Properties dialog the SQL query tab is d
248. nventory operations record the date of the last successful update in the HWDATE field of each Client in the NODEPROP Table Use this field to create a dynamic group which automatically identifies Clients that require an inventory update For example the filter expression SELEC T DISTINCT NODENAME FROM HWUPDATE WHERE HWDATE lt MM DD YY 31 identifies all Clients that have not been success fully scanned for more than a month This enables you to automatically repeat scan only those Clients whose data is out of date Customizing the Inventory Data collected by Clients The Vector AM Client regularly collects hardware inventory data from Client PCs and transfers the encrypted data to the Offline Area ready to be collected whenever the Console user runs an inventory operation The frequency of data collection is controlled by the Client s Snapshot Interval setting and the transfer frequency is determined by the Push Interval The Client is designed to run with no disruption to users and minimal effect on its host computer so most of its components are enabled by default However if you need to restrict the actions of installed Clients for debugging or troubleshooting purposes or you want to control the type and amount of data collected you can modify its inventory settings using the Configure Clients operation for more information see Configuring Clients on page 60 or by editing the LUCLIENT INI file in the
249. ny time by clicking Get Web Access Details The URL displayed in the Access Details dialog is initially a local address In order to convert this into an Internet address it is necessary to create a mapping from a suitable web server to that local address This is normally performed on the web 147 server or on a router The externally accessible or Public URL is added to the Portal using the Options dialog To map the externally accessible URL 1 Click the Options icon in the Portal window The Options dialog opens 2 Enter the URL in the Public URL field 3 Click OK to save the value When the Public URL has been stored updated access details for the Web Client are available in the Web Client Offline Areas dialog Installing the Web Client Users can install the Web Client by opening the Access URL in their web browser The Web Client Setup page opens allowing them to perform an interactive installation or save the Web Client kit for later deployment to this or other PCs The web download requires Java to be installed and enabled in the browser The Web Client Setup page includes a link to the Sun web site to download the Java runtime engine Installation of Java and the Web Client requires administrator privilege on the Client PC Installation or download are started by clicking on the Next button Once the kit files have been downloaded the Vector Asset Management Client InstallShield Wizard opens This inc
250. o change 1 Inthe Console s Client Deployment and Maintenance folder right click the Configure Clients operation and choose Customize from the shortcut menu The Customize Client Configuration dialog is displayed Each tab configures a different aspect of the Clients settings 2 Select the tabs that contain the settings you want to change For example to change the frequency with which Clients transfer inventory data to the Offline Area select the Offline Area tab The details of the settings are described in the following sections Inventory Analysis Settings The Client checkers collect inventory data from Client PCs The DOS inventory checker collects low level hardware inventory details and user prompt data from Clients the Windows inventory checker collects the higher level detail that is available from Windows operating systems Use the Inventory Analysis tab to enable or disable the checkers Because they collect the hardware inventory infor mation used in the Vector AM Reports you should disable the Checkers only when you are investi gating problems with the Client application To change the analysis settings 1 Select the Inventory analysis tab 2 Select the Modify Setting check boxes of the settings you want to change The DOS CPU checker identifies the type and speed of the CPU installed in the Client when the information is not available from the DMI Clear this check box to disable this component o
251. o avoid overloading your network Automatic Client Deployment is by default limited to starting 10 Client deployments each time it runs To change the maximum number of deployments started at each interval enter a new value in the Maximum permitted deploy ments per scan interval field Due to restrictions on the number of simultaneous connections that can be made to most Windows Operating Systems Vector Networks recommends you do not specify a maximum permitted deploy ments value of more than 10 unless the Offline Area is located on a server class computer such as one running Windows 2003 or 2008 Server Alternatively to deploy the Client to all eligible computers on your network each time Automatic Client Deployment runs enter 0 7 Choose a Deployment Logging option Select None to record no deployment information Standard to record progress information on the deployment of the Client to each target node Verbose to record progress and debug infor mation for each target node The information is saved to the AUTODIS COVERY LOG file in the Vector Data Logs directory of the Console from which the deployment was configured CHAPTER 3 Deploying the Vector AM Client 8 Click Close to start automatic deployment Enterprise creates a Job that continues to deploy the Client to any computers that match the Active Profiles you specified until the Enable Automatic Deployment check box is deselected Controlling Client B
252. o display the Link Details for a Package Definition right click the Package and choose Show Vector Package Link Details Using the Software Distribution Wizard Use the Software Distribution Wizard to set up and organize the distribution of software packages across your Site Software Distribution tasks are organized from the Console When you have defined your Package Distribution Definitions and have prepared the install kits you can use the Distribute Software operation to place the Package Definition information in each Client s Offline Area Packages are installed when the Software Distri bution Agent next checks the target PC You can change the period between checks using the Snapshot Interval setting in the Client configu ration For more information see Configuring Clients on page 60 To start the Software Distribution Wizard 1 To distribute the package interactively click the Distribute Software operation To schedule the distribution right click the Distribute Software operation and choose Submit Job from the shortcut menu In the message click the OK button 161 2 Inthe Select Clients window select the group or Clients on which you want to install the software package The Software Distribution Wizard is displayed If you are submitting a Distribute Software operation to a Scheduler the Submit Job dialog is displayed immediately after the Software Distri bution Wizard This enables you to spec
253. og click the Stop button to stop WinScheduler and click the Run Service button Configuring Schedulers Each Scheduler is responsible for polling the Site database at each wake up interval If a Scheduler finds any operations assigned to it it puts the oper ations into a queue pending their run time At run time the Scheduler checks the maximum number of active Jobs that it can run simulta neously If it has a free Job slot it unpacks the operation s Client List and then runs the operation If the Scheduler is already at maximum capacity it leaves the operation in pending status until a slot becomes free You can configure the settings that control the Scheduler behavior using the WinScheduler Prop erties dialog To configure the Scheduler 1 If the Scheduler is running as a service click the Configure Scheduler operation in the Console If the Scheduler is running as a background application double click the Scheduler icon in the Windows Taskbar The WinScheduler Properties dialog is displayed 2 Click Stop to suspend the Scheduler 3 If you have more than one Site database and you want to assign the Scheduler to another Site select the new Site in the Database site list or select All sites 4 If you want the Scheduler to record its status messages enter a Log file name or click the Browse button to select a file By default the Scheduler Log File is called PCDSCHEDULER LOG and is located in the
254. og is displayed 3 Inthe Name field type a name for the new policy and click the OK button You can create an unlimited number of package policies ia 122 CHAPTER 11 Software Asset Management Adding Clients to a Package Policy You can assign Clients to a Package Policy either as individually or as part of Client groups Clients can belong to an unlimited number of Package Policies either as individuals or as members of groups To add Clients to the package policy 1 Inthe tree expand the package policy you want to update 2 Select the Clients or groups you want to update 3 Choose Add Client in the Edit menu The Add Clients dialog is displayed 4 Inthe Add Clients dialog select the entries you want to add to the policy To select more than one entry press the Control or Shift key as you click each entry 5 Click the OK button to add your selections to the policy To remove Clients from a package policy 1 Inthe tree expand the package policy you want to update 2 Select the Clients entry if you want to remove individual Clients from the policy or select groups if you want to remove Client groups 3 Inthe List View right click the entry you want to remove and choose Remove form the shortcut menu Adding Applications to a Package Policy Package Policies can be used to control the instal lation of specific applications for example you can define a package policy to specify that all Clien
255. on and choose Show Version Numbers e To display applications that have been uninstalled since the previous software inventory right click the list and choose Show Removed Applications e To exclude an application from reports right click the application and choose Hide Appli cation Hidden applications are displayed in the Hidden Applications tab which can be accessed from the View menu Provisional Identifications When a Full software inventory operation detects files on a Client PC Vector AM attempts to identify the application they belong to by first trying to match the file and its directory location with an entry in the Applications Library and then by searching the file properties for version informa tion The Provisional Identifications tab of the Soft ware Identification Manager lists the software that has been identified using this version information Like the Confirmed Identifications tab the Provi sional Identifications tab can list the software detected by Client or by application If you do not want to use provisional identification deselect the Attempt automatic identification of unrecognized applications option in your software inventory operations For more information see Customizing Software Inventory Operations on page 98 Vector Asset Management Console Eas File View SIGE sex Edt Application Library using stored client invento
256. on is not installed Not Authorized Packages lists applications that are included in policies but which are installed on Clients where they are not authorized by a policy Policies contains reports that provide a breakdown of the software compliance by package policy Each report lists the applications installed on all Clients that belong to the selected policy Prohibited Packages lists Clients where a prohibited application is installed Unmanaged Clients lists Clients that are not included in any package policy Unmanaged Packages contains reports that list applications which are installed on one or more Clients but which are not included in any policies To display the Clients on which the applications are installed click each report When a policy contains only non mandatory appli cations that are not installed on any Client the policy is not displayed Color Coding Compliance reports use the following colors to identify the compliance status of applications Red the application is prohibited but installed Black the application is unmanaged it is installed but not assigned to any policy Purple the application is mandatory but not installed Orange the wrong version of the application is installed Green the application is optional or mandatory and is installed Blue the application is unauthorized because no policy is currently specified for the installation of the application on this Client Cr
257. on on the Clients in the specified Site To remove a Site from the Portal 1 Inthe Site Manager select the Site you want to remove and click the Remove Site button 2 Inthe confirmation dialog click the Yes button The Site is deleted from the Site Manager list and is no longer selectable from the Portal 3 Click the Close button to close the Site Manager Removing a Site from the Portal has no effect on the Site or the Clients it contains Specifying an E mail Server for the Portal Each report in the Portal includes a Send option that enables users to e mail the report to other users Use the Options dialog to specify the details of the e mail server through which you want the Portal to send these mails To specify the e mail server for the Portal 1 Inthe Portal window click the Options icon The Options dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Name or IP Address field enter the e mail server for the Portal For example you can specify the address in the format servername or 192 168 100 045 3 Add in the appropriate fields any additional details such as logon credentials that are required to access the SMTP server 144 CHAPTER 14 The Vector Asset Management Portal 4 Select the SSL check box to enable the use of a Secure Sockets Layer connection to the server E mail messages will be encrypted 5 Click the OK button to close the dialog and save your changes Adding Reports to the Portal Vector Networks plans to m
258. on type you selected 6 Select the Interactive Operations Stop Processing on Error check box if you want the operation to stop when it encounters an error This setting has no effect when the operation is scheduled 7 Select the Prompt on Failed Connection Attempts check box if you want the system to check that it has access to all selected Clients before running the operation 8 Choose the default mouse click action for the operation Select Left mouse click launches operation immedi ately to run the operation interactively Left mouse click submit operation as a job to schedule the operation to run automatically 9 Select the Operations folders in which you want to display the operation 10 Select each tab and choose the settings you want to use For more information on the operation specific settings see the online help 11 Click the OK button The new operation is added to the Console To display the operation open one of the Operations folders you selected or open the All Operations folder which lists all operations available at the Site To customize an existing Operation 1 Right click the operation you want to customize then choose the Customize command from the shortcut menu 2 Inthe Customize dialog configure the options in the dialog tabs then click the OK button to save the customized operation You can now use this customized operation with the Site s Clients and groups Importing and E
259. oosing Recognition Rules 117 Confirmed Identifications 101 Extracting Version Information 116 Omitting from Software Metering 127 on Clients 101 on Macintosh Clients 189 Running from Consoles 169 Applications Library Adding Applications 118 Architecture 3 Asset Details Dialog 131 Asset Types Creating 130 Importing and Exporting 131 Assets Data 129 Importing and Exporting 132 Managing 121 Recording 130 131 Assets Database Adding Customized Entries 130 Creating New Fields 130 Entering Asset Data 131 Importing and Exporting Data 131 New Column Wizard 130 Opening 129 Audit Clients 175 Audit Data 179 Collection Areas 176 AUDIT EXE 178 Automatic Client Deployment 26 Automatic Self Updating Disabling 37 Enabling 37 Settings 65 Viewing Client Revisions 60 B Bad Versions Compliance Report 123 Binary Format Hardware Data 81 Browse Clients Operation 171 Browser 118 209 Cc Change Notification Hardware Inventory 78 Software Inventory 118 Check Paths 154 Client Deployment Automatic 26 Completing 36 Interactive 22 Profiles 23 using Active Directory 34 using Scripts 35 Client Kit Configuring from Deployment Profiles 30 Upgrading 204 Client Logs 76 79 Client Properties Dialog 54 Client Self Updating 37 Clients Adding to Consoles 52 Adding to Package Policies 122 Adding to Sites 52 Audit 175 Automatic Deployment 26 Browsing Files 171 Collecting Environment Variables 87 Collecting INI File V
260. or Administrator Account 1 Inthe Enterprise Management folder click Vector Administrator Account The Vector Administrator Account dialog is displayed 2 Enter the User name and Password of the account with which you want the Scheduler to access the Site database The account must have administrator privileges If you are using Microsoft Access for the Site database and you want to use the Console at the same time as the Scheduler Service the Scheduler must use the same account as the Console user to avoid resource conflicts 3 Click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog 4 Restart the Scheduler to apply the new account information 71 72 CHAPTER 6 Working with Operations Starting Schedulers The Scheduler can be automatically started on a Console PC by the Vector AM installation process It is also started automatically by the Console when you create a new Site using the default options or when you create a new Site with the custom options and enable the Offline Scanner In addition you can start the Scheduler manually from the Console To start the Scheduler from the Console 1 Inthe Operations folder click the Configure Scheduler operation The WinScheduler icon is displayed in the system tray of the Windows Taskbar 2 If you want to run the Scheduler as a service a Double click the WinScheduler icon to display the WinScheduler Properties dialog b Inthe WinScheduler Properties dial
261. or modifying a Package Definition click the Save button in the toolbar to save your changes Alternatively if you click another CHAPTER 15 Software Distribution Package after making changes to the current Package a message asks if you want to save your changes Printing Package Definitions To print a hard copy of the currently selected Package Definition click the Print button in the toolbar or choose Print in the File menu The format of the printed information is the same as an exported Package Definition Deleting Package Definitions To delete an existing Package Definition right click the Package and choose Delete Package Distribution Definition from the shortcut menu Alternatively choose Delete Package Distribution Definition in the Package menu Importing and Exporting Package Definitions You can transfer Package Definitions between databases as INI style text files These can be imported to and exported from the Package Definition Editor You can import multiple Package Definition files simultaneously Any Package Definitions with names over forty characters long are truncated A warning message is displayed To import package definitions 1 Inthe Package Definition Editor choose Import from the File menu 2 Inthe Open dialog navigate to the directory containing the PD files you want to import 3 Select the PD files you want to import 4 Click the Open button to import the Package Defini
262. or versions that are covered by a software license This allows the definition to be used to monitor licensed users See Adding Appli cations to a Package Policy on page 122 for more information on software asset management 6 Record any extra information about the appli cation in the Comment field 7 If you have purchased a specific number of licenses for this application type the number of licenses in the License limit field When you enter the number of licenses Vector AM compares the number of instances of the appli cation with the License number This enables you to track spare software assets and to see when you have more installations of the application than you have licenses 8 In the Platform list select Windows DOS or Macintosh to indicate the type of computer with which this application definition can be used 9 If you want to identify an application but do not want to manage it select Hide this application in asset management and inventory reports For example if you want to remove an entry such as WINZIP EXE or NOTEPAD EXE from the Software Identification Manager s Uniden tified Application list but do not want it to appear in reports and views select this check box 10 Click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog The application definition is selected in the Applications Library Right click the Rule pane and choose an entry in the shortcut menu to add recognition rules for t
263. ords of deleted applications so that only changes made since the previous software inventory operation are recorded If this option is not selected the Site database maintains information on all software changes recorded by all software inventories Perform full file scan analyzes the file and directory structure on the Client PC By default this is selected for Full Software Inventory operations but not for Fast operations In order for Full inventory operations to produce valid results the Vector AM Client must have recently performed a directory snapshot Limit application instances can be used to reduce the number of times an application is recognized by a Full Software Inventory for a Client For example 0 gives an exhaustive listing of all instances and locations of an appli cation on a Client PC The default value 1 will indicate only that the software is present on the Client which is normally sufficient for audit purposes Process OS Registry collects application infor mation from the Windows Program List in the Client s registry This is normally selected for both Fast and Full Software Inventory operations as it involves less data and takes less time However it only identifies software packages that are recorded in the Client s registry As the information obtained typically includes more than the application name and version it is used to automatically generate new identification rules where a
264. ory operations provide up to date hardware configuration information on all PC platforms from Windows 3 1 to 2008 You can use this information to help plan hardware upgrades software installations and upgrades and to help answer support problems Running regular hardware inventories can help detect unauthorized changes such as disk upgrades because changes are highlighted and recorded in compre hensive PC histories By default Vector AM has two hardware inventory operations e Update Hardware Inventory collects the hardware data from the Client s subdirectory in the Offline Area and saves it to the Site database You can update Site databases automatically by submitting the Update Hardware Inventory operation as a scheduled Job No results are displayed but the Job publishes the data to the Site database and generates events as normal e Update Hardware Inventory Interactively collects the hardware data from the Client s subdirectory in the Offline Area and displays it in the Hardware Inventory window This enables you to view the data before saving it to the Site database To view the latest hardware inventory information for Clients 1 In the Console s Hardware Scan folder click the Update Hardware Inventory Interactively operation The Select Clients dialog is displayed 2 Select the Clients or groups for which you want to collect inventory data and click the OK button The Hardware Inventory window is displayed
265. ose Print Report in the File menu The Print dialog is displayed 2 Select a Print Layout option Choose Multi column layout to present the data in table format using one row per record and one column per field Multi line layout to presents each field value column vertically This option is useful if your fields contain long values 3 If you want to display each record on a separate page select Page break between records 4 Inthe Select columns to Print list select the columns you want to include in the report 5 In the Column Width field enter the width of each column in pixels 6 Click the OK button The selected data is displayed in the Print Preview window Use The toolbar in Print Preview mode to change the view of the Report and navigate between pages Click the Print button to print the report Saving Database Views in HTML format When you have selected the data that you want to display in a database view you can export it to HTML format and make it available to other people across the Internet or an intranet To generate an HTML report 1 Click the Select Color buttons and choose the colors for your HTML table 2 If you want to use a tokenized Template File to control the layout of the exported data type the name of the file in the Template File field or click the Open button to select the file 3 In the Save to File field type the name of the file to which you want to save the HTML or click the Sa
266. ow this View enables you to enter a title and explan atory text for the prompt window displayed on Client PCs lutinfo ref User Prompt Editor Se File Edit View Help Octal S 2 gt User Prompts General Type Case Length Pick List Database key SOWNER your location LOCATION User prompt Please enter your name Help For example Mary Jones Defaut value Browse Apply Tile User Information Introduction e to help the Information Systems department Ph icems please call us Thanks Edit LUTIN Using the Edit View The Edit View shows the details for the currently selected User Prompt It contains tabs which enable you to control how users can reply to the prompted questions General Specifies the basic settings for the questions displayed on Client PCs Use e The User Prompt field to change the text with which the user is prompted when the Client Kit is installed Type the prompt text in this field and reselect the entry in the List View to update it e The Help field if you want to provide the user with extra information about the prompt The information is displayed at the bottom of the Prompt dialog when the field is selected e The Default Value field to supply a default answer for the prompt To collect environment and network variables or INI file information with this prompt click the Browse button to open the Value
267. p for older software packages such as Office 97 e Windows Installer MSI for applications that have the Certified for Microsoft Windows logo 150 CHAPTER 15 Software Distribution It may be possible to configure other packages to support silent installation methods For more infor mation refer to the documentation supplied with the software package If an application does not support a silent install automated responses can be specified using a separate tool We recommend using WinBatch from Wilson Windowware Preparing Kits for InstallShield Packages You can perform a silent InstallShield installation by creating a response file to record the installation settings you want the installation to use Repeat this procedure for each different type of installation you want to perform To create an InstallShield response file 1 Copy the software package to a location that is accessible to all PCs on which you want to install the software 2 Ona PC that is representative of the target group run the SETUP EXE of the package with the R Record option For example if the package is in the RCP32 directory of the PC s U drive type u rcep32 setup r 3 Complete the installation with the responses you want to use to install the package The responses are recorded in a file called SETUP ISS which is saved in the PC s WINDOWS directory This file provides the installation responses when you install the software on t
268. p any machines within the IP address range To create a Machine group 1 In the Settings dialog of the Configuration Manager select Machine Groups The groups assigned to the Offline Area are listed at the bottom of the dialog To create a new group click the New button The Machine Group New Machine Group dialog is displayed 3 In the New MachineGroup dialog a Enter a Name for the group b If you want the group to contain a specific range of Clients enter the IP addresses of the first and last Clients in the range Alternatively you can add Clients to a group manually using the Machines option in the Config urator s Windows menu However if the group also contains an IP range manual Clients are automat ically removed when the agent next runs c Click the Attach button to create a profile for the group The MachineGroup Profile dialog is displayed ea MachineGroup Profile iMacs Settings Mode __ Set Macintosh Name Speak Messages l Synchronize Date and Time Agent Control File Default Agent Control Zz New Edit 4 Inthe MachineGroup Profile dialog click the New button in the Agent Control File section The Agent Control File dialog is displayed 187 5 Inthe Agent Control File dialog enter a name for the Agent Control File and specify the settings you want to use Click the Save button to attach your changes to the MachineGroup profile and close the dialog 6 Inthe Machi
269. perations folder CHAPTER 13 Reports and Database Views 2 Right click any Operation and select Create Operation from the shortcut menu 3 Select Command Launch from the Type field drop down list in the Add New Operation dialog and click OK The Customize Command Launch dialog opens 4 Enter a suitable new Operation name on the General page You can also choose an Icon which will appear against the Operation 5 Onthe Command Launch page enter the Program name or click Browse to select ReportViewer exe which is located in the Console install directory 6 Enter the Command line for the report based on the ReportViewer command syntax For example SITE SITE RPT cpu rpt CSD MANY OUT DATAEXPORT JOB JOBNAME FMT PDF 7 Select the Run and wait check box 8 Click OK to store the new Operation definition Schedule the job by right clicking the Scheduled Report operation and selecting Submit Job from the shortcut menu see Scheduling Operations on page 73 for more information ReportViewer Command Syntax The syntax for running ReportViewer from the command line is as follows REPO RTVIEWER SITE SITE RPT lt report_file_name rot gt CSD MANY OUT DATAEXPORT J OB J OBNAME FMT lt format gt FILENAME lt exported_report_file_name gt where SITE SITE Specifies the current Site using its Command Launch Operation Token RPT lt report_file_name rpt gt Defines th
270. pping and unmapping of the drive that contains the Offline Area when you are running in a non Windows Networking environment To execute a command before the Client appli cation runs select the Enable pre processing check box and enter the Pre processing command To execute a command after the Client application runs select the Enable post processing check box and enter the Post processing command Deploying the Client using Active Directory Active Directory is a component of Windows 2000 XP Vista and Windows Server operating systems It enables organizations to centrally manage and store information on network resources and acts as the central authority for network security In addition because it can be used to manage and control the applications installed on networked computers Active Directory provides an ideal mechanism for deploying the Vector AM Client To create an Active Directory policy for Vector AM Clients 1 If you want to customize the Client kit before using it to install Clients open the Offline Area Manager select the Offline Area that contains the kit you want to use and edit the kit settings For more information see Viewing and Managing Offline Areas on page 40 You can also edit the Client configuration file using a text editor More information on the configuration options are contained in LUCLIENT TXT an annotated version of the LUCLIENT INI file 2 Once you have done that Vector re
271. pplication to save the selected appli cation definitions to a text file e Export Library to save all the definitions in the application library to a text file The Rule pane at the bottom of the window displays the identification rules associated with the selected definition in the Applications pane To modify the application definition right click a rule to display the rule menu and choose e Edit Rule to update the selected rule e Add File Rule to specify the details of a file that Vector AM can use to identify the application If you specify multiple file rules all files must be in the same directory unless you embed them within a subdirectory rule e Add Subdirectory Rule to add a new directory rule at the same level as the current directory e Add Nested Subdirectory Rule to add a new directory within the current directory e Add Optional Block to add optional recognition rules to the application definition e Add Version Rule to specify or refine the version number of the application e Add OS Registry Identification Rule to specify the information needed to identify this appli cation in the Windows Program List Enter the application name or a suitable pattern Where the application name includes the version number use an asterisk wildcard so the rule matches more than one minor version 107 When a software inventory encounters an appli cation in the Windows Program List that does not match an existing defi
272. privilege to proceed with installation This package is being put into Holding status The Agent is not running with Administrator level privilege and this Package requires a privileged install A non privileged user on Windows NT 2000 XP Vista 7 2003 or 2008 cannot perform an Adminis trator install The Software Distribution Agent can run as a Windows service to give it access to the privileged environment that is required to install applications such as Service Packs Failed to install package Package No user account specified for this installation The Agent Service always requires an account The Agent is not running under an appropriate User Account to install the Package Failed to install package Package Installation of Package failed Pre Process command fail ure prevents installation from continuing This package is being put into Holding status The Pre Process command specified in the Package s Distribution Definition failed to execute Failed to install package Package Installation of Package failed unable to connect to kit source Kit path This package is being put into Holding status The location of the instal lation kit cannot be accessed This location is specified in the Package s Distribution Definition although the kit path can be changed using the Software Distribution Wizard Failed to install package Package Installation of Package failed launch error This pack age is being
273. ption the F1 option entry must follow it F2 lt path LogFile gt By default InstallShield s SETUP LOG file is created and stored in the same directory as that of SETUP EXE If an alternative compiled script is specified using the F option the F2 option must follow it S Run InstallShield Silent to execute a silent installation APPENDIX B Installation Commands Microsoft Setup Parameters This section summarizes the command options used to install older versions of Microsoft packages such as Office 97 A Runs the setup in administrative mode This option is available only when installing from the original media B lt type_num gt Specifies the type of setup to be performed lt type_num gt can be a number which refers to Typical Compact or Custom The meaning of this number vary across Microsoft products C lt coa gt If your product was supplied with a 20 digit license key use this option to enter the key and bypass the key validation dialog You must enter a space before the key and enclose it in double quotation marks K lt cd_key gt If your product was supplied with a 10 digit license key use this option to enter the key and bypass the key validation dialog You must enter a space before the key and enclose it in double quotation marks The license key can be found on the Product Authorization Certificate or on the CD casing F Performs an installation using only short 8 3 file names
274. put into Holding status An error occurred when attempting to use the Installation command line Check that the Kit location and the Installation command are both correct and that any user information is valid Failed to install package Package Error trig gering system reboot to complete package installation This package is being put into Holding status This error will occur if the Agent needs to reboot the Client PC but is unable to do so Failed to install package Package Installation of Package failed post installation check failed This package is being put into Holding status The installation has been performed but none of the Check paths specified in the Package Distribution Definition are being identified Either the Check paths specified in the Package s Distri bution Definition are incorrect or the Package failed to install correctly Failed to install package Package Installation of Package failed failed to load package details This package is being put into Holding status The Agent failed to load the required Package Distribution Definition or there is an error in the Package Definition Error loading context for package Package This package is being put into Holding status This error may occur if there is an inconsistency between the settings in the Package Definition and the additional distribution Job information Failed to install package Package Agent Shutdown requested during package ins
275. r example if you use Windows Installer to install Office 2000 all the Office components are installed on the target PC However if you want to customize the installation to include specific features or to install specific components you must create a Transform that identifies the options and components you want to use For example if you want to install only Excel you must create a Transform to restrict the instal lation to that component Transforms have an extension of MST They are created by customizing the Package with for example the Custom Installation Wizard supplied with the Office Resource kit You can create multiple Transforms which offer different installable features and components These Trans forms can be used as the base for your Package Definition s multiple Install Types The Custom Installation Wizard prompts you for the location of the MSI file created in the previous stage Choose the Create new Transform option Following this you are prompted for the name of the new MST file This file must be located in the root directory of your Administrative Installation Point the location of the kit you created earlier together with the MSI file You can now change the Package s default instal lation folder Organization name and the Features and Components that will be installed on Client PCs Other options include e Adding files to the installation e Adding registry entries by importing REG fil
276. r the application has been installed updated or uninstalled since the previous software inventory e When viewing the stored software inventory any status changes are indicated by color coding Software Inventory Se File View lex sexy Stored software inventory for DB4 captured by client on 27JUL 2011 Changes p Confirmed Identifications Provisional Identifications Unidentified Software Applications Library Details Platform Status UNKNOWN CHAPTER 10 Software Inventory The change status is reset if the operation has been configured to reset the results before scanning see To customize a Software Inventory Operation on page 99 e Click the Changes button at the top of the window to display the detailed history record e To display the rules used to identify an appli cation right click its entry in the list and choose Goto Application Definition e By default the Confirmed Identifications tab does not list applications that have been uninstalled since each Client s previous software inventory To display these applica tions right click the list and choose Show Removed Applications To exclude an application from reports right click the application and choose Hide Appli cation Hidden applications are displayed in the Hidden Applications tab which can be accessed from the View menu When you create an application d
277. r to the new database location Site Creation Options E How do you want to create your Site Select an option Create new database overwriting any existing files Link to an existing database c The Global Site contains the Package Distribution Definitions that specify how a software package is to be installed When you add or edit the Package Definitions the modifications are saved in the Global Site r Use as Global Site The Global Site contains the Package Definitions that are used to control the installation of applications on Client PCs in your Vector Asset Management installation Select this check box to store new and customized package CHAPTER 2 Creating Sites definitions in this Site To continue to use your current Global Site leave this check box unselected When you create a new Global Site it contains only the standard definitions supplied with Vector Asset Management Any changes to the Package Defini tions in the original Site will be unavailable until you transfer them to the new Global Site using the Package Definition Editor s import and export features For more information see Using the Package Definition Editor on page 153 Select the creation mode options you want to use then click the Next button to continue The Database Configuration Dialog Use the Database Configuration dialog to identify the location of the database that will hold your Si
278. racting Version Information from Files Some manufacturers encode software version information in the version information properties of files If the files of an application include version information you can use a version rule to extract the version number and create an automatic future proof application definition To use this feature Clients must be configured to collect version information from applications and software inventory operations must be customized to enable the Report directories containing unrec ognized applications of types option To extract the version information from a file 1 Inthe Filename list select the file that contains the version information The Available file properties list displays the values of the properties for the file you selected 2 Inthe Specify the property fields that contain version information field enter tokens to specify the location of the version information Alternatively select the properties that contain the version information from the Property list and click the Select button The token for the property is added to the Specify the property fields that contain version information field For example if the version number of the product is specified in the first two product version fields select Product version fields 1 and 2 in the list and click Select The tokens that enable Vector AM to extract the version information are displayed in the Specify the property field
279. re installed on Client PCs and on the operations and reports that enable you to manage them Select Create Evaluation Site to create a Site using default options Select Create Production Site to choose the Site options and the type of database you want to use You can also use this option to copy a site database or to link the console to an existing site C Create Evaluation Site Create Production Site Enter a name for the site Ste01 2 Inthe Site Creation Mode dialog choose Create Production Site and enter a name for the Site 3 Click the Next button to continue You can now specify your Site options using the following dialogs The Database Type Dialog Use the Database Type dialog to select which type of database application you want to use for your Site Database Type x Which Database type do you want to use Select the type of database you want to use for this Site C SQL Server SQL Express Remote MSDE Other ODBC ck cot te Local Vector Asset Management MSDE Server For a locally installed Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine This option is disabled if MSDE is not already installed on the local PC Access Choose this option to use a Microsoft Access database Because Microsoft Access is designed for small single user systems we recommend you do not use it as a Site database when you want to use multiple Consoles or Schedulers or when your i
280. re not currently available Audit mode uses a similar process but instead of being installed on a PC the Client application is run manually from a compressed self extracting file on network share or removable media such as a diskette or writable CD The Audit is triggered by executing a single command with no subse quent user configuration required The data is then captured to removable media or a network share and copied to an Offline Area using the Load Audit Data operation in the Console From there the data can be saved to the Site database and used as normal Audit Client Architecture lon Bis ie ia ra Offline Area F o 5 LENI peg Console Scheduler Site Database 176 CHAPTER 17 Audit Clients The amount data captured from a PC depends on the number of files installed A typical PC requires approximately 250KB with hardware data comprising about 20KB of the total and the directory snapshots of the software on each fixed drive being responsible for the remainder Directory snapshots store the names sizes and dates of files but no file contents When the audit is executed from a removable device it first copies the executable files to the Windows TEMP directory This enables the audit to continue even if it needs a second disk to store the captured data These copied files are deleted when the audit is complete Configuring the Audit Clien
281. rea Create local share for Offline Area C Use existing share for Offline Area Location C Wector Data Client Data Browse Share LUPUSH Create directory Client Console User gt User db Domes Domain Password Password P vey A veiy P Test Test Copy client kit Vv Copy one shot kit Vv Cancel 3 To create an Offline Area on this PC select Create local share for Offline Area Alterna tively to create an Offline Area using a share on another PC select Use existing share for Offline Area 4 Inthe Location field type the path of the Offline Area or click Browse to search for the Offline Area directory To create a new directory for the Offline Area in this location click Create Directory If the Offline Area is located on another PC you must specify its location as a UNC path To create a UNC path from the Browse button select the location from My Network Places in the Browse for Folder dialog 5 Inthe Share field type the name of the share 6 By default Clients and Consoles use the Offline Area account If you want Clients to use another account enter the Username and Password of the account in the Client group If you want the Console to use another account enter the Username and Password of the account in the Console group If the account belongs to a domain you must also enter its Domain name 7 The One shot Kit is used to collect hardware and
282. reating Production Sites on page 13 Installing the Macintosh Client Kit When you have created an Offline Area for Macintosh Clients you must set up the files and copy a Client kit to it so that you can install the Macintosh Client application on the computers you want to manage To install the Macintosh Client kit in the Offline Area 1 Create a Macintosh account that can be used to manage the Offline Area The account must have full read and write privileges for the Offline Area s share point 2 On a Macintosh PC insert the installation CD or download the Macintosh Client Installer from the Vector Networks Web site 3 Run the Installer accept the License Agreement and click the OK button The Network Location dialog is displayed Network Location Enter the network location of the server hosting the shared MacAdministrator folder F internet Address AppleTalk Address _ Internet Address 10 0 0 1 wv Use ping to verify address 4 Select the Internet Address tab and enter the IP address or fully qualified DNS name of the PC on which the Offline Area is located Alternatively for pre OS X machines only you can specify the Offline Area details by selecting the AppleTalk Address tab and entering the AppleTalk zone and AppleTalk name of the PC on which the Offline Area is located Click the OK button The Network Login dialog is displayed 5 In the Network Login dialog enter the name an
283. relayed This allows Console users to perform operations on Client PCs even when they are not currently available Use the Offline Area tab to specify the offline area settings for selected Clients To configure Offline Area settings for Clients 1 Select the Offline area tab 2 Select the Modify Setting check boxes of the settings you want to change 3 To change the Offline Area used to transfer data to and from the selected Clients select another entry in the Offline Path list To add Offline Areas to a Site or to modify or delete existing Offline Areas right click the Offline Areas folder in the Console tree and choose Modify Offline Areas 4 To identify the data collected from Clients with a prefix enter up to four alphanumeric characters in the Offline prefix field 5 By default the Client application transfers inventory data to the Offline Area each time it runs To change the frequency with which it transfers the inventory data enter a new value in the Push interval field Initially the push interval is set to 0 days so you can test the Console is receiving data from Clients Reset the push interval to 1 or more days when you start using Vector AM to manage your system Software Metering Settings By default the Client application automatically gathers data on which software applications are being used on Client PCs and the length of time each application is used for Use the Software Metering tab to enable or
284. rk by category For example you can have a device group that contains all the printers and plotters on your network or you can create separate groups for each type of equipment Use the Device Groups dialog to create and modify the groups displayed in the Network Devices folder and to specify the types of equipment contained within each group To create a device group 1 Right click Network Devices in the Console tree and choose Add Device Group The Device Group dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Device Group Name field enter a name for the new group and click Add 3 In the Device Type dialog a Select the Existing device type option and select the device type you want to include in the group from the list Alternatively select the Create new device type option and enter a new device type b Click OK 4 Repeat steps 2 through 3 to add another device type to the group or click OK to create the group and close the dialog The group is automatically populated with all devices of the types you selected 94 CHAPTER 9 Network Devices Locations Locations help you identify where network devices are situated within your organization By mapping router and port assignments or dynamic IP addresses to an office building or site you can see where your assets are and when they have been moved To create a location group 1 Right click an entry in the Locations folder of the Console tree and choose e Add Location to
285. rked PCs including the software that shouldn t be installed using the Software Inventory facilities The Software Identification Manager contains an Application Library and discovery utilities that help you identify the applications installed The Software Identifi cation Wizard gives you the ability to quickly and easily define rules for the identification of new and custom applications Track the authorized and unauthorized software applications installed at your Site Using the Package Policy Manager you can identify discrepancies and ensure compliance with software licenses Install software packages and service upgrades across your network using the Distribute Software operation Use the integrated Software Distribution Viewer to monitor the progress of the software installation on each user s PC Generate reports based on inventory and other data Over 90 pre defined reports are supplied with the Vector AM Console Click through reports can also be made available to web based users via the Vector AM Portal This mode of use does not require the Console to be installed on users PCs Integrate your network management work with other utilities and external applications Access Hardware Inventory and other data in the ODBC compliant database using external reporting and analysis applications Collect configuration diagnostics and protect and restore critical desktop applications with Vector Diagnostics By comparing
286. rmed Identifications lists applications identified by application definitions in the Vector AM Applications Library Provisional Identifications lists applications identified using version information from the prop erties of executable files This tab is only visible after a Full variant Software Inventory operation has completed OS Registry Identifications lists applications identified using installation information from the Clients Windows Program List Unidentified Software lists the directories that contain executable files that Vector AM is unable to identify This tab is only visible after a Full variant Software Inventory operation has completed To display the information associated with each category select the tabs at the top of the window 101 Confirmed Identifications The Confirmed Identifications tab lists software identified by recognition rules in the Applications Library The Confirmed Identifications tab can list the software detected by Client or by application The Clients View The Clients View displays the location of each installation of each application found on the selected Clients To display the Clients View select the Details button To sort the list click a column heading Use the Clients View to perform the following tasks e Click the Save All button or use the File menu Save All command to store the inventory results from an interactive update The status column indicates whethe
287. rom the Client PC The response file is then copied to the Offline Area from where it is collected when the Update Hardware Inventory operation is next performed on the Clients Creating Prompt Files The User Prompt Editor enables you to create and edit files that prompt users for information when they start their PCs It also enables you to specify the label with which the information is stored in the Site database To start the User Prompt Editor 1 Inthe Console right click the Get User Data operation and choose the Customize command from the shortcut menu 2 Inthe Customize Hardware Inventory dialog select the Hardware tab 3 Click the Edit button to display the User Prompt Editor You can now create a user prompt file You can also create a Command Launch operation to open the User Prompt Editor application REFEDIT EXE directly from the Vector Asset Management installation directory The User Prompt Editor The User Prompt Editor interface contains the following areas User Prompt List The prompt list displays the questions in the prompt file It also shows the fields in which the data is stored in the Site database The order in which the questions are listed repre sents the order in which they are displayed on Client PCs 86 CHAPTER 8 User Prompting Edit View In the top right of the window this View displays the details of the currently selected question Comment View In the bottom right of the wind
288. rompts and click Close to display the Test Results dialog e This second dialog shows the values including system variables retrieved by the User Prompt file Distributing Prompt Files You can distribute a new user prompt file to selected Clients using the Get User Data operation or by distributing the questions as part of a customized Update Hardware Inventory operation To distribute Prompt files 1 Right click the Get User Data operation and choose Customize from the shortcut menu 2 Inthe Customize Hardware Inventory dialog select the Hardware tab 3 Select the Refresh user prompt questions check box and click the Browse button to display the Open dialog 4 Inthe Open dialog select the user prompt file you want to distribute then click the Open button 5 Click the Reload button to reload the user prompt file 6 Inthe Customize Hardware Inventory dialog click the OK button The user prompt file is distributed to the selected Clients when you next perform the Get User Data operation The Clients are prompted with the questions when the PC is next started or when the Client application next runs The prompt file is renamed to LUTINFO REF when it is distributed so that it overwrites any existing REF file on the Client PCs This ensures the Client finds and runs new user prompt files regardless of the original file name To avoid overwriting uncollected prompt data make sure you run an Update Hardware In
289. running then attempts to install the appropriate version of the Installer This method can force target PCs to reboot before the package installation begins We recommend you install Windows Installer 2 0 or later on all Clients before installing any software packages For more information see Distributing Windows Installer 2 0 on page 164 More information about Windows Installer is available in the Microsoft Windows and Office Resource Kits In Vector Asset Management you can use the Software Distribution module in conjunction with the Windows Installer This combination offers reliable and efficient deployment of applications that feature the Certified for Microsoft Windows logo The following sections describe how to configure and distribute Windows Installer packages with Vector AM using the Office 2000 Resource kit as an example You can use a similar method to install other Windows Installer packages For detailed information on preparing Office instal lation kits refer to the Office Resource Kit documentation You can obtain the Resource Kit information from the Microsoft Web site using the following links Microsoft s Office resource kit Web page http www mic rosoft c om offic e ork xp default htm If you already have the Office 2000 Resource Kit you can update it from http www mic rosoft c om offic e ork 2000 joum NewORKTools htm 151 Preparing Windows Installer Kits This section provides
290. ry data Dp Confirmed Identifications Provision ations Unidentified Software Applications Library Details Application Vendor Version Platform Copies_ 2007 Microsoft Office system Microsoft Corporation 12 0 6423 1000 Windows 2 2007 Microsoft Office system Microsoft Corporation 12045181014 Windows 1 2007 Microsoft Office system Microsoft Corporation 1210 6425 1000 Windows 4 Offi ration 12 0 6514 5000 L 5 5 02 12220 Wi 1 51 2600 5512 Wi 2 Cinematror 5 00 21341 Wi 1 SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION 11 0 2 Wi 2 Igor Pavlov 457 Windows 1 Microsoft Corporation 53 0 3927 Windows 1 Microsoft Corporation 44 4615 Windows 1 Activate Client Vector Networks 1 00 0000 Windows 3 addport Application 2 1 0 0 Windows 3 adi DSndUp Analog Devices Inc 1 0 0 2 Windows 1 Adobe Acrobat Reader Adobe Systems Incorporated 5 0 5 0 Windows 1 The Clients View displays the location of each installation of each application identified using version information It also specifies whether the application has been newly installed updated or uninstalled since the previous software inventory To display the Provisional Identifications Clients View select the Details button To sort the list click a column heading Use the Clients View to perform the following tasks To define identification rules for an application using the Software Identification Wizard right click an entry and choose Create Identification Rules e To create an application recognition rule
291. ry results rely on the Client having recently performed a directory snap shot This feature is normally disabled as it can present a significant load on Clients network and Offline Area servers Operations are included to enable and disable full inventory scans i e direc tory snapshots These can be scheduled to run at regular intervals on suitable groups of Clients For more information on configuring the Client to carry out directory snapshots see Directory Snapshot Settings on page 62 To collect software inventory data 1 Click a software inventory operation Software inventories can collect large volumes of information and may cause significant network traffic between the Offline Area and the Console or Scheduler PCs This is particularly the case with the Full variants You can reduce the impact of this by scheduling the inventory to take place overnight To do this right click the Update Software Inventory operation and choose Submit Job For more information see Scheduling Opera tions on page 73 2 Inthe Select Clients dialog select the groups and Clients from which you want to collect inventory data then click the OK button You can check the software inventory of a Client at any time by right clicking its entry in the All Clients list and choosing Software Details in the shortcut menu Customizing Software Inventory Operations Software inventory operations in new Sites are pre configured
292. s Offline Scanner Configuring 44 Enabling 53 Offline Scanner Dialog 18 44 Offline Scanner Options Dialog 51 Operation Tokens 140 169 Operations 69 Backup Files 70 Browse Clients 171 Creating 69 Customizing 69 70 Customizing Software Inventory 118 Database 172 Delete Change History Data 173 Deleting 71 Find Clients 52 Get User Data 88 Hardware Inventory 77 80 Importing and Exporting 70 Load Audit Data 176 179 Manage Software Identification 105 Monitoring Progress 75 Omitting Applications from Software Metering 127 Performing 69 Performing on Clients 54 55 Scheduling 73 Software Inventory 97 100 Update Software Inventory 97 Variants 69 Wake Clients 171 OPERTYPE Token 74 Optional Rules Blocks 115 Oracle Databases 14 Linking Databases to the Portal 142 OS Registry Identifications 101 104 P Package automatically created by Software Scan 106 Package Definition Editor 149 152 Package Definitions 15 160 Creating 153 Incorporating LULOGON 158 Install Types 154 Linking 160 Referencing Install Directory 157 Summary Information 153 Using Tokens 156 Package Details 118 Package Distribution Definitions 43 152 Package Policies Adding Clients and Packages 122 Checking 123 Color Coding 124 Compliance Reports 123 Creating 121 Creating Groups 124 Removing Clients 122 Removing Packages 123 Version Control 122 Package Policy Manager 121 Log File 125 Planning Software Distributions 121 Selecting a Datab
293. s UNC location including a username and password if required For example Offline DirPa tha aws push guest secret This specifies an alternative collection area ona server called AWS with a share called PUSH The Audit executable accesses the area using the guest account with a password of secret We recommended you setup a new server share with full read write access for collecting Audit data Do not save Audit data directly into an Offline Area The audit data must be placed in this area using the Load Audit Data operation in the Console Do not specify Disabled Yes in the Offline Mode section This disables the entire audit process and is used for debug purposes only User Prompted Information By default the Audit process does not collect infor mation from the user of the target PC If you want to use prompting in Audit mode you can enable it by changing the User Prompting entry in the LUCLIENT INI file to User Prompting Disa bled No The prompt file in the Audit kit includes the standard questions for the user s name department and telephone number If you want to change these questions double click Audit LUTINFO REF from a Console PC and enter the new prompts before starting the audit Vector AM uses node names to identify Clients in the Site database If you audit a non networked PC that does not have a node name Vector AM assigns it a unique identifier starting _STD Alter natively you can ass
294. s All Clients group in approximately two minutes If this does not happen check that the Scheduler is active To check the Scheduler is active 1 Inthe Console click the Configure Scheduler operation The WinScheduler icon is displayed in the System Tray of the Windows Taskbar 2 Double click the WinScheduler icon to display the WinScheduler Properties dialog 2y WinScheduler Properties ps3 Database site Al sites C Selected sites only OVAM 5 7 ACCESS VAM 5 7 D Wector Data Logt PCDScheduler Log Browse Bppend to log file Wake up interval eo a Start p Max active jobs 5 stp Job options C x I Hide running jobs FZ Run jobs as low priority A Run mode I Debug extra detail I Verbose informational Tajur 10 17 07 48 Initializing on Host DBS Exit E 3 In the WinScheduler Properties dialog click the Stop button to suspend the Scheduler 4 Inthe Host name field enter the name of your Console PC and select your new Site in the Database site list 5 To restart the Scheduler as a Service click the Run Service button If you want to restart the Scheduler as a background application a Click the Start button to restart the Scheduler The log entries list displays the message Offline area scan enabled b Click the OK button to hide the WinScheduler Properties dialog The WinScheduler icon in the Taskbar s System Tray shows a green clock face to indic
295. s Incorporated Windows Adobe Atmosphere Player for Acroba UNKNOWN Unknown Windows E Find file ACROBAT EXE And version field 1 equals 9 A And version field 2 equals 0 Find the name ADOBE ACROBAT 9 STANDARD in the OS Registry Applications To display the identification rules for a definition select its entry in the list Rules are displayed in the bottom pane To add a new definition or to work with the Appli cations Library right click an entry in the applica tions menu Choose e Application Properties to display and update the Vendor Type and License details of an application e List Locations to list the Clients on which an application has been detected e Add Application to define identification rules for a new application Choose Software Identifi cation Wizard to create an application definition by supplying information about the application or choose Build Custom Definition to select the recognition rules you want the application definition to use e Delete Application to remove an application from the list of application rules e Policies to list the installation policies defined for applications in the current Site For more information on application policies see Package Policy Manager on page 121 e Import Application to import identification rules from a text file Use this to transfer modified and new definitions from an export file to a new Site e Export A
296. s a configured Client Kit or if you do not want to install the Client Kit across the network 17 18 CHAPTER 2 Creating Sites Create One shot Kit The One shot kit enables Console users to collect hardware and software data from PCs without installing the Client appli cation If you want to use this function select this option to add a One shot Kit to the Offline Area For more information see Performing Audits on page 178 Client Account By default Vector AM Clients use the Offline Area account to access the Offline Area If you want Clients to use another account select Use the following account and enter the account details The Client account must have read write and modify privileges ideally with Interactive Logon disabled and must be valid for all Client PCs that use this Offline Area If the PC on which the Offline Area is located belongs to a domain you must also enter the Domain name When you have specified the Offline Area settings click the Next button to continue The User Prompting Dialog In addition to collecting inventory and metering information from PCs Vector AM Clients are able to collect information from users themselves When User Prompting is enabled users are required to supply answers to a set of questions defined by the Console user These questions are displayed when a PC is first rebooted after the Client application is installed and can include such questions as name loca
297. s check the user name and password used to connect to the Administrative Instal lation Point kit before performing an installation e The appearance of unexpected dialogs that require user input such as notice messages about software licensing e Unexpected messages that require a response such as anti virus software notices 159 e Persistent drive mappings that attempt to access an unavailable server or that require a changed password Any of these problems can cause an installation failure If the failure occurs when the Client s keyboard and mouse are locked use the following method to restore the PC 1 On another PC run RegEdit 2 Choose Connect Network Registry in the Registry menu to open the input locked PC s Registry 3 Locate the following Registry Key HKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINA SYSTEM CurrentC ontrolSet Servic es Kodclass Change the Start value to 1 to enable keyboard input 4 Locate the following Registry Key HKEY_LOCAL MACHINE SYSTEM CurrentC ontrolSet Service Mouclass Change the Start value to 1 to enable it 5 Choose Disconnect Network Registry in the Registry menu to close the remote connection then exit RegEdit 6 Reboot the locked PC using a remote shutdown utility or by manually switching it off and on The PC should now be unlocked This procedure does not guarantee recovery in all situations and is provided for illustration only Saving Package Definitions After creating
298. s described in more detail in Chapter 3 Deploying the Vector AM Client If you are going to deploy the Client using Active Directory select the Deploy Clients later option below To choose a Client deployment method for your Site 1 Select a deployment option Choose Interactive Deployment to select the Windows NT 2000 XP Professional 2003 2008 Vista and Windows 7 systems on which you want to install the Client Automatic Client Deployment to configure Vector AM to search your network for Windows NT 2000 XP Professional 2003 2008 Vista and Windows 7 systems where the Client is not installed and to automatically deploy the Client to specified nodes Deploy Clients later to create a Site without creating Clients Use this option when for example you want to use this Site for Macintosh Clients when you are linking the Console to an existing Site or when you have linked the Site to an Offline Area which already has Clients 2 The Offline Scanner automatically checks the Site s Offline Areas for new Clients collects hardware inventory and software inventory information from them and adds the Clients to your Site database e Leave the Enable Offline Scanner check box selected to automatically add new Clients to your Site e Deselect the check box to populate the Site later using the Find Clients operation 3 By default Vector AM searches for all intelligent devices in the same subnet as the Conso
299. s for any new Clients that are added to the Offline Area The Client can be configured in the usual way see Controlling Client Behavior on page 30 The same Kit can be used for the Web Client however it has to be accessed through the Portal web server To add an Offline Area to the Portal 1 Inthe Portal click the Site Manager icon The Site Manager window opens to display the list of known Sites This list includes the Site that was created when the Vector AM Console was installed 2 Click Add Site if the required Site is not already included in the list See Configuring the Portal for more details on adding Sites 3 Click Offline Areas to open the Web Client Offline Areas dialog This dialog is also accessible from the Portal by clicking on the Web Client icon To activate the Web Client 1 Inthe Portal click the Web Client icon in the toolbar This displays the Web Client Offline Areas dialog Each entry in the Offline Area list shows the local UNC path If the entry is already activated the URL for access to the Web Client is also shown 2 Highlight the appropriate entry and click Activate Web Access For this to be successful the Offline Area must contain a suitable Client Kit If this is so the Access Details dialog is displayed This contains a sample message and URL that can be edited and copied into an e mail message and sent to users 3 The access details can also be displayed at a
300. s of the PC on which the Offline Area is located in the Internet Address field Leave the Use ping to verify address option enabled unless your network disallows pings Alternatively for pre OS X machines only you can specify the Offline Area details by selecting the AppleTalk Address tab and entering the AppleTalk zone and AppleTalk name of the PC on which the Offline Area is located If there are no named zones on your network enter an asterisk 4 Click the OK button to save your changes To change the Offline Area on a single Client mount the new share point on the Client and rerun the Client installer Installing Macintosh Clients When you have installed the Macintosh Client Kit you can use it to install the Client application on any Macintosh PC that can connect to the Offline Area where the kit is installed To install the Macintosh Client 1 In the Macintosh Finder choose Connect to Server in the Go menu to mount the PC on which the Offline Area is located The Connect to Server dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Connect to Server dialog enter the server address and click the Connect button 185 186 CHAPTER 18 Macintosh Clients 3 Inthe log on screen enter the name and password you specified in the Client kit instal lation and click the Connect button A list of share points is displayed 4 Select the share point corresponding to the Offline Area and click the OK button to mount the Offline Area The Ma
301. s or group of Clients you want to include in the report and click the OK button The Report is displayed in Print Preview mode To resize the report use the zoom buttons in the Report window toolbar The accuracy of the Reports depends on the regular performance of Hardware Inventory and Software Inventory scans and the publishing of their results to the database Customizing Reports Vector AM enables you to specify destination formats for each Report You can customize a Report so that it automatically displays data in Print Preview mode prints or exports the data You can change the destination for a Report using the Customize Database Report dialog To display this dialog right click the Report you want to customize then choose Customize from the shortcut menu Creating Reports To create new report formats or to modify existing formats you must purchase the full Crystal Reports package This is able to access all the principal fields contained in the Site database providing a much wider range of reporting and export capabilities Scheduling Reports Reports are displayed and exported using the ReportViewer program It is possible to use a command launch operation to schedule the execution of ReportViewer to create customized reports at regular intervals and export the results to a particular format file To create an external command report operation 1 Open the All Operations folder in the Console tree O
302. s that contain version information field For more information on the tokens that can be used to extract version information from a file refer to the online help 3 Click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog Extracting Version Information from Timestamps Some applications encode the version number in the timestamp of application files Vector AM enables you to extract this information using tokens For example e If the file has a timestamp of 04 20 00 4 20 a m HOURS MINUTES returns a version of 4 2 e Ifthe file has a timestamp of 7 28 the following token values are returned MINUTES 28 MINUTETEN 2 MINUTEUNIT 8 In this case MINUTES produces the same result as MINUTETEN MINUTEUNIT If the file has a timestamp of 7 08 the following token values are returned MINUTES 8 the leading zero is deliberately dropped MINUTETEN 0 MINUTEUNIT 8 MINUTES returns a value of 8 but MINUTETEN MINUTEUNIT returns a value of 08 If the application followed this convention only after a certain date apply a date range check before the Set Version Rule Choosing Application Recognition Rules The choice of recognition rules can affect the performance and accuracy of software inventory operations and the ease with which other users are able to extend and maintain the Applications Library Use the following tips to help optimize your own application definitions Use application spe
303. save the changes and close the dialog 6 Click the Find Clients operation to check for new Clients and add them to the Site database A message is displayed to show the operation s progress When it has finished the operation displays any new Clients in the Event Viewer window Check the list and close the viewer Viewing Clients in the Console All Clients registered with a Site are listed in the Site s Clients folder To display your Clients expand the Clients folder and select All Clients The Clients and selected Properties are listed in the Clients View on the right of the Console You can change the widths of a column by selecting the column divider and dragging it to a new position You can also change the order in which the columns are displayed by selecting the column heading and dragging it to a new position Right click a Client to add modify and view the Client data 53 ay Vector Enterprise Management a VAM W0 Asset Management i Reports a amp Clients a All clients Custom Groups amp Offline Areas S Network Devices a Locations Network Topology Diagrams gf Client Deployment amp Maintenance Operations 3 Jobs amp Schedulers a Site Management B HelpDesk tall Portal Client Details When you add a Client to a Site using the Offline Scanner or when you run an inventory operation Vector AM saves the Client s inventory information to the Site database You can view the inventory
304. selected Site select Custom Groups then select All Nodes 3 Select the Clients you want to add from the bottom list then click OK The Clients are displayed in the Clients selected for group list Repeat steps 1 through 3 to add more members to the list When you have selected all the Clients you want to add to this group click the Next button to continue The Column Format Options Dialog The Column Format Options dialog is displayed when you deselect the Use standard column set option in the Group Properties dialog It enables you to choose how each of the fields you selected in the Database Fields dialog is to be displayed in the Clients view for this group To specify the column display options 1 Select the column you want to customize in the Displayed fields list 2 Inthe Caption field enter a heading for the column 3 Select an entry in the Format list to specify a display type for the data 4 If you want to change the units in which the column data displayed enter the value by which by which you want to multiply the column s data in the Scale factor field For example to display CPU speed in GigaHertz instead of MegaHertz enter a Scale factor of 1000 5 Select an entry in the Alignment field to specify the justification for the column 6 By default each column is set to the width of the largest displayed value If you want to control the size of each column deselect Autosize and enter the Width of th
305. ses on page 11 2 Modify the NTFS permissions of the following Oracle directories to give Read and Execute access to the Portal web user account called CensusUser by default ORACLE_HOME oraxxX bin ORACLE_HOME oraXX ocommon nls admin data ORACLE_HOME oraXX oracore zoneinfo ORACLE_HOME oraXX network admin 141 CHAPTER 14 The Vector Asset Management Portal Alternatively you can modify the NTFS permis sions of the Oracle home directory To make SQL Server and MSDE Sites available through the Portal 1 Open SQL Server Enterprise Manager and ensure that SQL Server is configured to use Mixed Authentication mode Configuring the Portal When you have installed the Vector AM Portal you must specify the details of the Sites that you want to make available to users Use the Site Manager to make new Sites available through the Portal to edit and remove existing Sites and to specify the Site that is selected when users first open the Portal Vector AM Sites are used to group Client PCs into organizational units Each Site contains infor mation on hardware and software change histories software utilization license compliance for the PCs that are assigned to it To open the Site Manger click the Site Manager icon in the Portal window toolbar To make a Site available through the Portal 1 Inthe Site Manager click the Add Site button 2 Inthe Portal Site Wizard click the Next button to add a Site The Wi
306. sh license key supplied when you purchased your copy of Vector Asset Management all La New Edit Delete 2 Inthe Settings dialog select Agent Control A list of the currently available Agent Control Files is displayed To enter you Macintosh license key 1 Inthe File menu of the Configuration Manager select Enter Serial Number The Registration 3 Select the Default Agent Control profile and dialog is displayed click the Edit button The Agent Control File dialog is displayed 2 Complete the registration details and click the OK button to apply your key 4 To change the interval at which the Macintosh Clients save their hardware data to the Offline area Specifying when Clients save their data a Select MacAdmin Hardware Audit and click the Schedule button The Schedule Agent When you first install the Macintosh Client kit all cer dialog is displayed Macintosh Clients are configured to save their inventory data to the Offline Area each time they b Inthe Schedule Agent dialog select a Run are rebooted This behavior is defined in the All Agent option and click the OK button to save Machines Agent Control File You can change your changes these settings using the Agent Control File section 5 To change the interval at which the Macintosh of Macintosh Configuration Manager 9 Clients save their software data to the Offline area To change the push interval of Clients
307. sily load any existing asset information into your Site database or to quickly compile your asset data into a spreadsheet and then use it to extend your database To import asset data 1 Inthe Assets Database window choose Import Assets in the File menu The Import Assets dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Filename field enter the path and name of the file that contains the data you want to import or click the Browse button to search for the file 3 Inthe Delimiter list select the character that the file uses as a field separator 4 Ifthe file contains header information enter the row at which the data starts in the Start import at row field 5 In the Default Clientname if required for Asset Type field type the text you want to use as the Client name of an asset when the associated asset type requires a Client name 6 Choose an On Error option to specify the behavior of the application when it encounters errors 7 Click the OK button to close the dialog and import the data into the Assets Database Exporting Asset Data The Assets database enables you to export data in delimited text files so that you can copy it to other Site databases or use it in spreadsheets and reports To export asset data 1 Inthe Assets Database window choose Export Assets in the File menu 2 Inthe Export Assets dialog enter a Filename for the text file or click the Browse button to choose a file and location 3 Inthe Delimiter list
308. sionInfo Excludes Enable Compression IV lt l xI xI cmoa ov tee If directory snapshots are disabled the Snapshot Drives setting has no effect 5 When snapshots are enabled by default Vector AM attempts to collect the version information that some software manufacturers encode in their application files Clear the Enable VersionInfo check box if you do not want Clients to collect this information 6 When the VersionInfo setting is enabled Clients attempt to collect version information from EXE DLL and OCX files If you want to change the types of file from which the infor mation is collected enter the file extensions in the VersionInfo Files field 7 Clients attempt to collect version information from all directories of Clients To prevent Clients from checking specific directories for version information enter the directories in this field This option enables you to prevent the Client appli cation from searching for version information in directories or drives where no applications are installed 8 By default software inventory data is compressed before it is transferred to the Offline Area To prevent this compression when for troubleshooting clear the Enable compression check box Offline Area Settings Offline areas are intermediate directories in which the Client software stores the raw data it collects from managed computers and through which instructions are
309. software data from Windows systems without first installing the Client application If you want to create a kit to collect one shot data to this Offline Area select Copy One shot Kit 8 If you want to install the Client application from the Offline Area select Copy Client Kit The Client Kit is used to install the Client appli cation on the PCs you want to manage from the Console It contains the default settings that specify how the Clients will work When you copy the kit to the Offline Area Vector AM automatically adds the Offline Area location and Client account details specified in this dialog so new Clients can start working as soon as they are installed 9 Click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog Specifying a Global Site If your installation uses multiple Sites one of them must be defined as the Global Site It stores the Package Distribution Definitions which control and configure remote software installations made with the Distribute Software operation When you add or edit the Package Definitions using the Package Definition Editor these modifications are made to the data in the Global Site database When you create a new Site using the Site Creation Wizard s default options it is automati cally defined as the Global Site You can also assign Global status to a Site when you create it using the Wizard s custom settings To change the Global Site 1 Inthe Enterprise Management folder c
310. spects of a report with colleagues you can e mail the report to other people directly from the Portal To e mail a report from the Portal 1 Inthe Portal open the report and if required customize it 2 Open the section you want to e mail and click the Send button The Send Report dialog is displayed 3 In the Send Report dialog enter the e mail address of the person to whom you want to send the report and a Subject for the e mail Use a semi colon to separate multiple addresses 4 Inthe Attachment Type list select the format in which you want to send the report section 5 Inthe Body field enter the message CHAPTER 14 The Vector Asset Management Portal 6 Click the Send button to e mail the message and close the dialog Saving Reports to File If you need to take a copy of a report section for later use you can save the section that is currently open in one of the several file formats available in Crystal Reports Export function You can then open and work with the data using the appropriate application To save the current report section to file 1 Open the section you want to save 2 In the report toolbar click the Export 43 button 3 Inthe Export Report dialog select a File Format 4 Enter a location and name for the file in the File name field Alternatively click the Browse button to select a location and file name 5 Click the OK button to save the report The Web Client The Vector AM W
311. st DBS Exit 2 Click the Stop button to suspend the Scheduler 3 Under Database site select the new Site database from the Selected sites only list or select All sites 4 Click the Start button to check and save the new settings 5 Click the OK button to restart the Scheduler as a background application or click the Run Service button to restart the Scheduler as a Service Maintaining Microsoft Access Databases Microsoft Access databases are limited to 1GB of disk space Vector AM reports errors as soon as an Access Site database reaches this limit and an update fails You may be able to reduce the size of an Access database by compacting it from within the application or by using the Windows Control Panel To compact an Access Database 1 Close all Consoles or Schedulers 2 Inthe Windows Control Panel double click the 32 bit ODBC Data Sources icon 3 In the ODBC Data Source Administrator dialog select the System DSN tab 4 Inthe System Data Sources list select the DSN of the database then click the Configure button The ODBC Microsoft Access Setup dialog is displayed 5 Click the Compact button You should compact from your Access database and then compact to the same database or to a new temporary database file and use it to replace the original uncompacted file 6 After compacting the database close the dialogs and the Control Panel window and check the size of the database You can
312. such as HWINV_1_OF_5 LOG HWINV_2_of_5 LOG e OPERTYPE n The short operation type name such as HWINV for Hardware Inventory e JOBNAME n The name of the Job e HOST n The name of the Scheduler managing the Job e USERNAME n The name of the account used by the Scheduler e FROMHOST n The name of the Console that submitted the Job The string value n is optional If you specify a value after a token only the first n characters of the name are returned For example if the Job name is MySoftware JOBNAME 6 returns MySott Date and Time Tokens Use the date and time tokens to add the date and time when the Job was run to the name of a Job Log e DATE e HHMM e DDMMYY e MMDDYY e YYMMDD Monitoring Schedulers The Schedulers View in the Console lists all the Schedulers assigned to the current Site and their statuses Use the View to display and change selected properties of the Schedulers To check and configure a Scheduler from the Console 1 Right click the Scheduler entry and choose Properties from the shortcut menu 75 The Host Details dialog is displayed It contains information on the status of the Scheduler when it was started and how many Jobs it has run since it was last started 2 If you want to change the frequency with which the Scheduler checks for new Jobs enter a new value in the Wakeup interval The default Scheduler Wakeup Interval is 60 seconds Increase the
313. sult in significant Client and network loads when scanning and transferring data you can use the following settings to limit the drives and type of files for which you maintain an inventory For example if all applications are installed on a Client s C drive and only data is stored on other drives you can use this option to limit the inventory snapshot to the C drive To configure the snapshots for Client PCs 1 2 Select the Directory snapshot tab Select the Modify Setting check boxes of the settings you want to change If you want to enable the collection of Full software inventory data select the Enable directory snapshot check box If you want to restrict the software inventory collection to specific drives enter the drives in the Snapshot Drives field using a comma separated list For example type C E to collect inventory data from the C and E drives and to cancel collection from all other Client drives Customize Client Configuration x Software metering Automatic Self Updates Pre processing and post processing Miscellaneous General Offline Area Inventory analysis User prompting Directory snapshot Use this tab to specify the drives from which you want Clients to collect software and to specify the type of data to be collected Modify setting Vv Enable directory snapshot IV m Snapshot drives e g C D F Enable Versioninfo IV Versioninfo Files exe e g exe dll a Ver
314. t By default the audit process collects hardware inventory and software information and saves it to the audit PC s A drive If you want to select the information which is collected or specify the location of the saved files edit the LUCLIENT INI file in the Console s AuditClientKit directory with a text editor such as NOTEPAD before using the Audit procedure to collect data The installed audit kit works only with Windows 95 or later If you want to edit an audit kit for a Windows 3 x system you must first copy the 16 bit audit kit from the LU32 AUDIT 16 bit directory on the Vector AM CD If you are running the audit from diskette or a network share LUCLIENT INI must be located in the same directory as the other audit files Specifying the Data Collection Area Capturing data to diskette is only necessary for non networked PCs You can collect data from networked PCs by copying the Audit executable area to a file server and editing the LUCLIENT INI file to specify the server area in which you want to save the audit data The Audit executable area must be read only the data area must allow full read write access By default LUCLIENT INI specifies A as the root directory for collected Audit data To change the data collection area edit the following entry in LUCLIENT INI Offline Mode Offline DirPa th a You can specify an alternative collection area by entering its drive letter and directory path or it
315. t PCs must have a specific virus checker installed or you can use them to specify the software required by specific Clients such as the software needed by PCs in the Engineering department To add packages to a package policy 1 Inthe tree expand the package policy you want to update 2 Double click the Packages entry and select the option to which you want add an application For example if you want to specify that an application must not be installed on PCs in this policy select Prohibited The List View displays the applications that are currently assigned to the option 3 Choose Add Package in the Edit menu The Add Packages dialog is displayed 4 Inthe Add Packages dialog select the appli cation you want to add to this option To select more than one entry press the Control or Shift key as you click each entry 5 If you want to specify a particular release of the software for this policy type the version number in the Version field You can specify a version only when one package is selected You must enter the version number in same format as used in the Applications Library For more infor mation see The Applications Library on page 105 6 Click the OK button The package is displayed in the List View For more information on adding software to the list of packages recognized by Vector AM see Exporting and Importing the Application Library on page 118 To remove applications from
316. tabase Changes made to the Site database using the Database Viewer are not protected For example changes to software inventory data will be overwritten when the results of a software inventory operation are next saved to the Site database Take care when using this option Some changes can result in the loss of data or the corruption of the Site database For example editing the names of nodes can result in the duplication or loss of Client data lt template filename gt Specifies the name of the HTML template file on which the generated HTML report is based lt report filename gt Specifies the name of the report file in which the generated HTML report file is saved The quotation marks are required The lt and gt characters are not part of the command line You can modify the DSN user name password and SQL values when the Database Viewer has loaded Using Tokens in Viewer Command Line You can simplify the Database Viewer syntax using tokens For example the DSNACCESS token can be used to identify the Data Source Name user name and password in the standard command format for the Database Viewer These tokens eliminate the need to include user specific information in the operation definition The example database views all use tokens Fora list of operation tokens see Using Tokens in Command Launch Operations on page 169 Scheduling the Generation of Views By customizing the command line for a
317. talla tion This error may occur if a Client PC reboot or shutdown was attempted during the Package installation Failed to install package Package User launch setup error Check account username and password This installation error will be generated if an incorrect username and password is being used Try logging on as different user Failed to install package Package Applica tion launch failed status Status Check the Kit Path command line and target execut ables Failed to install package Package Unable to connect to Pre process path Access denied Check the Package Definition s Pre process settings Failed to install package Package Unable to connect to Post process path Access denied Check the Package Definition s Post process settings 197 Error Messages on Client PCs Unless you are performing a Totally Silent instal lation error messages may be displayed on the Client PC These error messages all begin with Installation of Package failed The subsequent text will be one of the following messages Insufficient disk space to proceed with installa tion This package is being put into Holding status The Client PC failed the free disk space check specified in the Package s Distribution Definition Insufficient privilege to proceed with installa tion This package is being put into Holding status The Agent is not running with the Adminis trator level privileges required The Software
318. te data and to enter database access information For Access Databases Enter the location of the Site database in the Database Path field For MSDE or SQL Server Databases In the Server field enter the name of the PC on which SQL Server is running In the Database field enter the name of the database you want to use r SQL Server MSDE Database Configuration How do you want to configure your SQL Server Database Enter the Server and Database names Server IDB3 PCDE Database Ste01 Database level logon To access the Database with SQL Server Security enter the details of the SQL Server Account To access the Database using Windows Security leave these fields blank Usemame Password Verify password For Oracle Databases In the Service field enter the name of the Oracle Client Service you have set up for your Site database For ODBC Database Configurations In the Data source list select the name of the ODBC data source you want to use to access the Site database If access to the selected database is restricted enter the Username and Password that you want Vector AM to use to access the database If you are using a SQL Server or MSDE database and you want to control access to it with Windows Security leave the Username Password and Verify fields blank Vector AM then uses the account details of the user who is currently logged on to the Console PC to access the Sit
319. te database without collecting inventory data The Offline Scanner The Offline Scanner is controlled by a Site Scheduler By default it checks all the Offline Areas assigned to a Site for new Clients every two minutes When it finds a new subdirectory the Offline Scanner automatically saves the software hardware and user prompting data to the Site database and lists the Client in the All Clients group of the Console s Clients folder When you create an Evaluation Site or enable the Offline Scanner in the Site Creation Wizard s Offline Scanner dialog the Scanner automatically starts when the Site is created You can also enable the Scanner from the Site Management folder To activate the Offline Scanner 1 Click Offline Scanner Options in the Site Management folder m Offline scanner options IV Enable offline scanning Scan interval 2 wakeup interval s Scanner host DB3 el Cancel 2 Inthe Offline Scanner Options dialog ensure the Enable offline scanning check box is selected 3 In the Scanner host list select the Scheduler with which you want to manage the Offline Scanner If no Scheduler is available activate the Scheduler see below 4 Click OK to activate the scanner and close the Offline Scanner Options dialog 52 CHAPTER 5 Working with Clients Activating the Scheduler When the Offline Scanner is running new Clients will begin to appear in the Console
320. te it is removed from the list of available Sites in the Console but the database files are not deleted Deleting a Site on one Console does not affect other Consoles or Sched ulers which continue to use the Sites they are configured to access If possible Vector AM also removes the Data Source Name DSN associated with the Site database To delete a Site right click the Site in the Console tree and choose Delete Site from the shortcut menu 43 CHAPTER 4 Managing Sites Configuring the Offline Scanner The Offline Scanner enables you to automatically populate a Site with Clients It is usually activated using the Site Creation Wizard s Offline Scanner dialog After creating a Site you can configure the Offline Scanner using the Offline Scanner Options dialog To configure the Offline Scanner 1 Inthe Console Site Management folder click Offline Scanner Options x r Offline scanner options IV Enable offline scanning Scan interval 2 wakeup interval s Scanner host DB3 Cancel 2 If you want Vector AM to automatically detect new Clients select the Enable offline scanning check box 3 Inthe Scanner Host list select the Scheduler that will perform the Offline Scanning 4 Ensure the Scan interval is set This value specifies the number of cycles the Scheduler makes before checking for new Clients As the Scheduler checks the Offline Area every minute the default val
321. tested following an installation to ensure the installation was successful When you enter a check path you can enter a size for the file If the file is found but does not match the specified size the installation will proceed To specify summary information 1 Inthe tree expand the Package Definition you want to update then click Summary The Summary pane is displayed 2 Ifyou want to change the name of the Package Definition type a new name in the Package name field The change is displayed in the tree when you close the definition 3 For each check path you want to specify a Inthe Check paths section click the Add button b Inthe Check Path Details dialog enter the location and name of a file you want to use to check for the presence of this software package Use and as wildcard characters to detect multiple files in a single check path If any matching files are present the package will not be installed Check paths are treated as local paths on each PC You can use environment variables in check paths such as TEMP to specify the PC s local TEMP directory For more information see Using Tokens in Package Distribution Definitions on page 156 c If you want to check for a specific version of the file enter the size of the file in the Value field d Click the OK button to save the check path and close the dialog 4 If you want to amend or remove any check paths select the path in the list
322. tion Agent Shutdown requested during package installation A Client PC reboot or shutdown was attempted during the Package installation File not found A file required by the Package installation was missing Check the install path and Kit location Installation of Package requires a system reboot We recommend that you close all appli cations and select Yes to reboot now If this is not possible select No and reboot as soon as you can Reboot Now The Client PC must be rebooted to complete the installation Users can choose to reboot immediately or later User launch setup error Check account user name and password An incorrect username and password is being used Log on as different user Application launch failed status Status Check the Kit Path command line and target executables Unable to connect to Pre process path Access denied Check the Package Definition s Pre process settings Unable to connect to Post process path Access denied Check the Package Definition s Post process settings 199 Appendix B Installation Commands When you purchase third party software you can use the Distribute Software operation to install the software across the Clients on your network for more information see Chapter 15 Software Distri bution on page 149 This appendix details the command line parameters you can use to control your software roll outs with some of the most common installation pa
323. tion and telephone number The replies are then displayed in the Hardware Details section of each Client s Hardware Inventory r User Prompting Do you want to customize the User Prompt questions When the Vector Client application is first installed it collects supporting information from the user by displaying a series of questions To modify the questions click Set User Prompts To install the Client application without user questions deselect Enable User Prompting M Enable User Prompting Set User Prompts lt Back Cancel Help If you want to collect information from users select the Enable User Prompting check box If you want to modify or delete the default user prompts or to add your own questions click Set User Prompting to display the prompt editor Click the Next button to continue You can prompt users for information at any time using the Get User Data operation For more infor mation on creating and modifying user prompts see Chapter 8 User Prompting The Client Deployment Dialog Vector Asset Management uses a small Client application approximately 8 MB excluding data files to collect data from PCs and to implement commands entered by Console users Use the Client Deployment dialog to choose how you want to deploy the Client application to computers on your network Vector recommends that you use Active Directory to deploy the Vector AM Client This i
324. tion at the specified interval 6 Ifyou want Vector AM to update existing Clients when the specified Client Kit Location is upgraded with a new version of the Client appli cation select Automatically upgrade Client to the latest version Normally the Redeployment Settings have no effect on computers where the Client application is installed However they will reinstall the Client application when the installation is damaged or when the Client kit contains a newer version of the Client application than the target computers 7 Click the OK button to save your changes Deploying the Client Automatically Automatic Client Deployment enables Vector AM to search your network for systems where the Vector AM Client is not installed and to perform automatic deployments of the Standard or One shot Clients It can also be used to automatically update existing Clients with new versions of the Client application To enable Automatic Client Deployment 1 Select Configure Automatic Client Deployment in the Console s Client Deployment amp Mainte nance folder The Automatic Client Deployment dialog is displayed gt Automatic Client Deployment Deployment Exclusions Schedule IV Enable Automatic Deployment Active Profes MENEE Sea NU SEN ON aes L l gt Modify Remove The following filters identify the target computers for profile Vector AM Client 1 Domain OU Node name IP addr
325. tions The selected Package Definitions are imported into the Package Definition Editor To export a Package Definition 1 Inthe Package Definition Editor choose Export from the File menu 2 Inthe Save As dialog navigate to the directory in which you want to save the file 3 Enter a name for the file then click the Save button to export the Package Definition Linking Package Definitions to Packages You can link Package Definitions created in the Package Definition Editor with the software packages that can be identified by the Update Software Inventory operations This enables you to ensure consistency between package names and Package Distribution Definitions To link a package definition to a Package Recognition Rule 1 Inthe tree right click the Package Definition you want to link to and choose Link to Vector Package in the shortcut menu 2 Inthe Select Package dialog locate the Package in the list 3 Select the Use package name for distribution name check box if you want to rename the Package Definition with the Package name used by Vector AM 4 Click the OK button to save your changes and return to the Package Definition Editor A linked icon is displayed alongside the Package Definition To remove a link to a Package right click the Package Definition in the tree and choose Unlink from Vector Package from the shortcut menu The linked icon alongside the Package Definition changes to an unlinked icon T
326. to a network In addition Online Client functionality permits direct access to networked PCs real time Console users can perform most operations without consideration for the type of access involved For PCs that are never connected to a network Vector AM also supports a diskette based auditing facility Interactive and Scheduled Use Vector AM can execute most operations interactively and at a scheduled date and time This enables users to automate regular tasks and to minimize the effects on the network by scheduling operations for periods of low usage At the same time it gives users the ability to access the latest information when they need it Minimum Impact on Network and Servers You can limit the number of Jobs that a Scheduler is allowed to process concurrently This allows you to prevent burst problems when for example several urgent Jobs may be submitted together for immediate processing You can also limit the frequency at which Client PCs access the server and because they use data compression the network load is minimized when data transfers are made Maximum Compatibility for Networks Vector AM uses the standard Microsoft Windows Networking functions used by Windows Explorer This ensures maximum compatibility with most PC networks reduces installation problems and improves support for NetWare based networks Feedback and Visibility In addition to the flexi bility of on demand operations the Active Host Ar
327. to suit the requirements of your Site or create new Profiles using the Deployment Profile editor To manage your Deployment Profiles either choose Profiles in the Edit menu of the Interactive Client Deployment window or click the Add button in the Automatic Client Deployment dialog The Deployment Profiles dialog lists the Standard and One shot profiles that are available for use in the currently selected Site To create a new deployment profile click New To view and edit the details of an existing profile double click its entry in the list e To update an existing profile select the profile in the list and click Edit To base a new profile on an existing profile select the existing profile in the list and click Copy To delete a profile select its entry in the list and click Delete To create a default profile for each Client kit in each Offline Area associated with this Site click Add standard profiles Profile Details The Profile Details tab of the Deployment Profile Editor specifies the type of deployment you want to make the installation instructions for the deployment and the systems on which the kit can be installed n Deployment Profile Editor a Profile Details Credentials and Kit Location Options Profile name Vector AM Client 1 Kit Type Vector AM Client X Package Definition PD file CAProgram Files Vector Asset Management vectorclient Browse
328. to use to enter the Client selection criteria for the view Click Select data using natural language to enter the selection criteria using english like state ments Select data using SQL to enter the selection criteria using Structured Query Language Click the Next button to continue The Database View Type Dialog Database views can be presented in a grid similar to that used to display Client details in the Console or in HTML format The contents of views can also be saved to file for use in other applica tions Use the Database View Type dialog to specify how you want the data to be displayed To specify the type of view you want to create 1 Choose a view option Select 136 CHAPTER 13 Reports and Database Views Show interactive datagrid view to display the data in the Database Viewer Select Read only view if you want to prevent users from modifying the data displayed in the Viewer Show interactive HTML report to display the data in your browser Store HTML report in a file to save the data to a file in HTML format so that it can be viewed later in a browser Store report in a file using delimited fields to save the data to a text file so it can be used in applications such as a spreadsheet Each field in the file is separated by a comma 2 Ifyou chose to create an HTML based view enter the template you want to use to control the report layout 3 If you chose to save the view to file enter its
329. tor AM Control installation This defines the Client config uration settings that users are allowed to change in the Active Directory Console and specifies how the settings modify the Client configuration file LUCLIENT INI To add the Vector AM Administrative Template to Active Directory 1 In the Windows Control Panel Administrative Tools double click Active Directory Users and Computers The Users and Computers View is displayed 2 Group policies can be applied to domains or to the organizational units such as groups users and computers Right click the organizational unit or the domain you want to configure and choose Properties from the shortcut menu The Properties dialog is opened 3 Inthe Properties dialog select the Group Policy tab and double click the policy to which you want to apply the Vector AM Administrative Template The Groups Policy window is displayed 4 Expand the Computer Configuration folder in the tree right click Administrative Templates and select Add Remove Templates The Add Remove Templates dialog is displayed The Vector AM Administrative Template can only be applied to Computer Configurations 5 In the Add Remove Templates dialog click the Add button The Policy Templates dialog is displayed 6 Inthe Policy Templates dialog select VAMCli entPolicy ADM in the Vector AM Console s installation directory and click the Open button The Vector Asset Management Client Settings Administrative
330. tor AM is first installed Software Metering monitors the usage of all software on all Client PCs Use this feature to omit specific appli cations from the software metering reports or to omit all the applications started from a specific directory For example if you are not interested in where Notepad is being used or how long it is being used for Software Metering Exclusions enable you to remove all notifications of its use from your metering reports 128 CHAPTER 11 Software Asset Management To prevent metering of applications started from a particular directory 1 Click Software Metering Exclusions in the Software Metering folder 2 Inthe Software Metering Exclusions dialog select the Exclude directories from software metering check box 3 Inthe entry field type the name of the directory you do not want to meter 4 Click to add the directory to the list of exclu sions 5 Click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog To prevent metering of a specific application 1 Click Software Metering Exclusions in the Software Metering folder 2 Inthe Software Metering Settings dialog select the Exclude applications from software metering check box 3 Inthe entry field type the name of the executable you do not want to meter 4 Click to add the application to the list of exclu sions 5 Click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog You can use the asterisk character as a
331. try in a group and choose Hardware Details from the shortcut menu The responses are listed in the User Prompt Responses section of the Hardware Inventory window 89 90 CHAPTER 8 User Prompting e Open the Comprehensive Client Report from the Hardware Scan folder and select the Clients you want to view The responses are listed in the User Information section of the report You can use the responses to identify Clients in dynamic groups by choosing User Prompt Infor mation in the SQLWizard s Field Selector list For more information see Importing and Exporting Groups on page 59 91 Chapter 9 Network Devices Network devices are items of equipment that can be connected to a computer network These include the core network elements such as hubs routers switches and bridges and the computers and servers that are used by the organization They can also include office equipment such as printers and copiers Internet telephones and specialized laboratory and manufacturing equipment The Network Devices folder lists all the devices that Vector AM has found on your network together with selected data that enables you to monitor their use Configuring Network Device Discovery The Network Device Discovery job collects and analyzes data from the devices installed on your network using SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol and SIP Session Initiation Protocol When the job is enabled the Vector AM Console acts
332. tstanding You can change the frequency at which Clients connect to the Offline Area using the Configure Clients operation However this can affect the responsiveness of the Distribution Agent running on those PCs Agent Logging Activity When an installation is completed the Agent adds entries to the centralized log files so that you can see how the Job is progressing Any errors are also logged The location of these log files is specified in the Software Distribution Wizard Monitoring Distribution Jobs When software packages are distributed using the Software Distribution Wizard Vector AM automati cally starts a system Job to monitor the progress of the package installation on each target Client This Job collects the installation events and records them in the Site database where you can track the installation on individual Clients using the Software Distribution Jobs window To view your distribution Jobs click the Monitor Software Distribution operation in the Console fl Software Distribution Jobs Sites File Tools View Help Os ae O48 Distribution Jobs Package Items Job Status Date Submited Cents Host Package r windows XP SR 1 Pending 02022002 10 00 00AM 4 SRV3 XPSRI I Development Maintenance Active 18 01 20025 00 00PM__5 SRV Star Office 38t Word Processor Active 20 01 2002 10 00 00AM amp SRV 4 MS Word X Research Maintenance Complete 20 01 2002800 00AM_ 4 Star Oi
333. tured Vector AM installation by automatically creating a default database and Offline Area on the computer where the Console is installed and helps you to quickly deploy the Vector AM Client to the computers you want to manage Vector Networks recommends using this option if you are new to Vector AM or want to manage a small Site of less than 50 computers Evaluation Sites are not configurable and have limited scalability because they use a local Microsoft Access or SQL Server Express database If you want to control the type of database used the locations of your database and Offline Area Client deployment settings or inves tigate all the Site creation options available in Vector AM refer to Creating Production Sites on page 13 Starting the Site Creation Wizard The Site Creation Wizard is automatically displayed the first time you open the Vector AM Console You can also start it at any time by opening the Console and clicking Create New Site in the Enterprise Management folder 8 CHAPTER 2 Creating Sites r A Site Creation Mode xe fies Which Site options do you want to use up All PCs managed by Vector are grouped in a Site Each Site contains information on hardware and software installed on Client PCs and on the operations and reports that enable you to manage them Select Create Evaluation Site to create a Site using default options Select Create Production Site to choose the Site options and
334. u want to manage It enables you to use the full range of Enterprise services and modules Deploy One shot Client to collect software and hardware data from Windows systems without permanently installing the Client This option installs the Client software collects inventory data from the selected computers and then uninstalls itself It enables you to maintain and view information on computers where it is not appropriate to install the Client or that are not permanently connected to a network but does not support Software Metering or Software Distri bution Deploy Clients later to create a Site without installing the Client application You can install the Client application at any time using the Console s interactive or automatic deployment options or using Active Directory For more information on Client deployment see Chapter 3 Deploying the Vector AM Client 8 By default Vector AM searches for all intelligent devices in the same subnet as the Console computer To search a different set of IP addresses select another entry in the Scan IP range list To search for devices later deselect Perform Network Device discovery For more information on device discovery see Chapter 9 Network Devices 9 If you selected Deploy Clients later click the Finish button to create the Site If you selected Deploy Standard Client or Deploy One shot Client click the Next button to display the Select Clients dialog 1
335. ubmitted The Submit Job dialog is displayed It contains the following tabs Tab Description Job Names the Job and displays the opera tion details Schedule Specifies when and how often the Job is to be performed Logging Controls how the Job logs its progress 74 CHAPTER 6 Working with Operations Tab Description Retry Specifies if and how the Job should be reattempted when the operation sup ports retries 3 Inthe Job tab enter a Job name 4 Inthe Schedule tab enter the Starting run date and Starting run time You can defer a Job by setting a first run date that is far in the future such as Jan 1st 2010 and then rescheduling it later 5 Inthe Host list select the Scheduler on which you want the operation to run If an operation is customized to run on a specific Scheduler the Scheduler is pre selected in the Submit Job dialog To override this default select another Scheduler from the list 6 Set the frequency with which you want the operation to run 7 Inthe Logging tab select the logging options to specify how the Job records its progress For more information see Using Tokens in Log File Names 8 If the submitted operation supports retries select the Retry tab and specify how often the Scheduler can attempt to start the Job You can specify the retry interval in units of Minutes Hours Days or Weeks This interval enables you to define a Job for C
336. ue of 2 means the Offline Area is checked for new Clients every two minutes 5 Click OK to save the changes You can also populate a Site with Clients using the Find Offline Clients operation See page 52 for more details Assigning Schedulers to a Site In Vector AM the Job Scheduler can run as a background application or as a Service You can use both modes within a Site but an individual PC can use only one mode at a time However each Scheduler can run against one or more Sites If you use multiple Sites you must assign at least one Scheduler to each Site When you create a new Site database or move an existing Site database you must reconfigure Schedulers to include the changes To assign a Scheduler to a Site Database 1 If the Scheduler is running as a Service click Configure Scheduler in the Console s Site Management folder If the Scheduler is running as a background application double click the Scheduler icon in the System Tray of the Windows Taskbar The WinScheduler Properties dialog is displayed Ay WinScheduler Properties foes Database site Al sites C Selected sites only OVAM 5 7 ACCE M 5 7 D Wector Data Logfile PCD Scheduler Log Browse E Wake up interval o a Start Max active jobs 5 l Teie Hide running jobs F7 Run jobs as low priority Run Service Run mode I Debug extra detail I Verbose informational 74 Jun 10 17 07 48 Initializing on Ho
337. umber and warns you when you have exceeded the License number This enables you to track spare software assets Software Identification Wizard Software Properties Welcome to the Software Identification Wizard Use the Software Identification Wizard to specify the files and file properties that can be used to identify the applications found on Client PCs Enter the details for the application you want to identify Name Apache HTTP Server x Type www x Vendor Apache Software Foundation Licenses fo Platform Windows zi T Hide this application in asset management and inventory reports Enable concurrent use monitoring for this application Next gt Cancel Help 5 Select an entry in the Platform list to specify the operating system to which the identification rule applies For information on creating identification rules for Macintosh Clients see Chapter 18 Macintosh Clients on page 181 6 If you want to identify an application but do not want to manage it select Hide this application in asset management and software inventory reports For example if you want to remove an entry from the Unidentified Application list select this check box 7 If this application is used under a concurrent licensing agreement and you want to calculate concurrent usage data on this application for use in Software Metering reports select Enable concurrent use monitoring for this appl
338. umber of PCs on separate LANs Vector Networks recommends setting up an Offline Area on each LAN so that Clients do not need to send their data over WAN connections To minimize the effects of transferring large amounts of data across the network Schedulers should be used to automate the performance of inventory and distri bution operations at quiet periods Large LAN WAN Environments On larger networks or Wide Area Networks Vector Networks recommends creating one or more Offline Areas for each business unit or LAN and storing data in a central SQL Server or Oracle database located on a network server Alterna tively you can create multiple Sites conforming to 13 14 CHAPTER 2 Creating Sites logical or business divisions within your organi zation each with their own database For more information on Offline Areas or Sites and the database schema see Chapter 4 Managing Sites Due to restrictions on the number of simultaneous connections that can be made to most Windows Operating Systems Vector Networks recommends you locate Offline Areas on computers running Windows 2000 2003 or 2008 Server To create a Production Site 1 In the Enterprise Management folder click Create New Site The Site Creation Wizard is displayed S Site Creation Mode in Which Site options do you want to use up All PCs managed by Vector are grouped in a Site Each Site contains information on hardware and softwa
339. ure Client Kit dialog edit the settings you want to change For more information on individual settings see the online help 3 Click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog The changes are saved to the Client Kit and will be applied when you create new Clients that use the Offline Area For information on installing Clients see Chapter 3 Deploying the Vector AM Client on page 21 Creating Offline Areas The Offline Paths dialog enables you to add Offline Areas to the currently selected Site and to edit and remove existing Offline Areas Due to restrictions on the number of simultaneous connections that can be made to most Windows Operating Systems Vector Networks recommends you locate Offline Areas on computers running Windows 2003 Server or 2008 Server To create an Offline Area 1 Right click the Offline Areas folder in the Console tree Clients section and choose the Modify Offline Areas option from the menu 41 42 CHAPTER 4 Managing Sites 2 Inthe Offline Areas dialog click the Add button The Offline Path Share and Client Kit dialog is displayed s The offline area is a shared directory which enables Clients to make their data available to Vector Consoles and Schedulers r Offline Path Share and Client Kit Use this dialog to specify the name and location of the offline area share and to specify the details of the accounts that can be used to access it Offline a
340. urrent Clients together with the Sites they are assigned to so you can use it to get an up to date overview of the computers within your Vector AM installation Interactive Client Deployment opens automatically if you choose Interactive Deployment when creating a new Site in Production mode You can also open it at any time using the Deploy Clients Interactively operation in the Console s Client Deployment amp Maintenance folder 22 CHAPTER 3 Deploying the Vector AM Client Using Interactive Deployment When you open Interactive Client Deployment it automatically checks your network and lists its Domains and if you have implemented Active Directory Organizational Units To view the nodes on your network select an entry in the Domains or Active Directory folders of the Client Deployment tree All the currently available nodes in your selection are displayed Initially the node icons are grayed to indicate the information has been taken from the Site database When a node is detected the icon changes to indicate its status ih The Client application has not been deployed ie A Client deployment is in progress The Client application is installed or a one shot audit has been performed on the node The node is excluded from deployments The Client deployment has failed em ye The node has been previously discovered but is not currently available Ma Deploying the Vector AM Client The Vector AM Clie
341. us of the installation on each associated Client plus the time and date when the installation started and the last task completed by each Client click an entry in the Distribution Jobs list or Package Items list You can use the Distribution Job Viewer to perform the following tasks To list all the currently completed events for a Client double click its entry in the Client list To display the progress of a distribution Job ina chart right click the Job and choose Show Summary in the shortcut menu To create a new fixed group select the Clients in the Clients list right click your selections and choose Make a Fixed Group in the shortcut menu To change the Scheduler that is currently responsible for monitoring the progress of the selected distribution Job right click the Job and choose Change Monitoring Host To update the database with the latest feedback from the Clients choose Start Feedback Collector in the View menu This option can take some time to complete because it forces the immediate collection of feedback from all Clients assigned to the selected Job By default the Scheduler that ran the Distribute Software Job also monitors the progress of the Job Use this option if you want to shut down the Scheduler without affecting the monitoring of active distribution Jobs e To update the Viewer with the latest information from the database choose Refresh All in the View menu or press the F5 key e To de
342. ush interval However this reduces the responsiveness of Clients and increases the time required for config uration changes to take effect Offline prefix Each Client creates its own folder in the Offline Area when it saves its inventory data Each folder is prefixed with the string LU by default Enter a string of up to four alphanumeric characters in this field to specify your own identifi cation code for the subfolders that belong to Clients created with this kit Enable debug Select this check box to display information windows when the Client application captures data and to generate extra logging infor mation to help identify problems Debugging is disabled by default Inventory Analysis The Inventory Analysis settings of the Client control the collection of hardware and software inventory data from Client PCs Client Kit Settings S Directory snapshot Software metering Pre and post processing Offline area Inventory analysis User prompting wa The Windows Analyzer collects hardware inventory data used in z Enterprise Reports and Views Only disable this option when you need to investigate problems with Clients DOS CPU checker Registry identifications Iv Microsoft serial numbers Vv DMI BIOS checker Vv Factory defaults Windows Analyzer The Windows analyzer collects hardware inventory data such as device lists card information and network data from Client PCs It cannot be d
343. ve 3 When you have finished defining the discovery settings for your network click OK to save your changes The updates will be used when the Network Device Discovery job next runs Schedule To ensure that as many network devices as possible are switched on and detectable the Network Device Discovery job is timed to run at 13 00 each day by default Use the Schedule tab if you want to change the start time or frequency of the job To modify the job schedule 1 Select the Schedule tab 2 Inthe Start date list enter the date when you want the operation to start 3 In the Start time field enter the time at which you want the operation to start 4 Inthe Host list select the Scheduler which Enterprise can use to start and monitor the job 5 Choose a schedule 6 To prevent the Scheduler from running a repeat job at specific times or on specific days deselect the intervals you want to exclude in the Start Control slots Normally a Scheduler starts a job within 90 seconds of the specified start time However if the selected Host is unavailable or already running at full capacity when a job is due to start it will attempt to start the outstanding job at the next available opportunity To ensure that a job is restricted to specific times or specific days deselect the Start Control slots when the operation must not start Device Properties Device information is accessed through the Network Devices folder of the Consol
344. ve button to specify the file and location 4 Click the OK button to export the Data View and close the dialog You can base exported HTML reports on your own template HTML files which could contain organi zation or departmental logos or customized formatting You can use the following tokens in an HTML template file Token Description TITLE Report Title DATE Date on which the report was generated TABLEHEADS Header columns of the table TABLEDATA Table data Using Tokens in HTML Files When you export a report in HTML format the Database Viewer automatically adds HTML code for table rows lt TR gt tags and table cells lt TD gt tags to preserve the tabular layout of the Data View However your TABLEHEADS and TABLEDATA tokens must be enclosed in HTML table tags as shown here lt TABLE gt add tokens here lt TABLE gt 139 Keep this in mind when creating HTML templates as the Database Viewer does not insert the lt TABLE gt tags for you Remember that your table formatting can be overwritten by colors specified in the Database Viewer s HTML Report dialog To improve control over the display of your data we recommend adding a stylesheet section to your template page inside the lt HEAD gt tag of your HTML file If you are not familiar with HTML you can reformat an HTML Report file in an authoring tool such as Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver Many word
345. ventory operation before sending a new user prompt file Collecting Prompt Data User prompts are stored in LUTINFO REF The boot control program CLBOOT of the Vector AM Client checks the file every time it runs e If it finds a LUTINFO REF file CLBOOT looks for a LUTINFO INF If it finds an INF file that is newer than LUTINFO REF it assumes the user s answers are up to date and the Client user is not re prompted If CLBOOT does not find a LUTINFO IMF file or if the file is older than the REF file LUTINFOW loads the questions default answers and help text from LUTINFO REF It then prompts the Client user to answer the questions or collects the data from the PC and saves the user s answers to LUTINFO INF When the user has completed the questions the response file is saved in the Client application s installation directory It is then copied to the Offline Area when the Client application next saves the PC s raw inventory data to the Offline Area The responses are saved to the Site database when a hardware inventory operation is next performed on the Client Working with User Prompt Data When the responses from Clients are saved in the Site database there are several methods by which you can view the users replies e Right click a Client entry in a group and choose Properties from the shortcut menu The responses are listed in the User tab of the Client Properties dialog e Right click a Client en
346. version number select the version infor mation fields you want to test select a test option in the drop down list and enter the value each field must have For example if the version number is held in the first two fields of the file s version infor mation and you want to check whether the application version is 3 1 select Field 1 and enter 3 then select Field 2 and enter 1 Take care when using the version information option If the manufacturer has not set the version information of the file it can cause Vector AM to misidentify versions 4 Click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog Subdirectory Rules Subdirectory rules enable you to create application definitions that check for files in the subdirectories of an application s installation directory They also enable you to create rules that check for the pres ence of subdirectories created by an application Choose the Add Subdirectory Rule option when you want to add a subdirectory rule at the same level of the directory hierarchy as the currently selected rule choose the Add Nested Subdirec tory Rule option when you want to add the subdi rectory rule within the currently selected directory To add a subdirectory rule to a definition 1 Right click the Rule pane and choose Add Subdirectory Rule or Add Nested Subdirectory Rule from the shortcut menu The Sub Directory Rule dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Sub Directory Rule dialog enter the
347. w then double click the Event Viewer icon On Windows 7 open the Control Panel as above and search for Event Viewer Click the entry under Administrative Tools This sequence opens the Event Viewer in Local mode Right click Event Viewer Local and choose Connect to another computer to open the Select Computer dialog Click Browse or enter the name of the Client PC whose Events you want to view Software Distribution entries are stored in the Application Event Log Chapter 16 Other Operations Command Launch operations enable you to run third party applications from the Console and apply them to Clients or groups For example Remote Control Client is a Command Launch operation that launches PC Duo Remote Control to view a Client PC Command Launch operations enable you to specify the command line for the target appli cation and the application s working directory For example you can use the NODE token to supply the name of the currently selected Client to the external application so that Vector AM can pass an alert message into a help desk application Using Tokens in Command Launch Operations Use Tokens to pass data from the Site database to Command Launch operations For example the Delete Metering Data operation uses the following command line to delete software metering data from a Site database DSNAC CESS PROMPT Delete Old Metering Data SQLUPDATE SQL Delete from SWM DETAIL Where FINISH
348. when you run the Update Software Inven tory Interactively operation you can also view the software information saved in the Site database using one of these methods To display the saved software inventory for a Client right click the Client in a Clients group and choose Software Details from the shortcut menu The Software Inventory Manager lists the informa tion for the selected Client only 105 To display the saved software inventory for all Clients click the Manage Software Identification operation in the Console and select the tab you want to display To choose the default display settings for the Manage Software Identification operation right click the operation and click Customize from the shortcut menu For more information see the Online Help The Applications Library The Applications Library enables Vector AM to identify the applications installed on Client PCs Each entry in the library contains details of the directories files file and registry properties that uniquely identify an application When you run a software inventory operation Vector AM checks the Client data stored in the Offline Area against each entry in the library If the criteria specified in an entry are met the Software Identification Manager reports a confirmed installation of the application Use the Applications Library tab to view and change the rules with which Vector AM identifies applications on Client PCs To display the Applicat
349. where the installed software has changed For more information see Chapter 13 Reports and Database Views To print data in the list views produced for software inventory results choose Print in the File menu or click the Print button in the toolbar You can also print the contents of the Event view from the File menu However the width of the data means that truncation is possible so we recom mend you save the Event Log to a file Software Prompt for Package Report The Software Prompt for Package Report enables you to select Packages for reporting using a drop down list If you add new entries to the Application Library the new applications are not displayed in the Report s drop down list If you own a copy of Crystal Reports v7 0 or later you can update the SwPkgsPrompt RPT report definition file using the following steps 1 Open the file SwPkgsPrompt RPT in the Crystal Report Designer 119 2 Choose Parameter Field in the Insert menu o Select Package Name then click the Edit button 4 Click the Set Default Values button then type the new name Click the Add button for each application you want to add to the list 5 When you have added all your applications to the list of default values save the changes to the report definition Software Change History You can view all significant software configuration changes to a Client PC using two methods From the Software Details and Software R
350. wildcard in directory and application names For example WIN omits any directories and subdirec tories that are in the root directory of any PC and which start with the letters WIN e WIN omits any directories at any level which start with the letters WIN e WIN omits any directories that contain the letters WIN e Windows omits any subdirectories of any Windows directory 129 Chapter 12 Assets Database The Assets database is designed to help you extend and customize the information that Vector Asset Management holds about the software and hardware assets within your organization It enables you to easily enter and access extra infor mation about your network so you can work in the way that best suits you Using a simple user friendly interface it enables you to select the information you want to store with each type of asset on your network including infor mation that is not normally available in network management products such as manufacturer purchase warranty and maintenance information Each asset type is set up as a template so you can ensure the consistency of the data held about the equipment on your Client PCs You can also use the Assets database to produce extended reports on the status of your network either by running the built in reports or by creating your own SQL queries To open the Assets database click the Maintain Asset Data operation in the Console Using the Assets Database
351. with Macintosh Clients is achieved seamlessly Where there are differences Vector AM automatically skips Clients to which an application does not apply so that no problems are caused by accidentally selecting the wrong type of Client However there are neces sarily some differences in the ways in which Macintosh and Windows Clients are handled These differences are described in this chapter To download a copy of the Macintosh Client visit our Web site at www vector networks com Creating Offline Areas for Macintosh Clients Like Windows systems Macintosh Clients use an Offline Area to transfer data to the Vector Asset Management database and to act as a central repository for the kit used to install the Client appli cation However because they have a different architecture to Windows PCs Macintosh Clients must use separate Offline Areas to those used by Windows Clients Offline Areas used for Macintosh Clients must be set up on PCs running Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2003 Server This is because Apple File Sharing must be set up and enabled on all PCs where Macintosh Offline Areas are located This section describes how to set up a PC and create an Offline Area for use with Macintosh Clients To create an Offline Area for use with Macintosh Clients If necessary install the File Services for Macintosh component of Windows on the PC where the Offline Area will be located 2 In Windows Settings choose Control Panel
352. work You can monitor these test Clients and ensure they are saving their inventory files to the designated Offline Area correctly using the Offline Area Manager For more information see Viewing and Managing Offline Areas on page 40 Client Self Updating Self updating allows the Vector AM Client to check for updates and update itself automatically This feature is disabled by default but can be enabled using the Client Configuration Operation To enable Automatic Self Updating 1 Right click on Configure Client in the Client Deployment and Maintenance folder and select Customize The Customize Client Configuration tab dialog opens 2 Select the Automatic Self Updates tab 3 Select the Modify setting check box next to Enable Automatic Self Updates and select the check box to the right Each Modify Setting check box controls whether the associated setting is sent to Clients when the Configure clients operation is run When the check box is selected that setting is applied to the selected Clients When the check box is not selected no change is sent 4 Inthe Advanced section enter the highest numbered revision that is allowed for this Client or group of Clients in the Maximum Revision field This should be a single decimal integer such as 1 5 You can also specify a list of the revisions to be ignored or skipped in the Excluded Revisions field Use a comma to separate multiple revision numbers 6 The Required Up
353. xporting Operations The details of operations can be stored in OBF files Operation Backup Files to allow their transfer from one PC to another The OBF file is stored in the Vector Asset Management installa tion folder and read by the Console when you create a new Site You can import and export oper ations using the Import operations and Export operations options in the shortcut menus of the Console tree To export Operations from a Site Database 1 Right click the Site or Operations folder and choose Export Operations from the shortcut menu The Save As dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Save As dialog enter the name and location of the export file and click the Save button To import Operations into a Site Database 1 Right click the Site or Operations folder and choose Import Operations from the shortcut menu The Open dialog is displayed 2 Inthe Open dialog select the OBF file that contains the operations you want to import and click the Open button Deleting Operations To delete an operation right click its icon and choose Delete Operation from the shortcut menu If you delete an operation it is removed from the Site database This means that any Consoles or Schedulers sharing that Site database will not be able to use it If you delete all the operations of a particular type you can create new operations of that type using the Create Operation option in the Operation s shortcut menu Schedulers S
354. y generated by the system It checks the Client PC Registry for scheduled browser updates If it finds any the installation deletes the Registry key at the first LULOGON pass and restores it after the reboot HELP Displays help for the LULOGON command All command options can be abbreviated to their first letter Only one letter is checked You can include Vector AM tokens in the LULOGON command line For example the following command line specifies the access details for Client PCs LULOG ON INSTALL AC COUNT MESSAGE LOCKOUT Using LULOGON on Windows 95 98 and Me LULOGON operates without problems on Windows 95 98 and Me Clients enabling you to distribute MSI packages to these platforms using the same Package Definitions However you should always test such distributions before deployment Troubleshooting Windows Installer Installations During a Windows Installer installation the Client is normally rebooted twice The LULOGON command disables the Client s keyboard and mouse following the first reboot while the Windows Installer installation is carried out using a privileged user login When the Client PC is automatically rebooted again keyboard and mouse input is restored Problems with a Windows Installer installation particularly during the input lockout session can occur for the following reasons e The Windows Installer installation has tried to use an incorrect or out of date password Alway
355. y with which the data is saved enter a new value in the Snapshot interval field 6 By default the Client application transfers metering data to the Offline Area every 24 hours To change the frequency with which the metering data is transferred enter a new value in the Metering push interval field Metering data is collected and analyzed at 23 00 each day by default For more information see Software Metering on page 125 User Prompt Settings User Prompting enables you to collect data from Client users and from system files on Client PCs To collect the information Console users must create a prompt file containing one or more questions then distribute the file to selected Clients When the Client application next runs it displays the questions to the user and collects the replies Use the User Prompting tab to control the display and collection of User Prompt information To prevent user prompting 1 Select the User prompting tab 2 Select the Modify Setting check box to enable the change 3 Clear the Enable user prompting check box To re enable user prompting 1 Inthe User prompting tab select the Modify Setting check box 2 Select the Enable user prompting check box Pre and Post Processing You can configure the Client application to execute acommand or application before and after it runs This enables you to automate the performance of tasks associated with the Clients such as the mapping and u
356. you can monitor the progress of distribution Jobs using the centralized Error and Progress logs specified in the Software Distribution Wizard These logs can be created for both the Packages and Client PCs and are updated at the same time as the Distribution Job Viewer Each log entry contains the Client name and the event The progress logs record details from each Client Agent as it processes a package For example the progress log identifies PCs that have skipped a package due to filters or load control It also records installations refused by the user and when the installation process starts and finishes Progress logs also store error log entries For a detailed list of progress and error log entries see Error Messages on page 195 Viewing Software Distribution Progress in Event Logs The error logs record errors encountered during the execution of each Agent They enable you to check for problems during package installations For Clients running on Windows 2000 XP Vista 7 2003 and 2008 progress is recorded in the Client s Operating System Event Log which can be viewed from the Console PC using the Event Viewer dialog e To display the Event Viewer in Windows 2000 click Start Settings Control Panel double click the Administrative Tools icon then double click the Event Viewer icon e On XP 2003 and Vista click the Control Panel shortcut on the Start Menu Select Adminis trative Tools in the Classic Vie
357. your query 8 Click the Next button to continue If you selected the SQL option in the Group Properties dialog the SQL query tab is displayed Use it to enter selection using Structured Query Language statements To create a SQL selection query 1 Type a SELECT statement that identifies the Clients you want to include in the group 2 When you have specified all the Client selection conditions for the group select the Preview tab to list the Clients that will be returned by your query 3 Click the Next button to continue The Fixed Client Selection Dialog Fixed groups can contain any subset of Clients in the Site database Unlike dynamic groups you do not need to specific a database query to select the members because the Clients are chosen by the user However this also means that you must remember to update fixed groups manually because they do not contain criteria that enable Vector AM to automatically select members The Fixed Client Selection dialog is displayed when you select the Fixed custom group option in the Group Properties dialog Use it to add Clients to the group To select the members for a fixed group 1 Click Add The Select Computers dialog is displayed 2 Choose a tab that contains the Clients you want to add to the group then select a group from the top list The Clients belonging to the group are displayed in the bottom list For example to list all the Clients currently assigned to your
358. zard will display the Sites it can detect If there are none it will skip to the Add Other Sites Page see Step 4 3 To make one or more locally registered Sites available through the Portal select Detected Sites and then select the Sites you want to use Click the Next button to continue Locally registered Sites are Sites that are located on the PC where the Portal is installed or remote Sites that are registered with a local installation of the Console 4 Alternatively to make an undetected Site available through the Portal a Select Other Sites and click the Next button The Edit Sites dialog is displayed b To change the Site details displayed in the Portal window and the Site Manager edit the Site Name and Description fields c To specify the database type of the Site select an entry in the Type list and enter the database details Microsoft Access Enter the UNC path for the database or click the Browse button and select the database through Network Neigh borhood in the Choose File dialog A Uniform Naming Convention path specifies locations in the format server resource directory For example if the SITEO1 MDB is located in Vector Asset Management Data Databases on the C drive of SRV3 enter SRV3 C Vector Asset Management Data Databases SITE01 MDB Microsoft SQL Server Enter the Name of the SQL Server or MSDE database the database instance and the account used to access the database Oracle Enter t

Vector Asset Management User Manual

Contents

Download Pdf Manuals

Related Search

Related Contents