Manage Computers View

 

 

This view is used to define the list of network computers with which the Control Center is to perform its functions and remotely install/uninstall the Spector Client (Client) software to/from a network computer. The Configure Computers view and Monitor Computers view will display a subset of the computers listed in the Manage Computers view.

 

Note: A computer cannot be listed in the Configure Computers view or Monitor Computers view without first being added to the Manage Computers view.

 

The view is displayed in the Results window by selecting Manage Computers from the tree list in the Scope window. This view is comprised of:

 

 

By selecting Manage Computers in the Scope window and clicking on the right mouse button, the Control Center displays a pop-up menu. All items in this list are standard Microsoft Management Console functions except for the menu item: All Tasks.  

 

 Selecting All Tasks displays a submenu, which provides access to the following functions:

 

 

These entire menu items apply to functionality associated with the Manage Computers view (in contrast to those functions associated with individual computers: install/uninstall, etc).

 

The Show menu items allow you to filter the information displayed in the Results window. Information is filtered based on how the computers are grouped. They can be grouped using unique group names or (default) domains, set by selecting Enable Computer Groups Management in the Control Center's General Properties tab.

 

 

Note: The Startup Method and the use of a computer list file can affect the contents of the Results window display. See Startup Method.  

 

Find Computer pops up a dialog box helping you to locate a computer in the Results window.

 

Note: The Show and Find menu items previously discussed are also available by selecting Configure Computers or Monitor Computers in the Scope window tree list. Within each view, the menu items operate only upon those computers displayed.

 

 

Add Computer

 

This menu item is used to add a computer to the currently displayed list in the Manage Computers view.   

 

Note:  This feature is only available if Load Startup Computer List From File is selected. A dialog box allows you to enter the DOMAIN\\COMPUTER name pair you wish to add to the list.  

 

Both the domain and computer name must be specified, separated by a double back-slash.  

 

Upon entering the new DOMAIN\\COMPUTER name pair:

 

 

 

Deployment Utility

 

This utility is used to create pre-defined configurations for the Client installations. After completing the utility's wizard, the configuration is stored directly within the created setup executable. The utility allows you to maintain multiple configurations and setup executables. For more information, please refer to Spector Deployment Utility.

 

 

Pending Setup Summary

 

This summary displays a dialog that contains a summary of pending tasks (installs and uninstalls) on computers monitored by a Client. A quick review of the pending tasks can identify which tasks are complete and which ones are still pending.   

 

This summary can be useful in situations where you have scheduled multiple tasks at different times on the computers on your network.   

 

 

License Summary

 

This summary shows the state of the Primary Server. This dialog displays the number of used, active, and reserved licenses assigned to a designated serial number.

 

 

Adding Additional Serial Numbers

 

You can add additional serial numbers to the Primary Server by entering the new serial number obtained from SpectorSoft and then selecting Add. The Control Center will pass the serial number to the Primary Server, which will contact the SpectorSoft server, verify the serial number, and update the list with the new information.

 

Note:  All of the functionality for the Manage Computers view discussed above is related to the whole view (in contrast to those functions associated with individual computers: install/uninstall, etc). The functionality of the Control Center associated with install/uninstall, setup, etc. is enabled in this view.   

 

By selecting any computer in the list and clicking on the right mouse button, the Control Center displays a pop-up menu. The initial menu displayed consists for the following items:

 

 

Refresh simply re-displays the information associated with the selected computer within this view. The refresh may include a computer re-discovery. See Perform Network Discovery On Refresh (Setup View).

 

Properties will display a tabbed dialog providing some general information (related to setup) about the selected computer, including licensing information.   

 

All Tasks displays a submenu providing access to the following tasks (click on link to go to specific submenu topic):

 

 

The icon next to the computer name in the Results window provides a visual clue as to whether or not you will be able to perform the tasks in this menu.

 

 

Note:: There are various reasons why the Control Center would not be able to communicate properly with a computer. The overriding factor is that when the Control Center queries the computer for information, it does not respond with the data. This could be the result of network problems or it could be that the computer was turned off. If the Control Center is able to communicate properly with the computer, and the computer has a Client installed with a valid license from the Primary Server, a certificate icon appears next to the computer name for that computer.   

 

While the discovery of network computers is in progress, a single item is displayed in the results view: Discovering… click to abort. It remains displayed until the discovery process is complete. You can abort the discovery in progress by clicking on the Discovering…click to abort item in the Results window. If you click on the item, you will be asked to verify your request to abort.

 

Note: The abort actually takes place at the end of the current computer in the discovery process, which may require several seconds to complete.

 

 

Deployment Utility

 

Selecting this utility invokes the Spector Deployment Utility. This utility is used to create pre-defined configurations for Client installations. After completing the utility's wizard, the configuration is stored directly within the created setup executable. The utility allows you to maintain multiple configurations and setup executables. For more information, please refer to Spector Deployment Utility.

 

 

Reserve and Verify License

 

You may reserve a Client license from the Primary Server for a particular computer before installing the Client on that computer. This allows you to reserve licenses for a group of computers, thus marking those computers for future Client installations. License reservations are held indefinitely for the specified computer.   

If a license is not reserved before the installation, the Control Center will attempt to reserve a license at the time of installation. If the Primary Server cannot be contacted, the license will not be reserved for the specified computer. If the number of licenses assigned to a particular serial number have been used and or reserved, the Primary Server will not issue any additional licenses.   

 

Verify License is used to verify the state of the license for the selected computer directly with the Primary Server.

 

 

Install/UninstallSpector

 

This function allows you to select a setup executable, created using the deployment utility, and remotely deploy it to the computer. Installations can be executed immediately or they can be scheduled for execution later. After completing the tasks associated with remotely deploying a setup on a computer, the selected computer will be denoted with the word 'Pending' in the Results window under the column named Installed, until the install (or uninstall) process has completed.   

 

After selecting Install Spector, a dialog box for file selection will display allowing you to select the desired setup executable for deployment on the computer. Installation files are executables, but on the computer on which the Control Center is installed, their file extension is .sds. All .sds files in the Control Center installation folder (the default folder for storing deployable setup files) are displayed in the File Selection dialog box. You may store setup executables created using the deployment utility in another folder. After selecting a setup .sds file, the Task Options dialog box is displayed.

 

For Uninstall Spector, only the previous paragraph is not applicable. The following information is applicable to both install and uninstall.  

 

 

Task Options

 

This dialog box allows you to select whether you would like to immediately execute the task (install or uninstall) or schedule it for a later time. By default, Run Task Immediately is selected. It forces the task to execute immediately. By de-selecting this option, the Set Task Schedule button is enabled.

 

The Control Center utilizes the built in Windows Task Scheduler to execute the remote installs and uninstalls, whether or not the task is to run immediately, or it is scheduled. Selecting Set Task Schedule displays a scheduling dialog.   

 

Since the Control Center forces the task to be deleted upon the completion of the execution, the only selection valid for scheduling an installation at a user specified time and date is: Once. The scheduler defaults to five minutes from the time the dialog was displayed. The scheduled time and date may be changed to your preference.  

 

  1. After scheduling the task (known as a trigger), the Control Center requires that you enter credentials to pass to the Windows Task Scheduler. These credentials are the logon and password required for access to remote computers.

Note: You may need administrative or domain administrative privileges to proceed, depending on the set up of your network. If applicable, see your network administrator for the proper access

 

  1. After providing the required credentials, you are returned to the Task Options dialog box so you may click on the OK button to continue.

Note: Providing incorrect credentials may result in the task getting created on the remote computer, but not executing properly.

 

  1. After providing credentials, the Control Center will also automatically attach a second trigger to the task, which forces the task to run on computer startup. This trigger is executed in the case where the computer is turned off at the time the task was originally set to run

  2. Once you have clicked on the OK button, the Control Center creates the task on the remote computer, and in the case of installations, it copies the selected deployment setup executable to the remote computer's temporary folder, and changes the name to spsetup.exe  

Note:: In the case of uninstalls, the Control Center copies the file spuninst.exe to the remote computer's temporary folder

 

  1. After the task is completed, the task scheduler deletes the task and the deployment setup or uninstall executable is marked for deletion (to occur when the remote computer is restarted)

Note:  Please refer to the Spector Client Install/Uninstall Notes for additional notes on what to expect after installing/uninstalling Clients to/from client computers. Only those Client installation executables created by using the Spector Deployment Utility can be uninstalled remotely.   

 

When the Results window has been set to Show Groups Only, the install or uninstall is effective for all computers in the group (domain)  

 

Note:  The Startup Method and the use of a computer list file can affect this process. See the Startup Method section. If you are attempting to install Client on all computers in a group (domain) where one or more computers in that group already have a Client installed (or pending), the Control Center will ask if you wish to skip over those computers. It will request that you install only to the computers that do not have a Client already installed.   

 

 

Delete Setup Task

 

If after you have scheduled a task (install or uninstall) on a remote computer, and you decide not to execute that task, you can use Delete Task to remove the task from the selected remote computer.

 

 

When the Results window has been set to Show Groups Only, the task deletion is effective for all computers in the group (domain).   

 

Note:  The Startup Method and the use of a computer list file can affect this process. See the section on Startup Method.   

 

The Control Center will look for any install or uninstall tasks on any computer in the group (domain) and delete them.

 

 

Remove Client

 

This menu item removes a computer from the currently displayed list in the Manage Computers view. You will be asked to verify the remove request.

 

Click on Yes to remove it from the list after removing it from the list, you will be asked if you want to save the modification to the current computer list file.

 

Note: This feature is not available if the Results window has been set to Show Groups Only.

 

 

Change Group

 

This feature is available only if Enable Computer Groups Management is selected in the General properties tab. Use the Change Group menu item to move a computer from one group to another.  

 

You can select from one of the current groups from the list or select New Item to add a new group to the list.  

 

Note: This feature is not available if the Results window has been set to Show Groups Only.

 

 

Diagnostics

 

This feature allows you to test various Windows and Client related conditions on a computer. This can be helpful in troubleshooting problems with Client installations or it can be helpful in pre-determining problem conditions prior to attempting installation.

 

The diagnostics available for each client are:

 

 

 

Service Check

 

Each Client requires a local service to be running to communicate with the Control Center and for data collection purposes. This diagnostic checks that the Client is present and running on the selected computer. After performing this diagnostic, a message is displayed which allows you to start/stop the Client service on the selected computer.

 

Note: This diagnostic is only available on Windows NT/2000/XP computers.

 

 

Registry Check

 

The Control Center requires access to the computer's registry. This diagnostic checks that the registry is accessible by the Control Center on the selected computer. For only Windows NT/2000/XP computers, this diagnostic will automatically start the Remote Registry Services on the computer, prior to attempting and testing access.

 

 

Admin Check

 

The Control Center's requires access to administrative shares on the monitored computer. Admin Check confirms that the administrative shares are accessible by Control Center on the computer.

 

 

Task Check

 

The Control Center requires access to the Task Scheduler on the monitored computer. Task Check confirms that the Task Scheduler is accessible by Control Center on the selected computer. This diagnostic will also automatically start the Task Scheduler Services on the computer, prior to attempting and testing access. After performing this diagnostic, a message is displayed which allows you to start/stop the Task Scheduler service on the computer.

 

Note: This diagnostic is only available on Windows NT/2000/XP computers.

 

 

Create Test Task

 

The Control Center requires that scheduled tasks be created on the monitored computer, so that installations and un-installations can be performed. Create Test Task creates a test scheduled-task on the computer. Since the proper running of the Task Scheduler Services is dependent on the Remote Registry Services on the computer, this diagnostic will also report if the Remote Registry Services are not running properly.

 

Note: This diagnostic is only available on Windows NT/2000/XP computers.

 

 

Verify Task

 

The Control Center requires that scheduled tasks be created on the monitored computer, so that installations and un-installations can be performed. Verify Task confirms an existing scheduled task on the computer. If a valid install or uninstall task is present on the computer, a message box displays the various properties of the task.

 

Note: This diagnostic is only available on Windows NT/2000/XP computers.

 

 

Restart Client

 

This feature allows you to restart the selected computer. When executed, this command sends the monitored computer a message to restart in 30 seconds. A message box is displayed on the computer, notifying any logged on users of the impending reboot.

 

Note: This feature is not available if the Results window has been set to Show Groups Only. Sometimes it is necessary to restart a computer remotely either to complete an installation or to have a Client property modification take affect (or for other administrative reasons).   

 

 

Find Client

 

Find Client in the Results window is similar to Select Computer in the Scope window. It pops up a dialog box that helps to locate a computer in the Results window.

 

 

Related Topics:

Configure Computers View

Monitor Computer View

Knowledge Base

Technical Support