In this chapter, you learn
This chapter introduces Microsoft System Management Server (SMS). The intent of this chapter isn't to provide a detailed system administration guide for SMS; such scope requires an entire book. Instead, this chapter describes the fundamentals of SMS, including its key components and how these components are integrated in LAN and WAN environments. This basic understanding is a necessity for IS staff planning to implement SMS, because SMS is a complex product and has extensive capabilities. When you achieve a basic understanding of SMS, you can plan the customization of SMS to suit your network environment. Detailed recommendations for installation and planning SMS are available from Microsoft's SMS home page at http://www.microsoft.com/SMSmgmt/.
The key factor in a successful SMS system design and rollout is an understanding of how SMS operates and a thorough knowledge of your LAN and WAN topology. Some of the functions performed by SMS are bandwidth critical, so where you place SMS servers and how you define their functions has a significant impact on the network performance. If you're planning on an enterprise-wide SMS rollout, you gain insight into how each component of SMS fits into your overall network strategy and how SMS affects your network as you read this chapter.
Organizations spend large amounts of money on upgrading, maintaining, and supporting the hardware and software for desktop computing. The PC support group typically is forced to revisit priorities in order to resolve end-user issues and, at the same time, design, deploy, and maintain new enterprise-wide applications and infrastructure. At the same time, PC support often must deal with budget restrictions and staff reductions as a result of downsizing, outsourcing, and/or re-engineering.
Some of the major issues that PC support staff face are
Microsoft System Management Server version 1.2 is the third major release of this application to address the preceding issues. Microsoft released version 1.2 on August 19, 1996. Following are the most important new features of SMS 1.2:
See "Installing SNMP Services," (Ch 15)
System Management Server provides centralized management of the networked PCs. Centralized management includes identification, control, maintenance, and software upgrade of all the PCs on the LAN and/or WAN. The following sections describe the primary features of SMS 1.1+, its server requirements, and its support for network operating systems and protocols.
Remote control and troubleshooting (also called help or help desk) lets you view a client PC's display and control the client's keyboard and mouse. The help feature allows you to run the PC without being physically present at the client's location. You also can conduct a text chat session with the user, remotely execute programs, read files, or even reboot the client operating system. End-user support requests are addressed from a central location, thereby saving valuable time and resources.
SMS 1.1 is limited to remote control of MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows for Workgroups 3.1+, and Windows 95 clients. SMS 1.2 lets you remotely control machines running Windows NT 3.51 and 4.0.
The capability to take an inventory of hardware and software installed on client PCs (also called asset management) is one of the features most requested by IS technical support staff. By using this SMS feature, you can automatically install the SMS client management agent on client machines without visiting each machine. The agent identifies the hardware and software on each desktop PC and reports the results back to the server. This feature also allows hardware and software audits. Asset management is used with SMS's software distribution and installation features, as well as its software metering capabilities.
The software distribution and installation feature of SMS sets up applications on individual PCs and servers at local and remote sites. You can deliver a predefined software Package to targeted systems by using drag-and-drop methods. You also can define targeted Groups or Machines to create customized distribution and installation procedures.
A Package can be any type of file, including an executable file, so SMS can be used to run a program automatically without installing it on the targeted machine. For example, you can package an antivirus program to run every day at midnight. With the asset management feature of SMS, you can identify and deliver a Package only if a specified criterion is met by the destination client.
System Management Server includes an extended version of Windows NT Server 4.0's Network Monitor tool. For example, if a user has difficulty logging on to the network, you can capture packets and then easily discover that the user's password is invalid. SMS's Network Monitor lets you remotely capture, filter, decode, analyze, edit, and replay network protocol packets, including TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, NetBIOS, AppleTalk, NCP, and SMB. You can set up dedicated network monitoring workstations when you run the remote capture agent in a session of a client running Windows NT Workstation. The primary difference between the SMS and Windows NT Server 4.0 versions of Network Monitor is that the SMS version can connect to remote Network Monitor agents across routed networks.
See "Using Windows NT 4.0's Network Monitor," (Ch 15)
By using Performance Monitor, you can check the events generated by remote PCs running Windows NT Workstation and Server. The primary difference between SMS's and Windows NT Server 4.0's Performance Monitors is that you can run the SMS version remotely on a client running Windows NT Workstation.
See "Using Performance Monitor," (Ch 14)
System Management Server relies on a SQL Server database, named SMS, to store data gathered by SMS. The SMS database contains 84 user tables. The Identification_SPEC table contains one record for each PC for which you install the SMS client; other related tables store information on each PC's hardware and installed software.
You can design custom reports by using Microsoft Access, Visual Basic, or any other ODBC-compliant application development tool that can query the SMS database. For example, you can create an Access or Visual Basic front end to extract PC inventory data from the SMS database and to generate a new table compatible with the asset management features of an accounting application.
Microsoft doesn't position SMS as an enterprise network management application. Network management software such as HP OpenView or Computer Associates CA-Unicenter TNG typically discover and then maintain the internetwork devices such as hubs and routers. A network management tool can turn on and off ports of hubs and routers using SNMP. SMS, on the other hand, discovers and maintains only the end-node devices, primarily PC clients. This is an important distinction between these two types of products because they complement one another, and both are necessary for large-scale network management.
See "Considering Network Management Needs," (Ch 2)
Microsoft and Computer Associates announced on August 28, 1996, an agreement to collaborate on an enterprise network management system based on CA-Unicenter TNG and Microsoft's Internet technology, such as Internet Explorer, ActiveX controls, and the HyperMedia Management Schema (HMMS) and HyperMedia Management Protocol (HMMP) for network management. HMMS is designed to make network management information available via Web browsers. It's likely that future versions of SMS also will offer HMMS and HMMP for integration with CA-Unicenter TNG.
Following are the minimum specifications for a server running SMS 1.2:
System Management Server processes may be divided among multiple servers to reduce the requirements for a single server in large installations. The preceding minimum requirements are for a relatively small SMS installation.
System Management Server is supported on the following local area networks:
See "Using Gateway Service for NetWare," (Ch 17)
System Management Server supports the following WAN and remote access connection protocols:
SMS 1.2 supports the following clients:
Planning is required to use SMS effectively. The planning requirement for SMS is similar in scope to that for Microsoft Exchange Server installations, described in Chapter 23, "Messaging with Microsoft Exchange Server." The following sections describe the topology of SMS sites and the SMS components you install at the sites.
Microsoft publishes a series of white papers that deal with SMS planning and deployment. You can view or download these white papers from http://www.microsoft.com/SMSmgmt/plan.htm.
Figure 24.1 illustrates an enterprise-wide, multiple-server SMS configuration with a number of roles for the SMS servers installed at each location. In figure 24.1, the Chicago, New York City, and London servers are connected directly in a WAN environment. Each site has multiple clients connected via a LAN. The Milan site is supported by the London office.
24.1
A typical enterprise topology of SMS sites.
For the purposes of SMS, a site is a group of servers and clients in a LAN and/or WAN environment that typically are located in a single geographical area. In the example in figure 24.1, Chicago, New York City, London, and Milan are all sites.
A Primary Site is one with a SQL database. A Primary Site with a SQL Server installation is responsible for collecting all information from the nodes in that site. Chicago, New York City, and London are all Primary Sites.
A site without a SQL server, such as Milan, is called a Secondary Site and is supported by the Primary Site. All the information collected in a Secondary Site by SMS agents is reported to the Primary Site; therefore, bandwidth availability between primary and secondary sites is a major design consideration.
The SMS enterprise design also includes the concept of parent and child relationships. A parent site is one that has a Primary or Secondary Site as a child site. In figure 24.1, Chicago and London are parent sites, and New York City and Milan are child sites. A Primary Site can be a parent site if a Secondary Site is below it. A Primary Site can also be a child site. A Secondary Site, such as Milan, is always a child site.
The hierarchical design of SMS has major advantages over a simple collection of Primary Sites. One key advantage is that all the reports can be sent to a central administration office and, therefore, centralized enterprise management is achieved. This site is called a Central Site and must be a Primary Site with access to SQL Server. All the sites in the SMS hierarchical structure report to the Central Site. A second advantage of a hierarchical design is that adding sites to an existing environment becomes a simple task, because a site can easily be added as a child in the hierarchy tree of the SMS installation.
After you establish your enterprise design, you must define the role of the SMS servers in these sites. SMS can play many roles in the overall design strategy. The selection of roles depends on the complexity of the network, bandwidth availability of the LAN and WAN, the number of sites, and other factors. You must first understand the SMS role at each site. The terminology for SMS server roles is as follows:
In smaller environments, a single server can be responsible for all the preceding roles. Installing a dedicated SQL Server on the same machine as SMS usually provides better performance by avoiding LAN traffic constraints. In larger environments, however, multiple servers play specific roles to provide efficient and timely transfer of information and files to and from clients.
System Management Server must be installed on a Windows NT Primary or Backup Domain controller (PDC or BDC) and, if a Primary Site, must have access to SQL Server locally or over a network. The first SMS installation must be a Primary Site and usually is the Central Site; after you install the Primary Site, you can install other primary and secondary sites that report to the Central Site. Chapter 16, "Distributing Network Services with Domains," describes the relationships between Primary and Backup Domain Controllers.
Microsoft provides a Reviewer's Guide for SMS 1.2 at http://www.microsoft.com/SMSmgmt/revgd/. The Reviewer's Guide provides detailed installation instructions and user guidelines for evaluating SMS 1.2.
Before you install SMS on any Windows NT server, you must create the user account for the SMS service. You create this account, typically called SMSAdmin, with User Manager for Domains as follows:
24.2
Specifying the properties of the SMSAdmin account.
24.3
Adding the SMSAdmin account to the Domain Admins group.
24.4
Adding the Log On as a Service right to the SMSAdmin account.
You must specify that SQL Server (MSSQLServer) and SQL Executive start as a service during Windows NT Server's boot process. Use Control Panel's Services tool to verify that the Startup property of these two services is set to Automatic, and both services are started before installation of SMS. Chapter 22, "Running Microsoft SQL Server 6.5," covers installing and using SQL Server 6.5.
If you intend to run SQL Server and SMS on the same Windows NT Server, SMS creates the SQL devices and databases automatically. If you run SQL Server on a separate Windows NT Server, you must manually create the SMSData and SMSLog devices with SQL Enterprise manager. The default sizes of the SMSData and SMSLog devices are 45M and 8M, respectively.
See "Creating and Managing Devices," (Ch 22)
System Management Server installation takes 15 to 20 minutes. You must install SMS to an NTFS partition. To install SMS, follow these steps:
24.5
The Installation Options dialog for SMS 1.1.
24.6
Specifying the folder for installation of SMS's primary components.
24.7
The default installation options for SMS 1.1.
24.8
Specifying the SQL Server name, logon account, password, database name, and devices.
24.9
Altering the location and/or size of the local SQL Server devices created for SMS.
24.10
The message box that appears if you have fewer than 20 connections specified for the SQL Server installation used with SMS.
24.11
Specifying the configuration information for the Primary Site.
The Setup program copies files, completes the database installation, and starts the SMS services. A Setup Progress dialog (see fig. 24.12) displays the status of the installation, which usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes. When the SMS Setup process is complete, click OK in the Setup Success message box to have the Setup program create a Start menu SMS program group. It isn't necessary to restart the server after installing SMS.
24.12
The Setup Progress dialog's display near the end of the SMS installation process.
If you plan to install other Primary Sites, the process is basically the same as that described in preceding steps. You must assign a unique site code to each site. The steps that let you group SMS sites into a hierarchy are detailed near the end of this chapter in the section "Building Sites for Enterprise Networks."
The Microsoft SMS Administrator application is SMS's primary management tool. To run SMS Administrator (SMS Admin), follow these steps:
24.13
Specifying the parameters required to start SQL Admin.
24.14
Selecting the SMS window to display.
The SQLDemo database shown in figure 24.13 is used in the SQL Admin examples that follow. The SQL Server query (Sms.sql) and database (SmsDemo.dat) is included on the SMS Server 1.2 distribution CD-ROM. If you don't have SMS Server 1.2, you can save Sms.sql as a text file and download Smsdemo.dat from http://www.microsoft.com/SMSmgmt/demodata.htm. Installation instructions for SMSDemo are located at http://www.microsoft.com/SMSmgmt/revgd/sms02e.htm.
The SMS Admin application, modeled on Windows Explorer, is deceptively simple. SMS Admin has 10 window styles that you use to perform administrative duties or monitor SMS operations. Table 24.1 lists the window name and the description (from the Open SMS Window dialog) of the window's function.
Table 24.1 SMS Administrator's Window Names and Descriptions
| Window | Description |
| Sites | Displays a hierarchical view of sites, domains, and machines in your SMS installation |
| Jobs | Allows you to create and administer jobs at your SMS installation |
| Packages | Manages software packages that SMS can inventory or install on any workstation |
| Queries | Manages stored queries used to locate assets and workstations |
| Alerts | Manages alerts used to monitor and act on change in your SMS system |
| Machine Groups | Allows you to group servers and workstations together for administrative purposes |
| Site Groups | Allows you to group sites together for administrative purposes |
| Program Groups | Allows you to manage the contents of shared SMS program groups |
| Events | Allows you to monitor the status and actions of other components in your SMS system |
| SQL Server | Displays messages from SQL Server caused by SMS |
| Messages | Administrator |
Use of the SMS Admin windows is described in the following sections.
The Sites window displays all the SMS sites in a hierarchical list. The right pane displays the next level of the hierarchy selected in the list. Figure 24.15 shows the site hierarchy from the SMSDemo database; the Canada and USA Primary Sites are expanded to show the first level of detail, their child sites, and the domains to which the sites belong.
24.15
The Sites window of SMS Admin displaying a partial expansion of the SMSDemo site hierarchy.
Double-clicking an entry in the Sites list expands the hierarchy for the site. For example, figure 24.16 shows in the right pane the client PCs of the Engineering group of the San Francisco site. The right pane displays the NetBIOS Name of the computer, SMSID (an SMS internal code), LogOn Name, SystemType (client platform), and SystemRole (Workstation or Server).
24.16
The fully expanded hierarchy of the San Francisco site.
Double-clicking a client item in the right pane displays the Personal Computer Properties MDI child window for the client (see fig. 24.17). You select the properties to view or actions to take in the Properties list. Most of the information in the Attribute and Value list is derived from performing SMS's PC inventory function, which the SMSDemo database simulates. Table 24.2 lists the properties and actions available in the Personal Computer Properties window.
24.17
Displaying network attributes and values in the Personal Computer Properties window.
Table 24.2 Properties and Actions Available in the Personal Computer Properties Window
| Property/Action | Description |
| Identification | Displays the NetBIOS name, SMS Name, System Role and Type, and other identifying features of clients and server |
| Workstation Status | Displays the date and time of the Last Hardware Scan, Last Software Scan, Files Not Installed, and other status parameters |
| Processor | Displays the processor type and speed, and indicates whether the processor includes a floating-point coprocessor |
| Operating System | Displays the DOS version (if applicable) and the Windows version running on the client |
| Network | Displays various information on the current network connection maintained by the client |
| Netcard | Displays the code for the network interface card ($EPRO for Intel EtherExpress 16 Pro) |
| Disk | Displays the type and size of each removable disk drive and each partition of fixed disk drive(s) |
| PC Memory | Displays the amount of RAM and the paging file size, if applicable |
| Serial Port | Displays serial port parameters for COM1 through COM4 |
| Parallel Port | Displays parallel port parameters for installed parallel port adapters |
| Video | Displays the type of graphics adapter installed, the name of the manufacturer, and the adapter's BIOS date |
| Mouse | Displays information about the installed mouse driver |
| PC BIOS | Displays the BIOS Manufacturer, Category, and Release Date |
| IRQ Table | Displays the address and use of interrupts 0 through 15 |
| Environment | Displays the content of each environment variable in the DOS environment |
| Help Desk | Lets you start the Remote Control, Remote Boot, and Remote Chat features |
| Diagnostics | Opens the Diagnostics window, which lets you query the current status of the machine's CMOS ROM, hardware, and network connection |
| Network Monitor | Lets you start the remote Network Monitor for the machine |
| User Information | Provides the full user name and logon ID of the machine's current or last user |
In the case of the demonstration system used in these examples, you can display only properties that are stored in the SQLDemo database. Actions such as obtaining Workstation Status or performing the Help Desk (remote control) function require the SMS client software to be installed on the client PC and an active network connection to the client.
A package is the very basic element for software distribution and software installation. A package is used by a prescribed job, which delivers the package to a client. A package contains the information about the software, including the files in the software, configuration information, and identification information. When a package is prepared, you can install it on the client, install it on a server to be used as a shared application, or maintain inventory on the package. SMS has three defined package properties: Workstation, Sharing, and Inventory.
As the name suggests, this package is used to install software on a workstation (the targeted client machine). The installation is on the workstation, so you must specify the commands and files needed for the package. Therefore, the client uses a Package Command Manager (PCM).
PCM is installed and set up automatically when SMS first inventories the client PC. PCM periodically checks with SMS to determine whether there are any packages to be installed. If so, PCM pulls the package from the distribution server and follows the installation instructions. PCM installs the software on the workstation in two ways:
This method of software distribution is good for large sites with several servers. When using these sharing packages, the software is installed on the network file servers. There are several advantages to this method:
The Program Control Group is responsible for checking the local server's applications database to see whether the user who logged on has access to any server applications. This process occurs when the user logs on from any computer on the network. When validated, the Program Control Group builds and displays program groups and application icons.
When the user launches an application, the Program Control Group checks with the local server application database to see which distribution servers have the application. It then connects the user to an available server.
The load-balancing and fault-tolerance features derive from the fact that the Program Control Group connects to any available application distribution server. Because of this capability, you can install applications on several servers to allow multiple servicing points (load balancing), and ensure that users always have access to their network application (fault tolerance).
The Inventory package defines the rules that SMS uses to identify, inventory, and collect applications and files on the local workstation. The packages you define are saved in the SMS database and appear in the Packages window of SMS Admin.
A Package Definition File (PDF) is a text file that contains predefined Workstations, Sharing, and Inventory property settings for a package. To create a new package, you can use the Import command from the Package Properties dialog and use one of SMS's predefined PDFs to specify the properties for that package. SMS includes PDFs for some of the more popular applications, such as Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word; other software publishers also create PDFs. Figure 24.18 shows the creation of a new package for installation of Word 6.0c. Clicking the Sharing button lets you specify the location of the package and the share name (see fig. 24.19).
24.18
Creating a new package from a PDF file included with SMS.
24.19
Setting up the package source and specifying a server share name.
After a package is created, it can be delivered to a targeted machine or set of machines with a job. These jobs are displayed in the Jobs window (see fig. 24.20).
24.20
Four System Jobs and one Share Package pending in SMS's Jobs window.
There are four types of jobs in SMS. One job type is called System Job and is created automatically by SMS to deal with configuration issues. Following are the three types of jobs that you can create:
To create a new job, follow these steps:
24.21
Creating a new Share Package job.
24.22
Specifying the details for the new Share Package job.
In a large network you need a flexible tool to let you easily search the database to find machines that match your requested criteria. For example, you might want to find machines that have the necessary disk space for a Windows 95 installation, Intel-based machines that run DOS, or machines that have been upgraded with a particular application.
System Management Server's Queries window lets you run quick queries to inventory clients meeting specific criteria. The workstation information is collected by the inventory agent when SMS client software is installed. The inventory information is saved in a set of SQL Server tables. The Queries window executes SQL SELECT queries against these tables and automates the process of writing the SQL statements for these queries.
After the server and client software are installed, it's a good idea to run the query tool to get a report on the status of the machines in the network so you can plan your software distribution accordingly. You must first create and then execute a query. Follow these step to create and execute a query:
24.23
The Queries window displaying the default queries included with SMS 1.1.
24.24
A new query displayed in the Query Properties dialog.
24.25
Selecting the query, query format, and sites to inventory.
24.26
The query result set for the Windows NT Computers query using the SMSDemo database.
The preceding steps create and execute a simple query that has only one criterion. By using additional Add AND or the Add OR functions, however, you can add more operators to define more query details. For example, you can add an AND operator with the System Role of the machine and choose Server. Such a query detects only Windows NT servers.
System Management Server lets you create alerts that are triggered based on criteria you define. For example, you can define a rule that specifies whether your server disk is 70 percent full. An alert is sent to one or more system administrators. Alerts may be sent by e-mail, or you can set up the system to page the system administrator.
System Management Server lets you group machines together so that you
can perform administrative tasks for a group systematically. Suppose that
you want to upgrade all high-end workstations in the western region to
Windows 95. First, you create a new group simply by using the File
menu's New command. Then you can run a query for all the
machines that are in the western region, have an Intel Pentium chip, and
have 16M of RAM. When the result is delivered, you simply drag and drop
all these machines in the group that you created. Now you can perform your
upgrade to this group. Grouping machines can provide a simpler administrative
system, particularly if you have a large network.
Similar to grouping the machines in your enterprise, SMS allows you to group different sites together for easier manageability. For example, if Los Angeles and San Francisco are two of the sites in the western region, you can put them together in one group.
This tool allows the administrator to customize programs in a program group that will be delivered to targeted workstations. As a result, you can control the desktop contents and provide desktop consistency.
This tool lets you monitor Windows NT events generated by SMS. Figure 24.27 shows the Events window with events triggered by operations using the SMSDemo database. You double-click the event item to display the Event Detail dialog (see fig. 24.28).
24.27
The Events window displaying Windows NT events generated while using the SMSDemo database.
24.28
Displaying detailed information about a selected event.
One of the better features of SMS is its capability to automatically install the required client software on PCs. If you have only a small number of clients, you can install the software manually.
When SMS is installed, the SMS_SHR share is created, which includes the RUNSMS.BAT batch file. This is the only file you need to run to install the SMS client software on Windows 3.1x, Windows for Workgroups 3.1x, Windows 95, and Windows NT machines. Running this file from the workstation automatically installs the required components onto the client and then inventories the machine's hardware and software. The inventory of the client is performed during installation, which takes 30 to 60 seconds.
To automatically install the client software, the system logon script must be updated. To enable logon scripts from within SMS, follow these steps:
24.29
Site characteristics displayed in the Site Properties dialog.
24.30
Specifying the addition of the SMS client installation to client logon scripts.
The preceding steps enable SMS to update the Windows NT server's logon scripts for each user and to amend the NetWare system logon scripts, if applicable, on all servers within the site being managed. The next time the client logs on, the script installs the SMS client software.
As explained earlier in the "Hardware and Software Inventory" section, inventory management is one the primary functions of SMS. When the client software is installed, the Inventory Agent reads the CMOS (EEPROM) chip of the client and runs an abbreviated version of the Microsoft Diagnostics program to collect the hardware information. The client application then scans the hard disk to collect information about the software installed. After the initial collection, the Inventory Agent runs periodically, based on a schedule you determine.
Each time Inventory Agent runs, it collects the hardware and software information and reports it to the Logon Server. The Logon Server doesn't need to be a Windows NT Server; other servers, such as NetWare 3.1+, can be used to collect this information.
The Primary Site server then collects the information from the Logon Server(s). The site server determines whether there have been any updates on the workstation and updates its Microsoft SQL database with the new information. This information can also be sent up in the hierarchy of the SMS in a large environment as described earlier in this chapter.
The software information collected by the Inventory Agent can be either a Comprehensive Audit or a Detailed Identification. The differences between the two methods are as follows:
Figure 24.31 shows the client's Package Command Manager with a pending Audit Software package created from the Audit.pdf file included with SMS 1.1. When the user clicks the Execute button, the result of the audit is staged for transfer to the Primary Site.
24.31
A pending Comprehensive Audit job displayed in the client's Package Command Manager.
To perform Remote Control or Help Desk functions on a targeted machine, the Remote Control Agent must be running on the client. The command line for the Remote Control Agent is placed in the client's AUTOEXEC.BAT file during initial installation of the client software. For you or Help Desk personnel to support a machine, access rights must be granted to them by the machine's user. For security reasons, some machines might be made inaccessible to support personnel.
You must restart the client PC after installing the SMS client software to enable the Remote Control Agent.
To enable Help Desk support, follow these steps for each client PC:
24.32
The client's Help Desk Options for the Remote Control Agent.
With these options shown enabled in figure 24.32, the user is notified when someone takes control of the machine remotely. If the machine is always to be supported remotely, it's good idea to add the Remote Control Program to the Startup program menu.
To remotely control a client PC from the SMS Admin application, follow these steps:
24.33
Making a connection from SMS to the client's Remote Control Agent.
24.34
Part of a remotely controlled client's 800[ts]600 screen displayed on a server with 640[ts]480 resolution.
In addition to Help Desk, a number of tools are available from the Diagnostics tool in the Properties pane. When you click one of the Diagnostics buttons, the server interrogates the client. Figure 25.35 illustrates the result of a Ping Test on a client.
24.35
Running a real-time Ping Test diagnostic on a client.
The Network Monitor tool captures frames from a remote computer by running the Network Monitor Agent (see fig. 24.36). The capability to capture frames from a remote client is what distinguishes SMS's Network Monitor from that which comes with Windows NT 4.0. Clicking Start Network Monitor opens NetMon with the client selected (see fig. 24.37). After you capture the data, you can highlight certain data or filter the data based on your desired criteria.
24.36
Starting Network Monitor for a remote client.
24.37
Network Monitor displaying the result of a Ping Test of the client.
See "Using Windows NT 4.0's Network Monitor," (Ch 15)
After you create your Central Site and set up the central server, you can begin creating child sites and add them to the SMS hierarchy. The hierarchical structure provides flexible system administration for the entire network. For example, you can provide decentralized Help Desk capabilities by designating some of the child sites as Primary Sites. The inventory data continues to be sent up the hierarchy to the Central Site server for overall administration and asset management. You can allow some of the Secondary Sites, which don't have local databases, to be managed by the Primary Sites.
A Sender is a service in Microsoft Windows NT that SMS uses to transmit instructions and data from one site to another. The use of Senders is an important factor in the enterprise design, because the available bandwidth may vary depending on the connection, which in turn affects overall system performance.
Three types of Senders are available with SMS: LAN, RAS, and SNA. Other Senders, such as MAPI, may be created in the future. If your SMS is located in a LAN environment (typically Ethernet or Token Ring), a LAN Sender is used to connect the servers. This is usually the case for multiple servers in a server room, or a campus-wide network with a high-speed backbone. Remote Access Service (RAS) is another method of connecting the servers together; RAS is the subject of Chapter 18, "Managing Remote Access Service." RAS can use X.25, conventional modems, or ISDN connections. X.25 connections are common and particularly useful for international connections. The third connection method, Microsoft SNA, is used to connect to the IBM environment.
If you use a RAS connection, you must pay special attention to the primary and secondary sites. The Secondary Site doesn't have a database, so all the information is transmitted over the connection to the database of the Primary Site server in a raw format. In general, RAS isn't recommended for this configuration. If a RAS connection is used between two Primary Sites, performance is likely to be acceptable, at least over a 112kbps ISDN line, because the data from one database is compressed before it's delivered to the other primary server.
Remote control via connections other than LANs or T-1 lines is likely to be unsatisfactory. Remote control requires that the client's screen graphics be sent over the connection to your display. Sufficient bandwidth is required so that the normal network traffic isn't affected when Help Desk is operating.
When distributing packages such as Microsoft Office or Windows 95, there should be enough bandwidth to complete the installation in a reasonable period. Although SMS allows job scheduling so that the packages can be delivered during the time when the network is least utilized, it's unrealistic to assume that an efficient installation can be performed over a RAS connection.
If you're running Novell NetWare 3.x servers in your environment, you can add a Microsoft SMS to the network and use all of its features without any changes to the NetWare server or the client. The NetWare server can be used as a logon server and/or a distribution server. You need to add only a few lines to the user's logon script to run the installation program. You must install Gateway Services for NetWare to fully use SMS in a heterogeneous networking environment.
See "Using Gateway Services for NetWare," (Ch 17)
The best way to manage NetWare servers and workstations is to group them together so that they're managed as one unit. NetWare 3.x doesn't support a domain concept and therefore doesn't offer a single logon account. Because most NetWare 3.x servers don't share the same user account database, an SMS account with supervisory rights must be created in each server that needs to participate in the SMS hierarchy. The account allows SMS to communicate with the NetWare server and to install a software package for distribution, or retrieve the inventory data from the NetWare server.
This chapter demonstrated that System Management Server provides a number of capabilities that reduce the cost of ownership of PCs by providing an efficient method of supporting PC users. SMS is a much more feature-rich and complicated network application that requires an understanding of a number of MIS-related issues such as LAN and WAN connections, network bandwidth, and organization structure. With proper planning, which includes setting up a pilot project before rollout, SMS enhances the system administrator and end-user environments.
The following chapters contain information related to the topics covered in this chapter:
© 1996, QUE Corporation, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing USA, a Simon and Schuster Company.
