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The content below is intended for administrators who are responsible for creating and executing scripts. Before you perform the tasks in this guide, please ensure you have correctly installed
Specops Command.
Key components
Specops Command can be configured from any computer in the domain where the Administration Tools are installed. The
Specops Command Administration Tools consists of the following components:
Group Policy Editor Snap-in: You can use the Group Policy Editor Snap-in to create, edit, and remove script assignments.
Specops Configuration Tool: You can use the Specops Configuration Tool to import your license keys and monitor the status of your Client Side Extensions.
You can also use the following component to administer
Specops Command:
Specops Reporting: You can use Specops Reporting to view and create detailed reports for script feedback.
Group Policy Editor snap-in
The Group Policy snap-in, installed with the Administration Tools, allows you to create, edit, and remove script assignments. These settings are stored as a part of the GPO. You can create script assignments for either computers and/or users.
New Script Assignment
In the GPMC, expand your domain node and locate the Group Policy Objects node.
Right-click on the desired GPO and click Edit…
In the Group Policy Management Editor, expand
Computer Configuration or User Configuration,
Policies, Systems Management, and select
Specops Command.
NOTE
The
Specops Command node allows scripts to be executed in both the computer and user context.
Click New Script Assignment.
Configure Script Assignment
In the Script Assignment name text field, enter a descriptive name for the script assignment.
Specify the desired script language from the
Script language drop-box.
Use the Script editor to write your PowerShell script or VBScript. Alternatively you can import a saved script from file. Opening a saved script will replace the script in the script editor.
Use the Send feedback drop-box to configure the feedback options.
Feedback
Description
Always
Feedback will be sent every time a client executes the script, regardless of the outcome.
On error
Feedback will only be sent if an error occurs when executing the script.
Note: This can be useful for limiting network traffic if scripts are executed often and on multiple computers.
Never
No feedback will be sent when executing this script.
Click Test Script to execute the script on the local machine.
NOTE
It is important to run the script before sending it to clients to ensure that there are no errors in the script.
Click Sign Script… to sign the PowerShell script from
Specops Command using a certificate with a private key.
Browse to the location of the PFX file.
Enter the certificate password, and click OK.
To save the script assignment, click OK.
Undo script
Use the Undo script tab to undo the script for computers when they fall out of the scope of management.
Enable the Undo script enabled checkbox to be able to add an undo script to the script assignment.
Specify the desired script language from the
Script language drop-box.
Use the Script editor to write your PowerShell script or VBScript. Alternatively you can import a saved script from file. Opening a saved script will replace the script in the script editor.
Use the Send feedback drop-box to configure the feedback options.
Feedback
Description
Always
Feedback will be sent every time a client executes the script, regardless of the outcome.
On error
Feedback will only be sent if an error occurs when executing the script.
Note: This can be useful for limiting network traffic if scripts are executed often and on multiple computers.
Never
No feedback will be sent when executing this script.
Click Test Script to execute the script on the local machine.
NOTE
It is important to run the script before sending it to clients to ensure that there are no errors in the script.
Click Sign Script… to sign the PowerShell script from
Specops Command using a certificate with a private key.
Browse to the location of the PFX file.
Enter the certificate password, and click OK.
To save the script assignment, click OK.
Target
Use the Target tab to scope which computers or users will receive the script assignment. A target consists of a set of criteria which the client will match against its own environment.
Enable the Targeting enabled check-box.
Select the Add target criterion drop box. You can add the following criteria:
Criteria
Description
Membership criteria
The Membership criteria consists of the following items:
Security groups
Organizational units
User name
Computer names
Sites
IP address range
Environment criteria
The Environment criteria consists of the following items:
Environment variables
Registry settings
Operating system languages
Hardware criteria
The Hardware criteria consists of the following items:
BIOS
Computer model
Processor type
Disk free space
Memory size
Software criteria
The Software criteria consists of the following items:
Operating systems
Installed software
Files
WQL
Query the Windows Management Instrumentation.
Once you have added the target criteria, they will be displayed in the list. From the list you can edit or remove a criterion.
Schedule
Use the Schedule tab to specify when and how often a script assignment should be executed.
Enable the Scheduling enabled checkbox.
NOTE
If this option is not enabled, the script assignment will be applied at every Group Policy interval both in foreground and background processing mode.
You will have the following options:
Interval
Description
Once
GPO executes script only once for the computer or user.
Note
If Once is set in combination with foreground in the computer part of the GPO, the GPO will affect the computer the first time it is re-started after the CSE is installed.
If Once is set in combination with foreground in the user part of the GPO, the result will be that the GPO will only affect the user the first time he/she log on to a computer after the CSE is installed on the computer.
Daily
GPO executes script daily. This is similar to the Every group policy interval option with the exception of allowing a time window to be used.
Weekly
GPO executes script on specific days of the week.
Monthly
GPO executes script on one or more specified days each month.
Every group policy interval
GPO executes script every time the policies are applied for the computer or user.
If you have selected the daily, weekly, or monthly interval, you can configure when for each interval the settings should be executed.
From the Time windows settings you can also configure
UTC time and Only once per time window.
You can schedule scripts during both during booth and/or logon (foreground mode) and every group policy interval (Background mode). Enable the GPO Processing mode you would like to use. Note: If you select both, you will
have the option to require synchronous mode.
Edit Script Assignment
In the GPMC, expand your domain node and locate the Group Policy Objects node.
Right-click on the desired GPO and click Edit…
In the Group Policy Management Editor, expand
Computer Configuration or User Configuration,
Policies, Systems Management, and select
Specops Command.
Select the script assignment you want to edit, and click
Edit Script Assignment.
Make the necessary changes, and click OK.
Delete Script Assignment
In the GPMC, expand your domain node and locate the Group Policy Objects node.
Right-click on the desired GPO and click Edit…
In the Group Policy Management Editor, expand
Computer Configuration or User Configuration,
Policies, Systems Management, and select
Specops Command.
Select the script assignment you want to delete, and click
Delete Script Assignment.
Click Yes in the Delete script assignment dialog box.
Detailed Feedback
After the Group Policies have been applied, you can view detailed feedback for a script assignment.
In the GPMC, expand your domain node and locate the Group Policy Objects node.
Right-click on the desired GPO and click Edit…
In the Group Policy Management Editor, expand
Computer Configuration or User Configuration,
Policies, Systems Management, and select
Specops Command.
Select the desired Script assignment, and click
Detailed Feedback.
Use the top pane to set up the filter. You will have the following filter options:
Option
Description
Succeeded executions
The feedback will only display script executions that were completed without errors.
Failed executions
The feedback will only display failed script executions.
Both
The feedback will display both succeeded and failed script executions.
Normal executions
The feedback will only display script executions that are not Undo executions.
Undo Executions
The feedback will only display undo script executions. Undo scripts are executed when a script assignment falls out of the scope of management for a computer or user.
Both
The feedback will display both normal and undo script executions.
All time
The feedback will display all executions regardless of when they happened.
Not older than
The feedback will display executions on or after the selected date.
Click Display to load the information according to the filter.
You can remove dated information using the
Delete Selected feedback Select the feedback you want to remove and click Delete Selected feedback. Note: If the script is executed again for the same computer or users, new feedback will be sent to replace
the deleted information.
Powershell Snap-ins
PowerShell Snap-ins provide cmdlets and providers as well as other capabilities. If you use a cmdlet in a script that Snap-in must be present on the client for it to process. In
Specops Command you can add PowerShell Snap-ins to be packaged and deployed to clients. You can also ensure these Snap-ins are the latest version.
If a script is added to a
Specops Command policy, and a cmdlet or provider called in that script is from a PowerShell Snap-in, then the snap-in will appear in the list. The local version of the snap-in will be compared against the version contained in the GPO. This will assist
in keeping versions of the snap-in up to date.
Licensing
You can update your license from the Group Policy Editor snap-in.
Open the Group Policy Management Console.
Right-click on the GPO node, and select Edit.
In the Group Policy Management Editor, expand
Computer Configuration, Policies, Systems Management, and select
Specops Command.
From the Command menu, click Licensing.
Click Import license file…
Browse to the location of the TXT file, and click
Open.
Click OK.
Specops Configuration Tool
The Specops Configuration Tool allows you to manage the various components of your installed Specops products such as importing license keys and monitoring the status of your Client Side Extensions.
Computers
Search for a computer by using one or more of the below criteria:
Number of days of inactivity
Computer name
Client version
Click Search.
The computers that meet the criteria will appear in the list. For a detailed list of your computers including database ID, computer name, heartbeat, and version, click
Export Computer List to File.
Enter a file name.
Click Save.
Select a computer from the list, and click
Delete Selected Computer Records to delete records for the computer.
In the Delete Computer Record dialog box, click Yes.
License
Import License
Open the Specops Configuration tool.
Select the
Specops Command tab.
In the navigation pane, select License.
Click Import License.
Browse to the location of the TXT file, and click
Open.
Export License Information to File
Open the Specops Configuration tool.
Select the
Specops Command tab.
In the navigation pane, select License.
Click Export LicenseInformation to File.
Enter a file name, and click Save.
Specops Reporting
The Specops Reporting component is entirely web based and can be accessed from your browser. The URL for Specops Reporting depends on where the component was installed.
Command Reports provide a good overview of the feedback gathered from the script assignments.
View predefined Reports
Enter the URL for Specops Reporting.
In the navigation pane, expand Specops Reporting, and click
Specops Command.
The predefined reports are grouped into categories. Select a report from the below categories:
Computer
User
Extension Status
Create a new report
You can customize the view of the information gathered by creating a new report definition.
Enter the URL for Specops Reporting.
In the navigation pane, click Create new report.
Specify the following fields:
Field
Step
Report name
Enter a report name.
Report category
Specify a report category.
Report description
Enter a report description
Columns
Add columns to the report. You will be able to specify the Column heading, Field, and Display name.
Groupings
To group data in the report data, select a column and drag and drop it in the group panel. This will remove the column from the visible columns and display a grouping rectangle for the column in the group panel.
Filters
Add any filtering of data by clicking on the Filters tab and selecting additional filter data and values to filter by.
Import report definition
You can import report definition from the import web page or from a file.
Export report definitions
You can export a report definition from the export web page. The export page displays a complete list of all reports in the database grouped by report categories.
Click Save.
Edit an existing report
Enter the URL for Specops Reporting.
In the navigation pane, expand Specops Reporting, and click
.
Click Edit next to the report you want to modify.
Make the necessary, and click Save.
Export Report data
You can export report data in a PDF or a CSV format for further processing.
Enter the URL for Specops Reporting.
In the navigation pane, expand Specops Reporting, and click
.
Select the Report you want to export.
If required, select the client computer from the
Computer drop box, or the user from the User drop box.
Specify the page size in the Page size drop box.
From the Export to drop box, select the report format. Note: If you select PDF, you will also need to specify the page layout from the drop box.
Click the green button next to Export to.
Delete a Report
Enter the URL for Specops Reporting.
In the navigation pane, expand Specops Reporting, and click
.
Click Delete next to the report you want to delete.