Administration

The content below is intended for administrators who are responsible for collecting inventory reports in their Microsoft Active Directory enviornment. Before you perform the tasks in this guide, please ensure you have correctly installed Specops Inventory.

Key Components

Specops Inventory can be configured from any computer in the domain where the Administration Tools are installed. The Specops Inventory Administration Tools consist of the following components:

  • Group Policy Editor Snap-in: You can use the Group Policy Editor Snap-in to configure what information the Specops Inventory Group Policy Client Side Extension should collect and send to the Specops Inventory Server.
  • 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 Inventory:

  • Specops Reporting: You can use Specops Reporting to view and create detailed inventory reports.

Group Policy Editor snap-in

The Group Policy snap-in, installed with the Administration Tools, allows you to configure what information the Specops Inventory Group Policy Client Side Extension should collect and send to the Specops Inventory Server. Information about what to collect during inventory is stored in Group Policy Objects. You can collect information from either the computers and/or the users.

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Edit inventory settings

You can edit inventory settings by enabling different categories that you want to collect information from. A computer that is affected by the policy will collect information during the next Group Policy refresh interval and send it to a centralized database. You need to run this task on a machine where the Administration Tools have been installed.

  1. In the GPMC, expand your domain node and locate the Group Policy Objects node.
  2. Right-click on the desired GPO and click Edit…
  3. In the Group Policy Management Editor, expand Computer Configuration or User Configuration, Policies, Systems Management, and select Specops Inventory.
  4. Click Edit inventory settings. From the list, select the category you want to enable.You will have the following options if you are in the computer configuration node:
    CategoryDescription
    General hardware information Contains general hardware information about the computer including:

    • Computer manufacturer and model
    • BIOS name and version
    • Disk drives
    • Video controllers
    • Printers
    • Computer chassis type
    Operating System Contains information about the installed operating system including:

    • OS name
    • Version
    • Service pack level
    • OS language
    • Time zone
    • Hot Fixes
    • Page file settings
    Installed Software Contains information about installed software including:

    • Windows Installer installations
    • Legacy installations
    • Time of installation
    Files Can be used to inventory files. To set the inventory filter:

    1. Click Add to select the file expressions to include in the inventory.
    2. In the Name of this file inventory field, enter the name that will be used to identify the found files in the report.
    3. In the File name field, enter the name of the file or files to search for.
    4. From the Root to start search in field select a search root from the environment variables.
    5. In the Sub path field, enter a sub directory within the selected root directory.
    6. To add the file expression to the list, click Add.
    7. If you want to add another file expression, click Clear to clear the information in the file expression field and repeat steps 2 through 6.
    WMI Can be used to inventory custom WMI properties. To set the inventory filter:

    1. Select a WMI Namespace.
    2. Select a WMI Class.
    3. Select a WMI Property.
    4. Click OK.
    User query Can be used to display a query to the end user of a computer. The user can respond to this question in different ways depending on the settings in the query. The responses from the end user will be saved in the inventory database.

    1. In the Question title field enter a title for the question that you want displayed to the end user of the computer.
    2. In the Question field enter the question you want displayed to the end user of the computer.
    3. From the Query type drop-box, select the question type. You have the following options:
      • Yes/No question
      • Multiple choice question. You will need to click Add answer choice and enter a possible answer in the Response text field.
      • Free text question
    4. Select a time limit from the Time limit for user response before closing field.
    5. Enable Allow user to postpone query if you want to allow the user to postpone the query.
    6. Click OK.
    Registry values Can be used to inventory one or more registry values. To set the inventory filter:

    1. Click Add to select the registry key to include in the inventory.
    2. In the Registry hive field, enter
    3. In the Path to registry key field, enter the path to the registry key.
    4. In the Registry key name field, browse to, or enter the registry key.
    5. To add the registry key, click Add.
    6. If you want to add registry key, click Clear to clear the registry key information you have already added, and repeat steps 2 through 5.
    7. Click OK.
    Environment variables Can be used to collect information about all the environment variables for the user or computer. Both the variable names and their values will be inventoried.
    Services Contains information about Windows Services including:

    • Services name
    • Start mode
    • Current status
    Networking Contains information about all network adapters including:

    • Adapter name
    • Type
    • Mac address
    • IP address
    • DHCP server information
    • Gateway
    • WINS servers
    Scheduler jobs Contains information about the configured tasks in the Task Scheduler including:

    • Task name
    • Command
    • Time
    • Result from last run
    Active Directory information Contains information from Active Directory about this computer object including:

    • Organizational Unit
    • Location
    • Description
    Group Policy information Contains information about the group policy objects that are applied on the computer including:

    • GPO name
    • Version
    • Link information

    You will have the following options if you are in the user configuration node:

    CategoryDescription
    User information Contains general user information including:

    • Profile size
    • Max allowed size
    • Home directory path
    • User screen saver settings
    • Excluded directories for profile replication
    Files Can be used to inventory files. To set the inventory filter:

    • Add to select the file expressions to include in the inventory.
    • In the Name of this file inventory field, enter the name that will be used to identify the found files in the report.
    • In the File name field, enter the name of the file or files to search for.
    • From the Root to start search in field select a search root from the environment variables.
    • In the Sub path field, enter a sub directory within the selected root directory.
    • To add the file expression to the list, click Add.
    • If you want to add another file expression, click Clear to clear the information in the file expression field and repeat steps 2 through 6.
    Registry valuesCan be used to inventory one or more registry values.
    Environmental variables Can be used to collect information about all the environment variables for the user or computer. Both the variable names and their values will be inventoried.
    Active Directory information Contains information from Active Directory about this user object including:

    • Organizational Unit
    • E-mail address
    • Full Name
    • Location
    • Description
    Group Policy information Contains information about the group policy objects that are applied on the user including:

    • GPO name
    • Version
    • Link information
  5. Click OK to save inventory settings.

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

  1. Search for a computer by using one or more of the below criteria:
    • Number of days of inactivity
    • Computer name
    • Client version
  2. Click Search.
  3. 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.
  4. Select a computer from the list, and click Delete Selected Computer Records to delete records for the computer.
  5. In the Delete Computer Record dialog box, click Yes.

License

Import License

  1. Open the Specops Configuration tool.
  2. Select the Specops Command tab.
  3. In the navigation pane, select License.
  4. Click Import License.
  5. Browse to the location of the TXT file, and click Open.

Export License Information to File

  1. Open the Specops Configuration tool.
  2. Select the Specops Command tab.
  3. In the navigation pane, select License.
  4. Click Export License Information to File.
  5. 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. Inventory reports provide a good overview of the feedback gathered from your users and computers.

View predefined Reports

  1. Enter the URL for Specops Reporting.
  2. In the navigation pane, expand Specops Reporting, and click Specops Inventory.
  3. The predefined reports are grouped into categories. Select a report from the below categories:
    • Hardware
    • Operating system
    • Sample custom reports
    • Software reports
    • User reports
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Create a new report

You can customize the view of the information gathered by creating a new report definition.

  1. Enter the URL for Specops Reporting.
  2. In the navigation pane, click Create new report.
  3. Specify the following fields:
    FieldStep
    Report nameEnter a report name.
    Report categorySpecify a report category.
    Report descriptionEnter 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.
  4. Click Save.

Edit an existing report

  1. Enter the URL for Specops Reporting.
  2. In the navigation pane, expand Specops Reporting, and click Specops Inventory.
  3. Click Edit next to the report you want to modify.
  4. Make the necessary changes, and click Save.

Export Report data

You can export report data in a PDF or a CSV format for further processing.

  1. Enter the URL for Specops Reporting.
  2. In the navigation pane, expand Specops Reporting, and click Specops Inventory.
  3. Select the Report you want to export.
  4. If required, select the client computer from the Computer drop box, or the user from the User drop box.
  5. Specify the page size in the Page size drop box.
  6. 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.
  7. Click the green button next to Export to.

Delete a Report

  1. Enter the URL for Specops Reporting.
  2. In the navigation pane, expand Specops Reporting, and click Specops Inventory.
  3. Click Delete next to the report you want to delete.
  4. Click OK.