Vector Asset Management v5.00 ======================== Build 5.00.053 English ======= Release Notes ------------- 12-November-2007 Copyright ©, Vector Networks Technologies. All Rights Reserved Contents ======== 1 Introduction 2 New Features in This Release 3 Compatibility with Previous Versions 4 Installation Instructions 5 Known Problems, Restrictions and Notes 6 Request for Feedback 7 Vector Networks Web Site 1 Introduction ================ This document accompanies Vector Asset Management v5.00. It contains notes on platform support, known problems, etc, and should be read in conjunction with the User Manual and Evaluation Guide that accompany this release. Users that are upgrading from a previous version of PC-Duo Enterprise 3.x or 4.x should refer to the Upgrade Guide. Please Note: The following minimum versions of support software are required for this release: Internet Explorer v6.0, Jet v4.0 SP3, MDAC v2.61 and MMC v1.2. Jet 4.0 SP8 is required as a minimum if using Microsoft Access Site databases (This is already included in Windows XP SP2, Update Rollup 1 for Windows 2000 SP4, and Windows 2003 SP1). Online Clients -------------- Support for Online Clients (i.e. Clients that are accessed directly with Windows Networking, instead of via an intermediate Offline Area) has been removed. Patch Management ---------------- Microsoft's new "WSUS" replacement for SUS is not supported by Vector Patch Management. Patch Management is deprecated and it will be removed from Vector Asset Management in future versions. 2 New Features in This Release ================================ Version 5.0 is the first public release after v4.01. Network Devices --------------- - Version 5.0 of Vector’s Asset Management introduces multi-vendor network device discovery, interrogation and mapping. Network Devices Discovery allows the IT department to have a complete view of the network, which includes non-computer devices such as hubs, switches, routers and printers. - The network device discovery process interrogates intelligent devices using SNMP to determine key asset characteristics and make them available in the Console. Some SNMP Network Device properties, like Model and Vendor, are editable, thus allowing the administrator to complete or correct information if needed. - Network Devices always stay updated thanks to the automatic scan process that is performed regularly. This process can be scheduled and configured to better fit the organization's needs. - Asset Management 5 facilitates the management of complex networks as it is able to discover and interrogate multiple Community String groups and consolidate them into a single view of the network. The administrator can provide one or several SNMP Community Strings for the SNMP Scan to use during discovery. - To simplify the management of networks even more, Seed IP Address can be used for the SNMP Scan Network Discovery. They serve as the starting points for the network discovery and thus extending the reach to devices that are located in other segments of the network. - Great flexibility and control of the discovery process is offered by allowing specific IP addresses to be excluded from network scans. The administrator can also delete specific devices that were found during the discovery and prevent them from being collected in future network scans. - Startup of a complete IT Asset Management database is quick. Network Devices Discovery is performed while Client deployment is in progress. - Administrators have the ability to create their own network device types and organize them into separate groups. This ensures that future network devices will still be handled by Vector Asset Management. Network Topology Diagrams ------------------------- Network devices are items of equipment that can be attached to a network, including hubs, routers, printers and fax machines. Topology diagrams enable you to create graphical representations of the relationships between the devices found on your network. - Asset Management generates maps of your network automatically. - You can create diagrams that show only subsets of your network, based on specific network locations. Specify an IP range, a subnet or a specific router to delimit the scope of each diagram. - You can export your topology diagrams to Microsoft Visio. If you don't have Visio installed, you can use the free Microsoft Visio Viewer (go to http://www.microsoft.com for more information) - You can move the network devices in the diagram and reorganize the layout according to your preferences, organization needs or standards. Network Devices Locations ------------------------- Vector Asset Management 5.0 is also able to determine the physical position of a device within the network. It discovers the hubs and switches that each computer is connected to and it determines the physical network ports . Network Locations enable you to group the equipment on your network by the area in which it is situated. Each location represents a physical space within your organization together with a set of IP addresses or the routers and ports that identify the devices associated with the area. Look for the Locations node at the same level as Clients and Network Devices. - Each location can be broken down into sub-units so, for example, you can create a location for each building within your organization, and the equipment can then be separated into the individual offices or business units it contains. - You can delete devices and clients from within the Locations section. - You can look for new network devices in your network any time by clicking the Reanalyze Network devices menu item of the Locations folder. This will discover new SNMP-enabled devices according to the settings of the Network Devices Scan. - A set of reports show the current Client Location and the Client Location History Changes which allow detection of displaced equipment. Windows Vista -------------- Vector Asset Management 5.0 introduces support for Windows Vista Clients. Automatically discover computers running Windows Vista, deploy the Clients, collect Hardware and Software information and monitor application usage with Software Metering. Please note that Software Distribution to computers running Windows Vista is not supported in this version. Virtual Machines ---------------- Vector Asset Management includes a Virtual Machines Custom Group and a Virtual Machines Database View that list the clients that are running in a Virtual Machine environment. The Virtual Machines Database View is located in Reports > Current Data > Total System. Client View ------------ The main Client View has been replaced from the ground up with a new fully customisable grid view, which enables users to specify columns, assign fonts, font and background colors, specify multi-level sort priorities, etc. Customisations are defined and updated through a wizard, and each Client Dynamic Group has its own individual ‘view schema’ which is specified as part of a new wizard driven process of defining the group. A default schema (itself customisable) can be adopted initially for rapid group definition, with details being refined later on the basis of usage. General -------- - Multi-core and Hyper-Threading CPUs as well as Virtual Machines are fully supported. - Name and branding changed from PC-Duo Enterprise to Vector Asset Management. - The Scheduler Service runs by default rather than the WinScheduler application. - The Asset Management Client tracks license keying so it stops collecting metering data if indicated by the license key. - Fixed issues that prevented some computers from being displayed in the Active Directory tree for Client deployment. - Several Crystal reports were enhanced for improved usability. Software Inventory ------------------- - Collection and reporting of Microsoft Serial Numbers has been enhanced for previous versions and new products like Microsoft Office 2007 are supported now. - The Applications Library was updated with new and updated definitions for applications. 3 Compatibility with Previous Versions ======================================= This version of Vector Asset Management 5.0 is compatible with previous PC-Duo Enterprise v4.x/v3.x Host and Client installations. Please refer to the Upgrade Guide for details. Importing Operations during a Site upgrade from a previous PC-Duo Enterprise installation replaces Operations where appropriate. User-customized Operations will be retained with their old names. Old Site databases need to be upgraded for this release. New databases and new Clients are not compatible with old releases. Note that upgrading a database for use with this version is likely to prevent old version Consoles from accessing it. You should take a backup copy of any database that you may wish to continue using with an old Console. 4 Installation Instructions ============================ You should install the Vector Asset Management 5.0 Console and Client kits as described in the Evaluators Guide. Similarly, Vector Diagnostics and Vector HelpDesk kits should be installed in accordance with the associated documentation. Supported Operating Systems for the Console: Windows 2000 Windows XP Windows 2003 Windows Vista (Client Only) 5 Known Problems, Restrictions and Notes ========================================= Console -------- Vector Asset Management Console is not currently supported in Windows Vista. Software Distribution --------------------- Software Distribution to computers running Windows Vista is not supported in this version. Patch Management ---------------- Deployment of Microsoft's Automatic Update client is occasionally non-silent. We have not seen this in any production environment but please beware that Microsoft's installer may display a prompt even when the silent mode has been requested. Microsoft's new "WSUS" replacement for SUS is not supported by Patch Management. Microsoft Access and Oracle Databases ------------------------------------- The following database management Operations work correctly on Microsoft MSDE and SQL Server databases but fail on Microsoft Access and Oracle: o Delete Job Logs o Delete Metering Data o Delete Change History Data This is caused by SQL syntax inconsistencies across these databases and the following command lines can be used as a workaround for Access & Oracle in place of the normal Operation Customizations: Delete Job Logs: $DSNACCESS "PROMPT=Delete Old Job Logs?" /SQLUPDATE "SQL=Delete * from NETJOBLG Where ENDDATE < #$MM/DD/YY(-60)$#" Delete Metering Data: $DSNACCESS "PROMPT=Delete Old Metering Data?" /SQLUPDATE "SQL=Delete * from SWMDETAIL Where FINISHTIME < #$MM/DD/YY(-60)$#" Delete Change History Data: $DSNACCESS "PROMPT=Delete Old Change History Data?" /SQLUPDATE "SQL=Delete * from NODEHISTORY Where ENTRYDATE < #$MM/DD/YY(-60)$#" Similarly, the "Not Pushed Recently" Group fails on Access and Oracle. The following SQL syntax can be used in place of the default (replacing the '#' date delimiters with single quotes): SELECT DISTINCT NODENAME FROM HWUPDATE WHERE CREATEDATE < #$MM/DD/YY(-31)$# Microsoft SQL Server -------------------- For Microsoft SQL Server, if the SQL Server client code page setting is different to the SQL Server server code page, you may get loss of textual data in the database. Please ensure that the system(s) where you run the Enterprise Console(s) and Scheduler(s) have a SQL Server database client configuration that matches that on the SQL Server server system. Microsoft MSDE -------------- MSDE has limited scalability and built-in locks that may cause performance degradation when there is intense activity. MSDE databases normally give adequate performance for evaluation and small-scale production use but intensive database access sometimes cause the MSDE server process to degrade significantly, with a delay suddenly appearing on some queries. In this situation, Interactive Discovery startup can take several minutes and some Console displays are slow to redraw. This can be resolved by restarting the MSDE server service (or rebooting the machine that is hosting the MSDE database), or by upgrading to 'proper' SQL Server. Other Issues ------------ The Software Distribution Post-Process command is not supported when using the Deploy Clients features. The Post-Process command is available when using the main Software Distribution module ("Distribute Software"). The use of 'high' character codes in passwords is not recommended. These often non-printable characters can be entered by pressing and holding the Alt key while typing a numeric code using the keypad. There are inconsistencies related to the handling of the following character codes in Windows such that their use is not supported in Vector Asset Management: 125, 127, 174-224, 226-229, 231-240, 242-245, 247, 249, 251, 252, 254. If you open a Site in the Console (by expanding it from the tree), then delete it, and then try to create a fresh Site with the same name as the one just deleted, you are likely to get an error. If you wish to replace a Site with a new Site with the same name, you should close the Console after deleting the old Site and reopen it before creating the new Site. Deleting network Sites may fail if the Scheduler or another Console are currently running against that Site, reporting errors about DSNs. You have to use REGEDIT to delete the relevant key below the main Console registry key to recover. Please ensure that no other applications are using a Site if you want to delete it. The New Site Wizard will only establish the Global Site when it creates a fresh (new format) Site. The Global Site is not established when installing on top of a previous version and immediately linking to a previously-created Site (and the Console fails if the Global Site dialog is opened in this situation). It is no longer possible to drag and drop Clients from other Groups into a Fixed Group to populate it. The saved selection of Clients in the Client Selection Dialog does not expand when a group is selected in the Groups tab. We have seen an intermittent error from the Console's Client Selection Dialog when running on Windows XP with themes enabled. The Client Selection Dialog saves its list of selected Clients and Groups between different calls. However, this can cause problems when multiple Sites are being used. Modifying a Dynamic Group's SQL does not immediately update the display for that Group but instead selects the Custom Groups folder. It is necessary to re-select the Group manually. There is a known problem with Software Distribution/Deployment and Windows XP and Vista Clients. This involves a Windows requirement that the Console must be run in a domain environment (otherwise Windows XP and Vista refuses connection to the ADMIN$ share), although this can be avoided by disabling the ForceGuest Windows local security policy. Please refer to the separate README.TXT files for extra information on Client and Audit software issues. 6 Request for Feedback ======================= We are very interested to hear your comments on the appearance and usability of this software, and your suggestions on relative priorities for new features. Please send your comments to: Vector Networks Americas (Headquarters) --------------------------------------- Sales: 770-622-2850 Support: 800-330-5035 Fax: 770-495-6214 Email Sales: solutions@vector-networks.com Email Support: support@vector-networks.com Virtual Network Partners Ltd. (Distribution and Support for Vector Networks EMEA) ---------------------------------------------------- Phone: +44 (0) 203 0040 750 Email Sales: sales@virtualnetworkpartners.eu Email Support: support@virtualnetworkpartners.eu Vector Networks Canada ---------------------- Phone: 514-341-9113 Fax: 514-341-4757 Email Sales: solutions@vector-networks.com Email Support: support@vector-networks.com 7 Vector Networks Web Site ============================ Visit our World Wide Web site for new product, software update, and release information. Point your Web browser at the following URL: http://www.vector-networks.com