Getting Started

Diagnostics allows you to protect and restore applications by taking snapshots of the applications on your networked PCs. From small utilities to business-critical applications, you can protect any number of applications across your entire network.

Diagnostics also provides change analysis capabilities to help determine root causes. By comparing application and PC settings against a baseline or at different points in time, you can quickly identify and correct the configuration changes that cause problems.

Protecting Applications

To protect an application, you first build an application profile that describes a working configuration of the application: files, registry entries, ActiveX controls, self-registered files (DLLs), shortcuts, and environment variables.

After you have a profile, you can then protect the application on any computer in your network. When you protect an application, Diagnostics takes a snapshot of the application configuration on the machine. The profile drives this process, because it specifies what items make up the application configuration.

The snapshot contains everything needed to restore the application to working order, including repair rules for detecting and fixing problems, and an archive of application files.

Performing Change Analysis

Change analysis is a basic technique for troubleshooting system and application problems. It is the process of tracking down configuration changes on a computer.

With Diagnostics, you can build profiles to collect application diagnostics and system configuration information such as services and printers, audit computers, and then analyze the collected diagnostic data. Diagnostics automatically compares application or system settings against a baseline, at different points in time, or on different computers. This allows you to quickly identify and correct the changes that caused the problem.

Diagnostics

Diagnostics consists of three components: a central, administrative console, agents that run on remote computers, and a shared data folder called the Support Site.

Diagnostics Console

You use the Diagnostics Console to profile, protect, and audit applications, and to diagnose and fix problems.

The Diagnostics Console is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that you can run as a standalone application.

MMC is a feature of the Windows 2000, NT, and XP operating systems, but can also run on the Windows 95, 98, and Me operating systems.

Diagnostics Agents

Diagnostics Agents are installed on each computer on the network, and are responsible for auditing and protecting the computers.

Support Site

It enables peer-to-peer communication between the consoles and agents.

It stores the public profiles, all audit reports, and the licensing information.

It includes the setup programs for consoles and agents. After the first Diagnostics Console is installed and configured, all other copies of the console are installed from Support Site.

Using the Diagnostics Console

The Diagnostics Console consists of a window divided into two panes. The left pane contains the console tree, which shows the items available in the console.

The right pane contains the Details view. The Details view shows information about the item selected in the console tree. For example, when you click a profile in the console tree, the Details view allows you to view and edit the details of the profile.

Action Menu

Most tasks in Diagnostics Console, such as protecting applications and running audits, can be accomplished from the Action menu.

The available commands on the Action menu depend on what type of item you select in the console tree. Right-clicking an item in the console tree opens a shortcut menu with the same commands.

If the Action menu contains only the Help command, click in the console tree and open the Action menu again.

Console Tree

From the console tree, you can access any computer on your network to protect applications and run audits (collect diagnostics). You can also create and edit profiles, diagnose problems, analyze configuration changes, and schedule jobs.

Profiles

For application protection, a profile specifies the application items to protect, such as files, registry entries, ActiveX controls, and shortcuts.

For change analysis, a profile specifies what configuration information to collect. In addition to files, registry entries, ActiveX controls, shortcuts, and environment variables, a profile can include lists of files to retrieve and system resource information (such as services, startup applications, and printers).

Public versus Private

Public items are stored on a central server (in the SupportSite shared folder) and shared by all console users. For example, if you create a new profile you can share it with all other users by saving it in the SupportSite folder. Private items are stored outside of the SupportSite folder, for example on your local hard disk.

To audit and protect computers, a profile must be public. Private profiles can be used only on My Computer.

Audits

An audit is the configuration information and diagnostic data collected from a computer. An audit report is created whenever you audit or protect an application. Audit reports are stored in the Support Site.

In the console tree, audits are found under a computer node. The Audit Reports node is a general storage area for audit reports that you want to keep around for later change analyses.

Snapshots

A snapshot is an archive of the application files listed in the profile. A snapshot is created when you protect an application, and stored on the local computer.

Requests

Requests are audit and protect commands. Pending requests are waiting to be picked up by Diagnostics Agents. In Progress requests are being processed by the Diagnostics Agents.

In Progress requests are audit and protect jobs. A job request must finish before any another request is processed, while requests from a Diagnostics Console are processed independently in separate threads. While a job request is In Progress, all requests from Diagnostics Consoles are Pending.

Jobs

Jobs are audit and protect commands that are scheduled to run at specific times.

Details View

The Details view displays the details of an item selected in the console tree. For example, you can view the details of a profile, an audit report, or of the problems found during an audit.

Profile View

Allows you to create and edit profiles. The left pane of the profile view is the profile tree, which lists the different sections of a profile.

Profile View

Audit Report View

Change Analysis View

Allows you to compare two audit reports. Differences between the two reports are visually highlighted, so you can quickly view problems such as missing files, wrong file versions, invalid registry entries, and invalid OS settings.

Change Analysis View

Problem Diagnosis View

Requests View

Allows you to check the status of audit and protect requests, and to delete requests if necessary.

Requests View

Job View

Allows you to define and schedule audits and application protection. You can also define batch jobs to protect (or audit) an application on all computers in a domain or network.

Job View

Job Status View

Setting Up Diagnostics

Setting up Diagnostics involves installing at least one copy of Diagnostics Console, and a copy of Diagnostics Agent on every computer where you want to protect applications or collect diagnostics.

To set up Diagnostics on your network:

Install a copy of Diagnostics from the CD. In addition to installing a copy of Diagnostics Console and Diagnostics Agent, the Setup program allows you to:

Set up the Support Site, the shared folder used by all agents and consoles.

Set the event logging options.

Install Diagnostics Agent on all computers.

Install additional copies of Diagnostics Console as required.

Installing Diagnostics

You can install a copy of Diagnostics from the CD. After you install Diagnostics, the Setup program allows you to set options that will be shared by all agents and consoles (such as the Support Site location and event logging options).

By default, the Setup program installs all features in the default location. To select the features to install, choose the Custom setup type.

Select Features

The Custom setup type allows you to select the features to install. You must install both Diagnostics Agent and Diagnostics. If you don’t want to diagnose ODBC database problems, you don’t need to install Diagnostics/db.

Setting Up the Support Site

The Support Site is a shared folder on a network server. All agents and consoles must be able to access the Support Site. See Support Site for more information on the Support Site.

Setting the Support Site User Account

Audit and protect computers.

Access the Support Site shared folder.

Run jobs.

Run the Diagnostics service (named MQ Message Broker).

The Support Site user account must have the appropriate privileges on each local computer to perform tasks such as auditing and protecting a computer. Ideally, the Support Site user should be a Domain Administrator that has local Administrative privileges on each computer.

Setting the Event Logging Options

By default, agents and consoles log events on the local computer. On Windows NT, 2000, and XP, events are logged to the Event Log. On Windows 95, 98, and Me, events are logged to a text file.

On Windows NT, 2000, and XP, you can log all events to the Event Log on a central server. See Event Logging for more information.

Registering Diagnostics

Each Diagnostics product (Diagnostics Console, Diagnostics Agent, Diagnostics/db) must be registered with its serial number. See Registering Products for more information.

Installing Diagnostics Agents

Diagnostics Agent must be installed on every PC where you want to protect or audit an application.

To install the Diagnostics Agent manually:

Connect to the Support Site shared folder.

Run the setup program in Setup\Agent.

If you are going to use Diagnostics to diagnose ODBC database problems, Diagnostics/db must be installed on each computer. The Setup program automatically gets the required licenses.

To configure Diagnostics Agent, right-click the Agent icon in the status area of the taskbar (the area to the right of the taskbar buttons) and click Options.

Installing Additional Consoles

You can install any number of additional consoles (each copy requires a separate license).

To install additional Diagnostics Consoles:

Connect to the Support Site shared folder.

Run the setup program in Setup\Console.

If you are going to use Diagnostics to diagnose ODBC database problems, install the Diagnostics/db product. The Setup program automatically gets the required licenses.

Creating a Silent Install for Diagnostics Agent

A normal (non-silent) installation requires input from the user as it displays a sequence of dialog boxes. A silent installation requires no input from the user. Instead, the Setup program gets its input from a InstallShield Silent response file (.iss file).

In addition to the Agent setup program, Diagnostics includes two response files in the \\server\Support Site\Setup\Agent folder.

setup.iss

The default response file used when you run Setup.exe with the /s flag. Does not reboot the computer.

setupr.iss

Reboots the computer.

Both .iss files perform a Custom setup that installs Diagnostics Agent and Diagnostics/db. You can edit the response files to change the install folder.

Running Silent Installs

To run a silent install, run Setup.exe with the /s command-line argument. By default, Setup.exe uses setup.iss, which is located in the same folder as Setup.exe. The /f1 argument can be used to specify an different response file.

set 
ss="\\server\SupportSite\Setup\Agent\setup
.exe" 
rem Run a silent install with no reboot
rem (using the default setup.iss file in
rem \\server\SupportSite\Setup\Agent\) 
%ss% /s  /verbose"c:\is.log" 
rem Run a silent install with a reboot 
%ss% /z"reboot" /f1"c:\setupr.iss" /s 
/verbose"c:\is.log"

Recording Response Files

To record a response file, run Setup.exe with the /r command-line argument. For example, you can record a response file to perform a Typical install.

set 
ss="\\server\SupportSite\Setup\Agent\setup
.exe" 
rem record a script with "no reboot" option 
(default) 
%ss% /r /f1"c:\setup.iss" /f2"c:\setup.log" 
/verbose"c:\is.log" 
rem record a script with reboot 
%ss% /z"reboot" /r /f1"c:\setupr.iss" 
/f2"c:\setup.log" /verbose"c:\is.log"

All status information for a silent installation is recorded (by default) in a file called Setup.log, created in the same directory as the response file. To specify a different name and location for the log file, use the /f2 argument to Setup.exe.

QuickStart

This section walks you through the processes of profiling and protecting an application, and then fixing it when something goes wrong.

Profiling

To profile an application:

In the Action menu, click New and then click Profile.

In the profile tree, click Auto Profile.

Click Application.

Diagnostics displays a list of applications found on your computer.

Click an application and click OK.

Diagnostics starts the application, audits your computer, and generates the profile.

Save the profile.

Save Profile

Protecting

To protect an application:

In the console tree, right-click My Computer and click Protect.

In the Console dialog, double-click the application profile you just created.

After the application is protected, an audit and a snapshot are added under the computer entry in the console tree.

Diagnosing and Repairing

You can now use the diagnosis and repair facility. To test this, open the application installation folder, and rename one of the files (for example, the main executable).

Diagnose the problem and repair the application:

In the console tree, right-click My Computer and then click Audit.

In the Console dialog, double-click the protected application to start the audit.

When the audit is finished, expand the audit and click Problems were detected.

The Details View displays a list of the problems detected during the audit. Note that if you renamed an executable, the shortcuts may also be broken.

Click Fix All to fix the problems and restore the application to working order. Diagnostics restores the file you renamed to break the application.