Remote SMP agent Diagnostic (RAAD) Tool User Guide (2011...

RAAD User Guide

Remote SMP agent Diagnostic (RAAD) Tool User Guide (2011-08-02)

Introduction The Remote SMP agent Diagnostic (RAAD) tool is a Microsoft Windows application that can connect to remote Microsoft Windows computers which have the Symantec Management Platform (SMP) Agent installed, without disrupting the currently logged in user, in order to:

to query the SMP agent (and its sub-agents) and display the results; and

to instruct the SMP agent to perform some actions.

You may want use the RAAD utility if:

you know or suspect that one or more managed computers have not accomplished a desired

end result (such as submitting hardware inventory in the last 7 days), and you want information

from the managed computers to determine whether the managed computers are currently

functioning properly; and/or to help identify where the process failed (such as the agent doesn't

have the corresponding policy); and/or

you want to perform some actions to address identified issues (such as, forcing an agent request

updated policies); and/or

you recently made some configuration changes and you want to monitor their progress, or wish

to move them along more quickly.

The RAAD tool’s functionality can be divided into two areas:

those that focus on individual computer; and

those that work with groups of computers.

The RAAD tool is a good tool for initial diagnosis, or problem isolation, of agent related issues. However, in order to take good advantage of this tool one should have:

a general understanding of how the SMP product functions, for example: the process from the

Administrator enabling a policy, to the managed computers executing that policy and returning

their results; and

a general understanding about how to troubleshoot the SMP product, to identify root causes

and how to address them.

The RAAD tool:

can display information gathered from individual computers, or groups of computers

can do some Basic Remediation, actions that the SMP agent performs under normal conditions;

such as checking for updated policies

can do some Intermediate Remediation, actions which occur occasionally in the normal course

of operations; such as restarting the SMP agent service

can do some more advanced specialized and custom tasks

RAAD User Guide

can be run from a computer other than the SMP server (see KB HOWTO21449 for additional

details)

can query remote computers with the SMP agent installed, regardless of their SMP server

will not return information from computers it cannot access (see KB for additional details)

does not query any SMP server, with a few exceptions, as noted later

can accurately show how things are, such as which policies an agent currently has

cannot show how things should be, such as which policies an agent should have

In this document we will focus on how to use the RAAD tool, focusing on the more commonly useful

functions, and glossing over the more specialized functions. Questions about how the SMP product

functions and how to troubleshoot the SMP product are beyond the scope of this document.

The remainder of this document is divided in two chapters; the first chapter will cover functions that can

be used with individual computers; and the second chapter will cover functions that can be used with

groups of computers.

This document covers RAAD version 2.1.24.0.

http://www.symantec.com/docs/HOWTO21449

RAAD User Guide

Chapter 1: Working with Individual Computers

Preliminaries:

Be prepared to enter credentials to an account with enough permissions to remotely access the remote

computer(s).

Identify a computer about which you want to get additional information.

Launch the RAAD tool.

Using RAAD

When you run the RAAD tool the first time on a particular computer (and

at some other times as well), you will be prompted for account

credentials which the RAAD tool will use to access the remote

computer(s).

These credentials can be changed later by selecting:

Settings > Change Client Authentication

Notes:

The RAAD tool does not verify the credentials when they are

entered, so you may only know there is an issue when you try to

access a remote computer.

These credentials and other program settings are stored in a file, where the password is

encrypted; below one of the following, depending on the version Windows:

%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Symantec

%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Symantec

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To specify a new computer: 1. In the text box, enter the name, or IP of a computer of interest

2. Press Enter, or Click Add

The name of the computer should now appear in the Computer List.

To remove computers from the computer list:

Select the computers

Press Ctrl-X

To import a list of computers

Create a text file with names of computers, one per line.

From the menu: Clients > Load Computers from File

To save the list of computers to a text file:

Select the computers

Clients > Save Computer list to File

Notes:

The RAAD tool does not check computer names when they are entered, so you may only know

whether there is an issue when you try to access the remote computer.

If a computer is referenced by a name, then the RAAD tool will attempt to resolve the name to

an IP address using the Windows OS on the computer on which RAAD is running. If the RAAD

tool cannot resolve the name to an IP address, it will display an error. The RAAD tool does NOT

query any SMP server to resolve a name.

If a computer is referenced by an IP address, the RAAD tool will use that IP address directly.

To get information about a computer: 1. Double click on the computer name in

the Computer List

2. The Health Check Options dialog box will

appear

3. Select the desired options

4. Click OK

Any check boxes you select, except for ping, will cause RAAD to query the remote agent for that type of

information, before any information is displayed on the screen. Most this information can be obtained

from the agent later, by clicking Refresh tab.

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If you selected any options, other than ping, then 1. The Confirmation message box will be appear.

2. Showing what information RAAD will attempt to gather

3. Review this window, Click OK

Otherwise, this confirmation will not appear.

Note: The RAAD tool will attempt to connect directly to the remote computer, and access the computer

with the supplied credentials.

At this point the RAAD tool should look similar to the following:

With Diagnostics tab selected in the column to the left and Details tab selected towards the top of the

window.

If the screen was not pre-populated, click Refresh Tab to get the information to populate the screen.

Note: the RAAD tool does NOT automatically update any the screens. So, in order to see updated

information you need click the Refresh Tab button. If in doubt, click Refresh tab.

Note: the Action pane on the right can be collapsed by clicking on its “>>” icon button. To get it to

reappear, click the “<<” icon button. Also the Action pane can be resized by dragging the splitter control

immediately to the left of the Action pane.

Note: The Computer List pane can also be collapsed and expanded as desired, but cannot be resized.

RAAD User Guide

Details Tab

The Details tab shows general information about the SMP agent.

The tab details is divided into two columns

In the larger left column:

The Connection section shows which SMP Server that manages this agent, and this Agents GUID.

The Configuration Requests section shows when the agent last requested policies, and when

they were last changed;

The Basic Inventory section shows when the agent last sent Basic Inventory, and how frequently

they submitted.

The Installed Agents section shows the agents and the version that is installed on this computer.

In the smaller right column:

The IP section shows the current IP address of this computer

If “ping” was not selected on the Health Check Options dialog box, the IP address will be shown

as “not checked”.

The Altiris Service section shows whether the agent service is running

The Tools section includes several buttons to do some more advanced actions

RAAD User Guide

Possible actions:

Click Configuration Request for the agent to request policy updates from their SMP server

Click Send Basic Inventory for the agent to send Basic Inventory to their SMP server

Click Stop to stop the SMP agent service

Click Start to start the SMP agent service

Click Open File System to launch Windows Explorer and display files on the remote computer

Click Task Manager to display processes running on the remote computer, in a new window

Click Registry Browser to display the remote computer’s Windows Registry, in a new window

Other possible actions will be covered later in Actions on Individual machines

Note: Each time you click one of these buttons another entry should appear on the Actions pane on the

right.

Note: after clicking Configuration Request, the last requested time-stamp does not automatically

update. If you want to see the new time-stamp you must click Refresh Tab. Remember click Refresh Tab

early and often.

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Policies Tab

The Policies tab lists the agent’s current policies.

The tab details has one column

The upper List of client policies section, lists each of the agent’s policies.

The lower Policy XML Output sections shows the XML of the selected policy.

Notes about grids (e.g. tables):

Click on a column header to sort the table by that field

Use single click to select a single line

Use shift-click and ctrl-click to select multiple lines

Use Ctrl-A to select all lines

Use Ctrl-C to copy selected rows in tab delimited format to the clipboard; the contents of the

clipboard copied to another program, such Notepad, or Microsoft Excel, for further processing.

Notes about text windows:

Use click and drag to select portions of the text

Use right-click and select “Select All” will select all of the text

Press Ctrl-C, or right-click and select Copy to copy the selected text to the clipboard; the

contents of the clipboard copied to another program

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SWD tab The SWD (Software Delivery) tab shows the packages which the agent knows about, and whether they

have been downloaded or have been run.

The tab details is divided into two columns:

The left column is divided into two main sections:

o The upper Software Delivery Advertisements section lists packages

o The lower Software Delivery Tasks section lists the software tasks for the selected

package

The right column is divided into sections, depending on what is selected in the left column

The columns can be resized by dragging the splitter control between them

The sections in the left column can be resized by dragging the splitter control between them

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Software Delivery Package details

When a Software Delivery Package item is selected:

The upper left Software Delivery

Advertisements section lists packages

The lower left Software Delivery Tasks section

lists the software tasks for the selected

package

The upper right Package Source Location

section, with hyper-links to locations

The lower right Package Download History

section

Possible actions:

In the Filter by section

o Use Filter by field, to limit which packages are displayed

o Click Hide Disabled, to hide packages which are disabled

in the Package Source Locations section:

o Click on a Package Location, to see the package source, in a separate window

In the Software Delivery Packages section:

o Click on a package, to see more details about when that task was run

Click Show SWD Executions to see list of recent software execution, in separate window

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Software Delivery Task details

When a Software Delivery Task item is selected:

The upper left Software Delivery

Advertisements section lists packages

The lower left Software Delivery Tasks

section lists the software tasks for the

selected package

The upper right Program Details section

The lower right Program Run History

section

Possible actions:

Click Show SWD Executions to see list of recent software execution, in separate window

Click Run Program to run the command pushed with the Package, or to run a different

command

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Patch tab

The Patch tab displays the Patch Management Solution’s Software Updates that the computer knows

about (where it has received a Patch policy for it); and the status and execution results of the Software

Updates.

The tab details is divided into several sections:

The Schedule Details section shows the Reboot and Update Schedules, the Patch Cycle.

Whether there is a Reboot Pending before the machine is will be fully patched.

The Advertisements sections shows Software Updates that the computer knows about

Possible actions:

In the Filter rows by Bulletin or Update section:

o Use the Filter value to limit which software updates are displayed

o Check Hide Superseded to limit which software updates that are displayed

Click Start Patch Inventory to instruct the remote agent to check and report to the SMP server

its results of vulnerable and compliance state.

Click Start Patch Cycle to install any pending Software Updates.

Click Run Update to run the selected software update(s)

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Logs tab

The Logs tab displays the SMP agent logs on the remote computer.

The tab details are divided into three sections:

Several collapsible sections at the top

The larger middle Logs section lists the log messages

The smaller lower Full Log Text section lists the text details of the selected log message.

The Logging Level section can be used to specify which log message severity levels to record, and the

number and quantity of log files. These controls do not directly affect the log messages that are

currently displayed; though they can effect what information is selected going forward.

Click Set apply these settings to the remote computer.

When these settings are not specified on the agent, then the default settings here (which are slightly different from the agent defaults) are:

Errors, Warning and Informational are selected

Trace and Verbose are NOT selected

log size = 100 (KB)

max # of files = 10

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The Log File section controls which log file(s) the RAAD tool will retrieve from the remote computer and display.

Click Clear Logs to clear the log messages

click Refresh Tab, at the top of the window to reload log messages

Modify Show next # logs to get more than the most recent log messages.

To check for newer log messages:

Click Clear Logs

Click Refresh Tab

To retrieve all log messages:

Click Clear Logs

set Show next # logs to 99 (or another large number)

click Refresh Tab

The Filter by section can be used to limit which messages are displayed on the screen. By default all

retrieved log messages are displayed.

To limit the messages that are displayed;

specify the Include or Exclude filter criteria fields

click Refresh tab

When the Include field is set then all displayed messages must contain that text; comparison is case

insensitive; Similarly, when the Exclude field is set, then all displayed messages must not contain that

text; comparison is case insensitive. The list of displayed log messages is updated after clicking Refresh

tab.

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Task tab

The Task tab shows information about tasks which the agent has run.

The tab details is divided into three sections:

The upper left Status section, shows the current status of agent’s task handler

the upper right Register section, show the agent’s task server

the lower Task History section, shows tasks which have run previously

Possible actions:

Click Check for Tasks for the agent to check for any pending tasks

Click Reset Agent for the agent to check with the SMP server on which Task Server the agent

should use.

Click Clear History to clear the history of task events

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Inventory tab

The Inventory tab shows information specific to the Inventory Solution; including a list the NSI

(Notification Server Inventory) files on the agent.

This tab contains information relevant to the Inventory Solution, and will be glossed over here.

The tab details has one column

The upper Inventory Rule section,

The lower Inventory Files section, list the agent’s NSI files.

Possible actions:

Double-click on an NSI, to see its contents, in Notepad

Click Delete Cached Rules

Click Delete Randomization Registry key

Click Delete Inventory

RAAD User Guide

PS (Package Server) tab

The PS (Package Server) tab can populate if the agent is a Package Servers

The tab details has four sections

The upper Package Server Details section shows summary details about the PS

The larger middle Packages section lists the packages which the Package Server knows about

The lower left Package Source Location section shows the location of the selected (typically on

the SMP server)

The lower right Package Download History section list the download history for the selected

package

Possible actions:

Click Refresh Packages to have the agent review current list of packages and attempt to

download any that are missing.

Click Resend Package Status to have the agent send a list of packages that are available from

the PS.

Click a link in the Package Source Location section to see the contents of the file(s) at that

location.

RAAD User Guide

Actions on Individual Machines

The RAAD tool can perform various actions on individual machines. We have

already discussed some of them. Many of these are also available from the

Actions menu.

Here are the more easily explained items on the Action menu, which have not

been covered previously.

Launch Resource Manager,

o To launch default web browser, with a URL to access Resource

Manager information on the remote agent’s NS. This may

require entering credentials to see the information

Launch Carbon Copy

o To launch the Carbon Copy application

Launch pcAnywhere

o To launch the pcAnywhere application

Disable Bandwidth Control

o To disable/enable bandwidth throttling on the agent

o the RAAD tool does not display directly the current state of

bandwidth controls (though they can be seen in the XML of

one of the policies).

Wake On LAN

Stop and Start Services…

o Start and stop various services, from drop-down menu

Click Reset GUID,

o To reset the Agent’s GUID (this may be disruptive)

RAAD User Guide

Install SMP agent

The RAAD tool can install the SMP agent on a remote computer.

The basic process is :

Specify the SMP server, using Change Application Settings

Specify Agent Install Setting in Change Application Settings, if necessary

Identify a computer to install the agent

Initiate the agent install process

To specify a new SMP server, go to:

Settings > Change Application Settings

And in the Notification Server(s) Settings section, add the new SMP server.

Note: the RAAD tool does not check these settings, you may not see an issue until you use the

information.

The RAAD tool comes with two Agent Install Settings, which may be fine. But if you are copying the

agent installer from an alternate location, then you will need to specify that location. go to:


And in the Agent Install Settings section, add the new install source location(s).

RAAD User Guide

Next identify the remote computer where the agent is to be installed.

Then initiate the install process:

Actions > Install Altiris Agent

In the Remote Agent Install dialog box

Select the NS Server Name

Specify from where to copy the agent installer, if necessary

Modify the install command line, if necessary, see:

Install the Altiris Agent using the Installation Program


Click Install

In the Change Application Settings dialog box you can:

Add a new value, by filling in the appropriate fields, and clicking add.

Delete of existing values by selecting the values in the “Current Options” field, and

Modify an existing entry deleting it and adding a new value.

Notes:

The RAAD tool supports the recording of multiple values for certain settings (such as Notification

Server(s) settings), and the selecting of one of those values when performing certain actions

(such as Remote Agent Install).

The RAAD tool does not verify the values when they are entered. So you may not know that they

are incorrect until you attempt to use them.


RAAD User Guide

Redirect Agent

The RAAD tool can instruct SMP agents to switch to a different SMP server.

The basic process is :

Specify the different SMP server, using Change Application Settings

Identify a computer to be redirected

Redirect that computer

To specify a new SMP server, go to:


And in the Notification Server(s) Settings section, add the new SMP server.

Then identify the computer of interest, display it in diagnostics, confirm that you have the correct

computer. Then from the menu:

Actions > Redirect Agent

Or from the Diagnostics > Details screen, select Redirect Agent

Copy a File …

To copy one file to the remote computer.

Actions > File Copy …

complete the File Copy dialog box.

Click OK

On confirmation dialog box

Click OK

RAAD User Guide

Remote Execute

The RAAD tool can execute pre-defined commands on the remote computer. The RAAD tool comes with three rules by default:

Add Altiris Agent to Firewall exception

Install Diagnostics

Remove Altiris Agent(s)

Additional commands can be added using the Change Application Settings dialog box, go to:


To execute a remote command:

Actions > Remote Execute …

In the Remote Execute dialog box.

Select the command to run

Click Execute

RAAD User Guide

Chapter 2: Working with Multiple Computers

In this chapter we will discuss how the RAAD tool can query and act on groups of computers.

We will discuss how the RAAD tool

Can target groups of computers based on resource filter in an SMP server's database (e.g.

Symantec_CMDB)

Can query multiple computers using Health Checks

Can perform some actions on multiple computers

Populating the Computer List There are three ways to add computers to the Computer List

add individual computers

add multiple computers from a text file

filling computers list from SMP filter list.

We covered and adding computers individually and from text files in the previous chapter

If you have sufficient access to the SMP server's database, the RAAD tool can populate its Computer List

from Filters (e.g. Collections) in the database.

In order for the RAAD tool to retrieve information from an SMP server's database, you must enter the

necessary details in the RAAD tool. The RAAD Tool will access the database directly, and will not go

through the SMP. The RAAD tool can cache multiple sets of database access credentials.

In order to properly configure the RAAD tool to access a database, you will need to know the name of the SQL server, the SQL server instance (if there is one), and the name of the SQL Server database. You can find this information is available in the SMP console. See:

Settings > All Settings

Settings > Notification Server > Database Settings

Additionally, the RAAD tool will need to authenticate with the SQL server. The RAAD tool can do this in two ways:

Trusted connection

using SQL server authentication (e.g. not an AD Account)

The better (and more secure) method of connecting to the SQL database is to use a "Trusted

Connection". You can use a Trusted Connection if the account which was used to logged into Microsoft

Windows on the computer that is running the RAAD tool is registered (or known) on the SQL server, and

has at least read-only access to the SMP database (e.g. Symantec_CMDB).

If this account has not been registered on the SQL server, then you will need to know the username and

password for an SQL server account, with access to the database.

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Set Database Settings

To set these credentials go to the Change Application Settings dialog box:


In the Change Application Settings dialog box we are interested in the Database Settings section.

To a new set of credentials enter:

SQL Server (include server name and instance name, if necessary)

Database

check: Trusted Connection (if possible)

or:

SQL Server (include server name and instance name, if necessary)

Database

User (this must be an SQL server account, and not AD account)

Password (for the account

click Add

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Select an SMP server filter On the main RAAD Tool screen,

In the left-hand Computer List pane:

In the collapsible Add using collection picker section

In the upper drop down field, initially labeled "--- Databases"

select the database of interest.

in the lower drop down menu, initially labeled "--- Collections",

and select the Filter (or Collection) of interest.

If there is trouble accessing the database, then a message box will

appear, after selecting the database, and before selecting the Filter

When a new filter is selected, the Computer List is cleared and

replaced with the computers in the specified filter.

Performance Considerations for Health Checks In the RAAD tool, a Health Check is a process to query multiple computers for particular details.

Depending on the number of remote computers involved, running a Health Check can put a significant

load on the computer running the RAAD tool, as well as on your network; and/or can take a significant

amount of time to complete. The RAAD tool includes two settings to control how aggressively the RAAD

tool will gather this information. These are specified in the Change Application Settings dialog box. See:


At the bottom of the window are two sections each with one setting:

Thread Count / Maximum Threads the total computers to be queried simultaneously

Thread Crawl / Pause (ms) the time after querying one computer before attempting the next

The defaults (10 threads; and 3000 ms delay) are fine to start with. If the Health Checks are taking time

than desired, you may want to modify these settings conservatively.

Increasing Max Threads, and/or decreasing the Pause will increase the load on the computer running

the RAAD tool and its computers network connection. And if the computer and the network can handle

the extra load then adjusting these values will allow the Health Check to complete faster.

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Health Checks The RAAD Tool supports running Health Checks against multiple remote computers. Each Health Check attempts to determine whether the SMP agent and a specific sub-agent are present and functioning properly on multiple remote computers. It does this by showing particular key factors, such as:

Does the computer respond to ping (e.g. is currently on the wire)

Is particular sub-agent is installed, and if so, which version.

To run a Health check, first select the computers in Computer List which should be included. Computers

can be selected using: single click, shift-click, ctrl-click, and/or pressing ctrl-A.

Second, select the Health Check of interest from the Health Checks drop down menu.

Run Basic Health Check

Run Patch Health Check

Run SWD Health Check

Run Task Heal Check

Run Recovery Health Check

Run Package Server Health Check

Third in the Health Check Options dialog box specify what information to gather. Generally select all the

boxes, then click OK.

Fourth the Confirmation message box will appear, review and click OK

If you need to stop the Health Check before it completes you can stop the check by going to: Health Checks > Stop

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Now the screen will update showing the selected Health Check, and, if all goes well, the results from various computer will start appearing. The Health Check results contains one row for each computer:

If a computer passes the Health Check, then there will be a green check mark in the left-hand

column.

If the computer failed to respond, then there will be a yellow exclamation in the left column,

and the entire row is highlighted in red.

If one or more issues were detected, then there will be a yellow exclamation in the left column

and the cells related to the issue are highlighted in red, suggesting possible actions to bring the

agent into a good state.

Additionally, the Patch Health Check and SWD Health Check include a second set of data to showing

Failed SWD Job and Vulnerable Software Updates respectively. Further actions can be taken to correct

issues shown in these rows.

RAAD User Guide

Possible actions:

Double click on a result row, to access diagnostics for the related computer; When you are done

looking at a particular computer you can return to the Health Check results by clicking on

appropriate tab in the column over on the left.

Select one or more result rows, right click to access the context menu

o Show Diagnostics - get information about the selected computer. To return the query

results click the appropriate health check tab.

o Remove Unpingable from Results/Computer List - will remove the computers which did

not respond to ping from both health check results list, in the middle section, and also

remove the computers from the computer list on the left-hand side.

o Remove Selected from Results/Computer List - from both the health check list and from

the computer list.

Select one or more result rows, from Action menu select a particular, as described above in

Actions on Individual Machines; which will apply to all selected computers.

Actions on Multiple machines You can also perform some actions on groups of computers.

Possible actions:

Select one or more computers in the Computer List, right-click to access the context menu

o Actions > Configuration Request

o Actions > Send Basic Inventory

o Actions > Stop Altiris Service

o Actions > Start Altiris Service

o Actions > Start Patch Inventory

o Actions > Start Patch Cycle

o Actions > Copy a File

o Actions > Wake On LAN

o Actions > Run SWD Task

o Actions > Install Agent

Conclusion In this User guide we have discussed the Remote Altiris Agent Diagnostic (RAAD) tool.

We have seen how the RAAD tool can report on individual machines as well as perform some actions on

individual machines.

We have also seen how the RAAD tool can access an SMP server’s database in order to obtain lists of

computers, how it can report on groups of computers; and can perform some actions on each computer

in a specified group.

Remote SMP agent Diagnostic (RAAD) Tool User Guide (2011...

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