SOFTWARE/SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT
In broad terms, the objective of systems management is to protect the
integrity of business applications and the security of business information by
automating, regulating, and enhancing systems functions. Such functions include
user administration; system, security, performance, and event monitoring and
management; backup and archiving; licensing and quota management; scheduling;
report distribution; diagnostics; and accounting and chargeback.
As Windows NT's role as a network operating system grows, so does the need
for systems management tools. This month's Lab Reports review a cross-section of
NT Server 4.0 systems management packages from both Microsoft and third-party
vendors. (For quick summaries of other systems management products in the
market, see the sidebar, "Systems Management Sampler," page 66.)
NT Server is a full-featured network operating system that comes with most
of the basic tools and utilities you need to build, manage, and maintain a
network, so we'll start by summarizing the utilities available in NT Server
4.0's default setup. However, these tools are only the tip of NT's systems
management iceberg. A continuously growing number of third-party vendors
are adding to the systems management tools available for NT, and these products
span the spectrum from very large enterprise-level packages (for networks with
500 or more users) to individual department-level tools (for networks with fewer
than 500 users). The reviews starting on page 68 will explain what happened when
we tested some of these products, and assess their key capabilities.
Windows NT Server's Built-in Utilities
In NT 4.0 Server, when you click Start and go to Programs, Administrative
Tools (Common), you see a list of built-in systems management utilities. These
utilities give you a foundation for managing your network, so familiarizing
yourself with them is worth the effort.
Microsoft provides excellent online Help and operation information for each
of these utilities. Read the introductory text and instructions from the Help
files to find out about the full range of each tool's administrative
capabilities.
Backup
NT's Backup utility lets you back up your local and network NTFS and FAT
volumes to a tape drive. Backup boasts some impressive features: selection of
objects by volume, directory, or individual filename; spanning of backup media;
verification; compression; catalog storage; log files; full, incremental,
differential, and daily backup types; and local Registry backup.
Backup performs reliable backups, but it lacks a few important features,
such as scheduling. The only way to use this utility to perform unattended
scheduled backups is to use NT's Schedule service. Fortunately, Backup's Help
file details the necessary procedures.
Disk Administrator
Disk Administrator helps you manage disk partitions, stripe sets, and volume
sets. The utility provides a variety of disk management functions. For example,
you can modify primary and extended partitions, dynamically assign drive
letters, create volume sets and stripe sets, establish mirrored sets or disk
duplexing, format volumes with FAT or NTFS, and restore damaged or disabled disk
configurations.
You can perform most functions without rebooting to access new
modifications or drive assignments. Use this tool with caution--one wrong move
and you can delete a data drive or change drive assignments. Fortunately, the
application prevents you from damaging the system and boot partitions and asks
you before committing changes. For more information about Disk Administrator,
see Michael D. Reilly, "Windows NT Disk Administrator," November 1996.
Event Viewer
Event Viewer is NT's log file monitoring utility. Through Event Viewer, you
can examine the contents of the three main NT log files: System Log, Security
Log, and Application Log. System Log records events and alerts for internal
processes, services, and drivers. Security Log records security audit events,
such as logons, access to user rights, object access, user/group management, and
system shutdowns or restarts. Application Log records application-related
alerts and system messages, including those of some system components (e.g., the
Replication service writes to this file).
Each log file contains five types of events: successful operation of
services and drivers, warnings, errors, success audits, and failure audits. Each
logged event includes descriptive information, such as time and date, username,
computer name, source, type and category designations, a description of the
event, and often, data associated with the event. You can remotely view event
logs from other NT Server and NT Workstation computers on your network. You can
export a log file to a proprietary .evt format for future Event Viewer use, or
you can convert the log file to plain or comma-delimited text for database
import.
Event Viewer is indispensable for identifying problems with typical server
operation, when you're connecting devices, and when you're monitoring user
activities. This application and the data it collects can often help you
short-circuit problems.