Systems Management Server provides the Help Desk and Diagnostics features which offer the ability to directly control and monitor remote clients running MS-DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups, and Windows 95.
The Help Desk utilities provide direct access to a client, allowing you to troubleshoot and support individual remote computers, with obvious cost savings to the organization.
Using the Windows NT Server and Windows NT Workstation management tools from a Systems Management Server administration console, an administrator or technician can take control of a remote computer running Windows or MS-DOS to perform management or troubleshooting tasks. From one central location, across either a LAN or WAN, the administrator or technician can:
When the Help Desk option is run, Systems Management Server verifies that the client computer is running and attached to the network. Help Desk attempts connection using various protocols installed on the server until the server successfully connects to the client computer. The Help Desk feature works across X.25, ISDN, and standard asynchronous phone lines, and any normal routed network.
Users can control the degree of remote access they want by setting the following options:
Notice that the use of these help desk utilities requires the knowledge and permission of the remote user. Remote file transfer and remote execution of commands must be enabled for the client to participate in software distribution through Systems Management Server.
The Diagnostics utilities allow you to view the current hardware and software configuration of a workstation. The following table shows diagnostic utilities for Windows 95 clients.
Item | Description |
CMOS Info | Displays the CMOS memory data, which is used during startup to configure the client computer |
Device Drivers | Provides information about the device drivers |
DOS memory | Lists the programs currently loaded in conventional memory |
GDI Heap | Lists and describes the characteristics of memory objects in the local memory storage for the graphical device interface |
Global Heap | Lists the addresses of memory objects in the remote client's global memory storage, along with various characteristics associated with each object |
Interrupt vectors | Lists the MS-DOS interrupt vector table |
Ping Test | Sends packets between the administrative console and the client; verifies the accuracy of transmission |
ROM Info | Provides detailed information about all installed read-only memory chips |
Window Classes | Provides information about Windows classes used in programs |
Windows Memory | Provides information about memory and available memory resources |
Windows Module | Provides information about active code modules |
Windows Tasks | Provides information about programs listed in the Task List |
These tools provide the ideal solution for help desk operators, allowing them to resolve many user problems from a central location.