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Text File | 1994-08-02 | 70.8 KB | 1,776 lines |
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- LAN Inventory Version 3.1.2
- Copyright 1994 by McAfee, Inc.
- All Rights Reserved.
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- Copyright 1994 by McAfee, Inc. All rights reserved. McAfee is a
- registered trademark of McAfee, Inc. LAN Inventory, NetRemote, SiteMeter
- BrightWorks, and LAN Support Center re trademarks of McAfee, Inc.
- All other products or services mentioned in this document are
- identified by the trademarks or service marks of their respective
- companies or organizations.
-
-
- McAfee, Inc.
- 2710 Walsh Avenue
- Santa Clara, CA 95051-0963
- U.S.A.
-
- Technical Support Information
- -----------------------------
-
- Phone (908) 530-9650
- FAX (908) 576-8867
- Hours 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST
-
- McAfee BBS (408) 988-4004
- 1200 bps to 14,400 bps
- 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit
- 24 hours, 365 days a year
-
- Compuserve GO MCAFEE
-
- Internet customer_service@brightwork.com
-
- If you are not a customer located in the U.S. or Canada, you can
- contact a McAfee authorized agent. Agents are located in more than
- 50 countries aroudn the world and provide local sales and support
- for our software. Please refer to the AGENTS.TXT file for a complete
- list of McAfee agents.
-
- About LAN Inventory's Text Files
- The LAN Inventory manual is split into three different text files as follows:
- o LIINTRO.TXT - Contains product overview, installation, quick start guide
- and a tutorial.
- o LIUSAGE.TXT - Contains complete instructions on using LAN Inventory.
- o LIREF.TXT - Contains error messages, equipment database lists, and a chart
- describing additional appendices.
-
- Each text file has its own list of headings.
-
- LIINTRO.TXT Headings:
- 1.0 Introduction
- 1.1 About LAN Inventory
- 1.1.1 The Purpose
- 1.2 Maintaining Your LAN Inventory
- 1.2.1 The Problem
- 1.2.2 Where Does the Time Go?
- 1.2.3 The Cost
- 1.2.4 The LAN Inventory Solution
- 1.2.5 How Does a LAN Inventory Work?
- 1.3 LAN Inventory's Features
- 1.4 LAN Inventory Modules
- 1.4.1 LAN Inventory Console and Administrative Program
- 1.4.2 PC Inventory Collection Programs
- 1.4.3 MAC Inventory Collection Programs
- 1.4.4 Database Access
- 1.5 Environment
- 1.5.1 Server Requirements
- 1.5.2 Administrator Console Requirements
- 1.5.3 Workstation Requirements
- 1.6 How This Manual Is Organized
- 2.0 Installation
- 2.1 Before Installation
- 2.1.1 Determining Version Numbers
- 2.2 LAN Inventory Installation Instructions
- 2.3 Basic Install
- 2.4 Upgrade Procedures
- 2.5 Installing NLMs
- 2.6 Troubleshooting
- 3.0 Getting Started
- 3.1 Introduction
- 3.1.1 What's in this Chapter
- 3.2 The LAN Inventory Console
- 3.2.1 Windows Terms
- 3.2.2 Accessing LAN Inventory
- 3.2.3 Exiting LAN Inventory
- 3.2.4 LAN Inventory Menu Bar
- 3.2.5 LAN Inventory Tool Bar
- 3.2.6 Using the Keyboard
- 3.2.7 LAN Inventory's Help Facility
- 3.3 Printer Setup and Administration
- 3.3.1 Changing Print Settings
- 3.4 Error Handling
- 3.5 Inventory Configuration Options
- 3.5.1 Assigning Rights To a Common Directory
- 3.5.2 Establishing a Separate Transaction Directory
- 3.5.3 Consider Improving LAN Inventory's Database Performance
- 3.5.4 Consider Placing EQUIP in the Login Script
- 3.6 Quick Start Guide to Inventory
- 3.7 Tutorial
- 3.7.1 Collecting Inventory Data
- 3.7.2 Configuring the Audit Parameters
- 3.7.3 Running the Audit
- 3.7.4 Viewing Audit Results
-
-
- 1.0 Introduction
-
- Welcome to LAN Inventory, a comprehensive inventory management solution for
- your local area network.
-
- LAN Inventory is a member of McAfee's family of intuitive LAN support tools,
- a group of network applications all designed to reduce the cost of LAN
- ownership.
-
-
- 1.1 About LAN Inventory
-
- 1.1.1 The Purpose
-
- LAN Inventory's features assist LAN managers in collecting and maintaining
- information about the hardware and software components of their LAN. The
- capabilities focus on performing, recording and reporting the inventory of
- your stand-alone and networked PCs and MACs.
-
- The benefits realized from using LAN Inventory include:
-
- o enabling access to a vast amount of valuable information about your LAN
- o reducing and controlling LAN management and maintenance costs
- o performing inventories quickly, without leaving your desk
- o automatically updating your inventory after each audit
- o gaining control over users changing their own PC settings
- o tracking detailed vendor, warranty and service information on any
- hardware or software component
- o eliminating the costs of carrying unnecessary or defective equipment on
- your LAN
-
- NOTE: LAN Inventory fully integrates with BrightWorks, McAfee's software
- management solution. If you purchased BrightWorks, this manual is provided
- to describe the functionality of BrightWorks' Inventory component.
-
-
- 1.2 Maintaining Your LAN Inventory
-
- 1.2.1 The Problem
-
- Effective management of your local area network requires the ability to
- recognize and track every network component. When your local area network
- is first installed, you are aware of all of its components. As you add users
- and expand the network, however, monitoring the network's hardware and
- software becomes increasingly difficult.
-
- Network configurations change constantly to accommodate new users and new
- applications; plus, existing applications are upgraded and memory capacities
- are ever-changing. As a result, maintaining a manual inventory of your
- network is a tedious, if not impossible, task.
-
- 1.2.2 Where Does the Time Go?
-
- Manually assessing the hardware and software components of a network
- requires an average of 30 minutes per workstation. A simple calculation
- shows that performing an inventory on a network having 10 workstations would
- take five hours. Because the inventory data is quickly outdated, additional
- time is required to keep the inventory current.
-
- 1.2.3 The Cost
-
- The cost of conducting a manual audit of your network depends on the time it
- takes to perform an inventory, as calculated in the above discussion.
-
- Use the following worksheet to calculate the cost of performing an inventory
- of your network.
-
- Enter the average hourly wage earned by your LAN manager. A _____
- Enter the number of workstations on your network. B _____
- Enter the time required to conduct a manual audit (30 mins x B) C _____
- Total cost of network inventory (C/60 x A) D _____
-
- For example, the approximate hourly wage of a LAN manager who earns $40,000
- a year is $19.23 (as derived from the following calculation:
- 40,000/52 weeks = $769.23 per week; 769.23/40 hours = $19.23 per hour). Five
- hours are required to perform an inventory on a network having 10
- workstations (30 minutes x 10 workstations = 300 minutes or 5 hours).
- The cost of performing an inventory of this network is $96.15 ($19.23 x 5
- hours). This doesn't sound like a great deal of money, but if the inventory
- had to be maintained weekly then the cost jumps to almost $5,000. And if the
- inventory had to be maintained daily, then the cost jumps to almost $25,000!
-
- 1.2.4 The LAN Inventory Solution
-
- LAN Inventory collects and maintains information about the hardware and
- software installed on your network. LAN Inventory puts the inventory
- information at your fingertips! Now you can perform a complete network
- inventory without even leaving your desk.
-
- 1.2.5 How Does a LAN Inventory Work?
-
- LAN Inventory accesses several modules that collect and maintain information
- about your network configuration. The collected inventory data includes
- information regarding all file servers, and networked and stand-alone
- PC/MAC workstations.
-
- During each inventory, LAN Inventory detects the changes made to the network
- components and updates its database. LAN Inventory can be configured to
- alert you of the inventory changes. The detailed hardware and software
- records can include serial numbers, purchasing information, warranty and
- maintenance data. LAN Inventory helps you perform your network inventory and
- audit quickly and easily, giving you complete control over your LAN assets.
-
-
- 1.3 LAN Inventory's Features
-
- The key features listed below help you maintain a complete asset management
- system for your LAN.
-
- LAN Inventory's features include:
-
- o Recording and updating detailed hardware and software inventory
- information on networked and stand-alone PCs and MACs, file servers, and
- remote LANs
- o Automatically integrating remote configurations into the LAN equipment
- baseline
- o Multiple site support
- o Detecting application software changes and hardware configuration changes
- o Tracking software versions
- o Enabling the viewing of system files
- o Tracking detailed vendor and warranty information
- o Audit scheduling
- o Extensive alerting capabilities
- o Extensive import and export capabilities
- o Pre-defined and custom report generation
-
-
- 1.4 LAN Inventory Modules
-
- LAN Inventory interacts with four major functional modules. As an
- introduction to performing inventories with LAN Inventory, this section
- briefly describes the following modules:
-
- o LAN Inventory console and administrative functions
- o PC inventory collection programs (EQUIP and SA_EQUIP)
- o MAC inventory collection programs (MACEQUIP 3.1 and MACEQUIP AUTOMATIC 3.1)
- o Inventory databases
-
- 1.4.1 LAN Inventory Console and Administrative Program
-
- LANINV.EXE is the LAN Inventory console and administrative program. This
- program provides access to all LAN Inventory capabilities. This main module
- is a Windows-based program and is intended to be used by the LAN network
- manager to perform all asset management functions. The inventory functions
- available from the LAN Inventory console include:
-
- o Inventory auditing
- o Site and database administration
- o Inventory viewing and editing
- o Audit notification
- o Pre-defined and custom inventory report generation
-
- 1.4.2 PC Inventory Collection Programs
-
- LAN Inventory provides two programs for collecting PC inventory:
-
- o EQUIP.EXE - The program used to collect the hardware and software
- information for networked PCs. EQUIP's command line options allow you to
- specify how often inventory collection should be performed and what type of
- item should be inventoried. For example, you may choose to collect hardware
- information once per day or software information once per week. Inventory
- collection for networked PCs can also be initiated at login time.
-
- o SA_EQUIP.EXE - The program used to collect the inventory information on
- stand-alone PCs. Stand-alone PC data is saved to a "collector diskette"
- and later merged with the LAN inventory information. Using a unique
- identification method, multiple stand-alone inventories can be conducted
- without duplicating records in a central database.
-
- Both programs are DOS-based and are executed from the machine on which you
- want to perform an inventory.
-
- All data collected by the PC inventory collection programs is written to
- central transaction files and later accessed by LAN Inventory's
- administrative functions.
-
- 1.4.3 MAC Inventory Collection Programs
-
- LAN Inventory provides two programs for collecting MAC inventory. Both
- programs are used to collect inventory information on stand-alone and
- networked Macintosh computers; however, their execution is slightly different:
-
- o MACEQUIP 3.1 - Performs inventory collection and provides a menu from
- which you can choose to view the collected inventory and/or close the
- program.
-
- o MACEQUIP AUTOMATIC 3.1 - Automatically closes the program when inventory
- collection is complete.
-
- Both MACEQUIP programs are MAC-based and are executed from the machine on
- which you want to perform an inventory.
-
- Macintosh machines on NetWare systems do not execute login scripts; however,
- the MACEQUIP program can be added as a Startup Item in the System Folder.
-
- 1.4.4 Database Access
-
- Every LAN Inventory module accesses at least one database. Novell's Btrieve
- is used to manage the database records.
-
- LAN Inventory databases consist of the following:
-
- o Transaction inventory files - maintain inventory information detected by
- EQUIP, SA_EQUIP and MACEQUIP.
-
- o Transactions log file - maintains inventory changes detected during
- collection by EQUIP, SA_EQUIP and MACEQUIP.
-
- o Baseline inventory files - maintain all inventory information following
- an audit. All information viewed in the main console is obtained from the
- baseline inventory files. Conducting an audit transfers information from the
- Transaction Inventory files to the Baseline Inventory files and enables the
- inventory data to be viewed from the console.
-
- o Qualification lists - act as reference lists which aid in data entry and
- maintain the integrity of the data files.
-
-
- 1.5 Environment
-
- The following criteria must be met in order to run LAN Inventory:
-
- 1.5.1 Server Requirements
-
- o Network Operating System: Novell NetWare 2.x, 3.x, 4.0
- o Network Disk Space: 15 MB required 25 MB recommended
- o Btrieve Database Access: BTRIEVE.NLM
-
- 1.5.2 Administrator Console Requirements
-
- o Operating System: DOS 3.3 or greater
- o User Interface: Microsoft Windows 3.1 in enhanced mode
- o Btrieve Database Access: server based: BREQUEST.EXE 6.1 or greater
- local based: BTRIEVE.EXE
- o CPU: 386SX or higher
- o RAM: 2 MB
- o Disk Space: 15 MB + 50K per workstation
- o Monitor: VGA or better
-
- 1.5.3 Workstation Requirements
-
- o Operating System: DOS 3.3 or greater
- o Btrieve Database Access: server based: BREQUEST.EXE 6.1 or greater
- local based: BTRIEVE.EXE
- o RAM: minimum of 640K
- o CPU: 386SX or higher
-
- NOTES: a - LAN Inventory operates on Novell NetWare via IPX/SPX. It is
- compatible with NetWare 4.0 and NMS. Refer to Appendix E for instructions
- on enabling LAN Inventory smart-launch within NMS.
- b - LAN Inventory includes multi-user BTRIEVE 5.10a.
- c - Verify that you are running the latest versions of the Btrieve files.
- Updated Btrieve files can be found on Compuserve in the Novell Libraries
- (GO NOVLIB).
-
-
- 1.6 How This Manual Is Organized
-
- CHAPTER DESCRIPTION
- 1.0 Introduction Background information & environment
- requirements
-
- 2.0 Installation Complete instructions for installing LAN
- Inventory
-
- 3.0 Getting Started Description of the console, quick start
- guide and tutorial
-
- 4.0 Set-up and Administration Describes the procedures for defining and
- managing the inventory databases, audit
- control information, notification parameters
- and printer set-up.
-
- 5.0 Collecting Inventory Describes how to collect inventory information
- from networked PCs and MACs and stand-alone
- PCs and MACs.
-
- 6.0 Conducting an Audit Provides an audit checklist and instructions
- for running an audit.
-
- 7.0 Reviewing Audit Results Discusses how to review and manage the Audit
- Log and Unidentified Software information.
-
- 8.0 Maintaining the Baseline Explains the inventory screens, and the
- Inventory viewing and editing of equipment, system
- files and software applications.
-
- 9.0 Inventory Reports Discusses procedures for generating
- pre-defined/custom inventory and distribution
- reports.
-
- Appendix A Equipment Database Discusses equipment inventory record types
- and their contents and information collected
- by the EQUIP.EXE program.
-
- Appendix B: Troubleshooting Complete list of LAN Inventory's error
- messages, explanations and solutions.
-
- Appendix C: Using Brequest Description of the use and configuration of
- the server-based Btrieve record manager.
-
- Appendix D:Btrieve Status Codes List of the return status codes for Novell's
- Btrieve Record Manager
-
- Appendix E: NMS Smart-Launch Instructions for enabling LAN Inventory
- Support smart-launch within NMS.
-
- Appendix F: Introduction to Brief overview and descriptions of screens,
- Crystal Reports error messages and the help facility
-
- Appendix G: Using Crystal Methodology of creating a report
- Reports
-
- Appendix H: Practical Crystal "How To" chapter with a variety of report
- Reports creation topics
-
- NOTE: Chapters 1-3 are in this file. Chapters 4-9 are in LIUSAGE.TXT. The
- appendices are in LIREF.TXT.
-
-
-
- 2.0 Installation
-
- Chapter 1 introduced LAN Inventory. This chapter describes the installation
- procedures for LAN Inventory.
-
- NOTES: a - Before continuing, use the DOS DISKCOPY command to make a working
- copy of the LAN Inventory distribution diskettes, unless you are installing
- the BBS release.
- b - If you are installing the BBS release, unzip the files into a directory
- on your local or network drive.
-
-
- 2.1 Before Installation
-
- To install LAN Inventory, you must:
-
- o Run Windows 3.1 in enhanced mode
- o Have the following line in the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file:
- network=*vnetbios, vnetware.386, vipx.386
- o Have a drive mapped to your system volume
-
- NOTE: It is highly recommended that you use BREQUEST as this will improve
- the performance of data collection, auditing and reporting by at least 50%
- and by as much as 500%. It also improves upgrade performances. Refer to
- Appendix C for detailed information about using Btrieve.
-
- The following file versions are recommended for LAN Inventory's installation
- and use:
-
- o IPX version 3.10
- o NETX version 3.26 or greater
- o Windows version 3.1 (enhanced mode) or Windows for Workgroups 3.11
- o VIPX version 1.13
- o NETWARE.DRV version 2.02
- o VNETWARE.386 version 1.06
-
- NOTE: If you are using ODI drivers instead of IPX, you must have the
- following:
- - LSL version 1.2 (2.01 is recommended)
- - IPXODI.COM version 1.2 (2.1 is recommended)
- The latest versions of these files can be found on Compuserve in the Novell
- Libraries (GO NOVLIB). As of this writing, the current IPX, NETX, and IPXODI
- are contained within the self-extracting file named DOSUP9.EXE.
-
- The current versions of the Novell support drivers for Windows (VIPX.386,
- VNETWARE.386, NETWARE.DRV, etc.) can be found in the self-extracting file
- WINUP9.EXE.
-
- NOTE: As these drivers are updated and added to the Compuserve file, the
- number within the Compuserve filename will increment. For example, if Novell
- were to release a newer IPX and add it to DOSUP9.EXE, the name would change
- to DOSUP10.EXE.
-
- 2.1.1 Determining Version Numbers
-
- You can determine the versions of the above software by using the following
- methods:
-
- o To determine the installed version of IPX and the NETX shell, use the
- Novell NVER command.
-
- o To determine the version and mode of Windows, run Windows and choose the
- About Program Manager command from the Program Manager Help menu.
-
- o To determine the version of your Novell Windows support drivers, use the
- Novell VERSION command. For example, type:
- VERSION VNETWARE.386 <ENTER>
-
- o To determine the version of your IPXODI.COM file, use the Novell VERSION
- command. For example, type:
- VERSION IPXODI.COM <ENTER>
-
-
- 2.2 LAN Inventory Installation Instructions
-
- LAN Inventory has a quick install procedure which simplifies LAN Inventory's
- installation by including several default settings. The following describes
- the default that will be executed during the quick install:
-
- o LAN Inventory modifies your existing WIN.INI file and backs up the old
- file as *.BDI. The change made does not affect your Windows performance.
-
- NOTE: Please refer to Appendix C for information about installing and
- setting up Btrieve.
-
- Use the following procedure to install LAN Inventory on your network. You
- can exit the installation at any time by choosing the Exit button in the
- lower right corner of the installation screen.
-
- 1. Start Windows in enhanced mode.
-
- 2. Place distribution diskette #1 in your floppy drive if you are
- installing from diskettes. (If you are installing from the BBS release,
- skip to step 3.)
-
- 3. Choose Run from the Program Manager File menu.
-
- The Run dialog box displays.
-
- 4. At the prompt, enter the drive letter of the floppy drive where you
- inserted the distribution diskette or where you unzipped the program
- files from the BBS and then type SETUP.
-
- For example, type:
- A:\SETUP <ENTER>
-
- or
- F:\LANINV\SETUP <ENTER>
-
- At this point a Log File is created and placed in your WINDOWS
- directory. A Log File is an ASCII file listing the date, time and
- location of the LAN Inventory installation.
-
- he Log File also lists any errors that occurred during installation. If
- an error that prevents completion of the installation process occurs, the
- Log File displays.
-
- 6. From the Choose Server dialog box, choose the file server on which you
- want to install LAN Inventory, and choose the OK button.
-
- The Choose Server dialog box displays all the file servers to which you
- are currently attached and have a drive mapped.
-
- 7. Select one of the following install options:
-
- o Basic Install - runs the install process with minimal user input;
- automatically creates the Program Manager group McAfee (if not found)
- containing the LAN Inventory program and Readme file icons and the
- Crystal Reports program and the Readme file icons. For instructions
- refer to section 2.3 entitled "Basic Install".
-
- o Upgrade - allows you to automatically upgrade from previous LAN
- Inventory with minimal user input. For instructions refer to section
- 2.4 entitled "Upgrade Install".
-
- Refer to the appropriate section in this chapter for procedures regarding
- the selected install option.
-
-
- 2.3 Basic Install
-
- The Basic Install process automatically performs the following operations:
-
- o Copies LAN Inventory files to the network
- o Creates the Program Manager group McAfee and icons for LAN Inventory and
- the Readme file
-
- Continue with the following steps to complete the Basic Install procedure:
-
- 8. Enter the full path name to where LAN Inventory should be installed, and
- choose the OK button.
-
- The drive letter and full directory must coincide with the file server
- you selected earlier. LAN Inventory will create the directory if it does
- not exist. The default drive letter is the first one found on the server
- you specified. LANINV is the default directory.
-
- NOTES: a - The installation procedure allows you to specify a drive letter
- that is mapped to a different server than the one you originally chose.
- b - If you wish to upgrade from versions prior to LAN Automatic Inventory 3.1,
- follow the upgrade procedures in section 2.4.
-
- If LAN Inventory already exists in the specified directory, an option box
- displays asking whether or not you wish to overwrite this copy of LAN
- Inventory.
-
- If you are installing over a LAN Automatic Inventory 3.1 or greater, you
- will be prompted "Do you wish to overwrite your existing Inventory data
- files?" If you answer YES, you will need to collect the data again.
- Answering NO preserves your data.
-
- As indicated in this message box, the minimum space required for LAN
- Inventory is 12867K; the recommended free space is 24414K. If you do not
- have the minimum space in the path you specified, an error message
- displays and you are prompted to select a different path. If you have
- the minimum but not the recommended free space, you are given the option
- of continuing the install in the specified path or choosing another one
- with more space.
-
- If you are installing from diskettes, you are prompted to insert the
- remaining 4 disks to complete the installation process.
-
- 9. Enter your Company Name, and choose the OK button.
-
- The Company Name must be between 1 and 20 characters.
-
- 10. Choose the OK button in the information box indicating that the
- installation completed. View the Readme file for any updated product
- information.
-
- 11. A dialog box displays asking you if you want to restart Windows at this
- point to enable the changes that LAN Inventory 3.12 made. Choose the
- Yes button to restart Windows.
-
- If you do not wish to restart Windows at this point, choose the No button.
-
-
- 2.4 Upgrade Procedures
-
- The Upgrade Install offers you several options. You either can 1) install
- LAN Inventory over a previous copy or 2) install LAN Inventory in a different
- directory but import data from a previous copy of LAN Inventory into the new
- LANINV directory. Your existing database information is retained while your
- LAN Inventory system is upgraded.
-
- NOTE: Before upgrading LAN Inventory, make sure you backup all existing
- product files.
-
- The Upgrade option automatically performs the following actions:
-
- o Copies LAN Inventory files to the network
- o Creates the Program Manager group McAfee and icons for LAN Inventory and
- the Readme file
-
- Continue with the following steps to complete the Upgrade Install procedure:
-
- 8. Select an option from the Install Options dialog box.
-
- The dialog box gives you the following options for upgrading:
-
- o Upgrade from LAN Automatic Inventory 3.1x or LAN Automatic
- Inventory 3.1.1.
- o Upgrade from LAN Automatic Inventory 1.0-3.0x
-
- The first option installs the files into the same directory as the
- previous copy of the product. The second option installs the files into
- a different directory.
-
- 9. Enter the full path name to where LAN Inventory should be installed, and
- choose the OK button.
-
- The drive letter and full directory must coincide with the file server
- you selected earlier. LAN Inventory will create the directory if it does
- not exist. The default drive letter is the first one found on the server
- you specified. LANINV is the default directory.
-
- NOTE: If you chose the first upgrade option, you are prompted with the
- directory where the original product files are installed. If you chose the
- second option, you should install in a different directory.
-
- If LAN Inventory already exists in the specified directory, an option
- box displays asking whether or not you wish to overwrite this copy of LAN
- Inventory.
-
- If you are installing over a LAN Automatic Inventory 3.1 or greater, you
- will be prompted "Do you wish to overwrite your existing Inventory data
- files?" If you answer YES, you will need to collect the data again.
- Answering NO preserves your data.
-
- As indicated in this message box, the minimum space required for LAN
- Inventory is 14379K, the recommended free space is 24414K. If you do not
- have the minimum space in the path you specified, an error message
- displays and you are prompted to select a different path. If you have
- the minimum but not the recommended free space, you are given the option
- of continuing the install in the specified path or choosing another one
- with more space.
-
- If LAN Automatic Inventory files are detected in the specified directory,
- you are prompted to choose whether or not you want to use the new LAN
- Inventory Software list. Either choose the Yes button to use the new
- Software list, or choose the No button to convert your existing Software
- list. (Note that converting your existing list may result in duplicate
- software entries.) We highly recommend using the new list for the most
- up-to-date software information.
-
- If you are installing from diskettes, you are prompted to insert the
- remaining 4 disks to complete the installation.
-
- 10. Enter your Company Name, and choose the OK button.
-
- The Company Name must be between 1 and 20 characters.
-
- 11. At the prompt, enter the path name for the existing copy of LAN Inventory
- whose data you want to import and choose the OK button. (If you chose
- the first upgrade option, skip this step.)
-
- LAN Inventory verifies that you have a previous version of LAN Inventory,
- makes a duplicate copy of the files and then converts them to the LAN
- Inventory software.
-
- 12. Choose the OK button in the information box indicating that the
- installation completed. View the Readme file for any updated product
- information.
-
- 13. A dialog box displays asking you if you want to restart Windows at this
- point to enable the changes that LAN Inventory v3.12 made. Choose the
- Yes button to restart Windows.
-
- If you do not wish to restart Windows at this point, choose the No
- button.
-
- NOTE: If you have upgraded to LAN Inventory from LAN Automatic Inventory
- v2.xx (and if you have installed LAN Inventory in your existing LAN
- Automatic Inventory v2.xx directory), you must re-inventory hardware only on
- each workstation (i.e., run EQUIP/MACEQUIP) before performing your initial
- LAN Inventory audit. For all workstations that are not re-inventoried before
- performing the initial LAN Inventory audit, their inventory will be removed
- from the baseline and reported as "missing." If you do not perform EQUIP
- prior to performing an audit, you will lose the information on the PCs from
- the old database.
-
-
- 2.5 Installing NLMs
-
- These instructions review the installation process and provide important
- information about installing the product NLMs.
-
- WARNING: BTRIEVE Version 6.10 or later must be properly loaded to run LAN
- Inventory. For instruction on setting up server-based Btrieve, please see
- Appendix C. For instructions on setting up local PC-based Btrieve, please see
- Step 3 below.
-
- NOTE: Btrieve version 6.10c is loaded in Compuserve. Simply GO NOVLIB,
- Library 7 and download BTR61.EXE (947,265 bytes, December 6, 1993).
-
- If you get the following error message (and are running the BrightWorks
- product)
- BrightWorks: Brequester has not been loaded. BrightWork databases
- will not be optimized. To optimize performance of this program, load
- the Btrieve.NLM on your server, the Brequest.EXE TSR on your
- workstation (with argument /d:17000), and restart Windows and
- BrightWorks.
-
- and to the best of your knowledge Btrieve has been properly loaded, please
- read the following and take the appropriate steps.
-
- If you want to run BREQUEST for server based Btrieve, this error could be
- occuring because you have loaded the incorrect WBTRCALL.DLL file. Take
- the following steps:
-
- 1. Exit Windows.
-
- 2. Change to the \LANINV directory (or BWORKS).
-
- 3. Run USEBRQ.BAT.
-
- This program will copy the proper WBTRCALL.DLL file into the \LANINV
- directory for BREQUEST.EXE.
-
- 4. Copy the new WBTRCALL.DLL into your \Windows directory.
-
- 5. Restart Windows.
-
- 6. Run LAN Inventory again (or BrightWorks).
-
- This error also may occur if the BTRIEVE.NLM or the BSPXCOM.NLM is not
- loaded on the fileserver. Please take the following steps:
-
- 1. At the fileserver console, type BSTOP.
-
- This unloads the NLMs.
-
- 2. Type BSTART.
-
- This loads both BTRIEVE.NLM and BPSXCOM.NLM on the fileserver.
-
- If you want to work with the client-based BTRIEVE instead of the server
- based BTRIEVE (BREQUEST.EXE), then take these steps.
-
- 1. Exit Windows.
-
- 2. Run USEBTR.BAT.
-
- This ensures that you are running the proper WBTRCALL.DLL file for
- client based BTRIEVE.
-
- 3. Add the following section to your WIN.INI:
-
- [btrieve]
- options=/p:3072/f:22/t:btr.trn/e
-
- 4. Restart Windows.
-
- 5. Run LAN Inventory again.
-
-
- 2.6 Troubleshooting
-
- If you receive any errors while installing or upgrading LAN Inventory,
- display the log file to view the errors and possible solutions.
-
- Error calling DLL function. This indicates that install was unable to find
- PROGLIB.DLL or NETWARE.DRV didn't load or wasn't configured in your
- SYSTEM.INI file.
- This could happen if the NetWare shell was not loaded before running
- Windows or if the wrong NetWare driver was loaded for Windows. Please
- refer to the installation requirements in this manual.
-
- Also, make sure:
- -The shells are loaded.
- -The following line is included in your SYSTEM.INI file in the
- [386Enh] section: network=*vnetbios, vnetware.386, vipx.386
- -You have Write and Modify rights to your Windows directory.
-
- Install requires temporary storage on your hard drive, approximately 300K
- bytes. There is not enough space on your XXXX.
- XXXX is the drive name specified. This message will display if the
- drive you specified does not have the space required to run the
- installation program.
-
- Unable to copy or decompress file: FILENAME. Make sure that you have
- permission to write to the designated path and that you included the drive
- letter and that there is enough space on the destination disk.
- FILENAME is the file to be copied or decompressed. This message will
- display if 1) you do not have the write permission 2) there is not
- enough space on the destination disk or 3) the volume (i.e., SYS)
- that the install is trying to write to does not exist. Log in as
- supervisor or equivalent.
-
- Install did not find a previously installed copy of XXXXXX in YYYYYY. Choose
- OK to choose another path.
- XXXXXX is the name of the product which you want to upgrade. YYYYYY
- is the name of the path you gave for the install to check for the
- previously installed product. This message will display if the
- install did not find the previously installed product which you want
- to upgrade in the path you specified. Make sure you give the correct
- path to the install to find the previously installed product for
- upgrading.
-
- This installation failed. Please run the install again to be sure that LAN
- Inventory is installed correctly. Choose OK to exit install and view the
- install log file.
- This message will display when the installation has encountered
- severe problems and has aborted. A log file may have the error
- message. Use Windows Notepad utility to view this file. Make the
- required change and then run the install again.
-
- Fatal Error: [Error #]
- Verify that you meet the LAN Inventory configuration requirements
- and then contact McAfee Technical Support with the Error #.
-
- Install detected problems with your Configuration. Click on OK to exit and
- view log file.
- View the Log File for information to correct your configuration in
- accordance with the LAN Inventory installation requirements. Once you
- have corrected your configuration, re-run the installation process.
-
- Unrecoverable Error
- Verify that you meet the LAN Inventory configuration requirements,
- and then contact McAfee Technical Support with the Error #.
-
-
- 3.0 Chapter 3 Getting Started
-
- Chapter 2 described the LAN Inventory installation and upgrade instructions.
- This chapter introduces and discusses the LAN Inventory application window.
-
-
- 3.1 Introduction
-
- 3.1.1 What's in this Chapter
-
- The following chart describes the sections in this chapter:
-
- SECTION DESCRIPTION
-
- The LAN Inventory Console Provides instructions for launching the LAN
- Inventory console, selecting menu bar items,
- using the tool bar as an alternative to the
- menu bar, and using LAN Inventory's on-line
- help.
-
- Printer Setup & Administration Provides procedures for defining the global
- print settings on which you want to generate
- LAN Inventory reports.
-
- Error Handling Discusses how to handle errors.
-
- LAN Inventory Configuration Verifies that the program directory has the
- Options appropriate rights and establishes
- transaction directories.
-
- Quick Start Provides brief instructions for setting up
- LAN Inventory on your network.
-
- Tutorial Offers a brief walk through some of LAN
- Inventory's main features.
-
-
- 3.2 The LAN Inventory Console
-
- This section describes the LAN Inventory console. In addition to instructions
- for launching and exiting LAN Inventory, it discusses the menu bar, tool bar,
- and help facility.
-
- 3.2.1 Windows Terms
-
- LAN Inventory should be used with a mouse. The table below briefly defines
- several Windows terms regarding the use of the mouse and product windows.
-
- TERM DESCRIPTION
-
- Cancel Button Choosing the Cancel button exits the current dialog box
- without saving any changes you made in this dialog box or
- without executing a command you selected in this dialog box.
-
- Choose Click the left mouse button (or use a key combination) on an
- item to initiate an action. For example, "Choose the LAN
- Inventory icon."
-
- Click Press the left mouse button once.
-
- Double click Press the left mouse button twice in quick succession.
-
- Icon A graphic representation of an executable in Windows.
-
- Point Position the mouse until the tip of the pointer on the screen
- rests on the desired item.
-
- Scroll Use the scroll bars and buttons to move through a list of
- items.
-
- Select Mark an item by clicking on it or by highlighting it with
- either key combinations or the mouse. For example, "Select
- the Include Path option."
-
- NOTE: The remainder of this manual assumes that you are familiar with
- Windows. Refer to your Microsoft Windows manual for information on the
- fundamental operating conventions of the Windows environment.
-
- 3.2.2 Accessing LAN Inventory
-
- After successfully installing LAN Inventory, a McAfee Program Manager group
- and a LAN Inventory program icon are created on your Windows desktop.
-
- Use the following procedure to launch LAN Inventory.
-
- 1. Load Brequest.
-
- Either server-based or client-based Btrieve can be used with LAN
- Inventory. Server-based Btrieve is strongly recommended due to its
- increased database access speed.
-
- Upon installation, LAN Inventory is configured to run with Brequest. If
- you are running client-based Btrieve, you must run the USEBTR.BAT file in
- the LANINV program directory before launching LAN Inventory. This batch
- file configures LAN Inventory to run with local Btrieve. For example, from
- within the LANINV program directory, issue the following command:
-
- USEBTR <ENTER>
-
- 2. Run Windows, and double click on the LAN Inventory program icon.
-
- If you are using Novell's local Btrieve, a message is displayed
- recommending that you use BREQUEST for increased database access speed.
- This message will only display when LAN Inventory cannot detect Brequest.
- It will also display when LAN Inventory is configured to run with client-
- based Btrieve (i.e., by running the USEBTR.BAT file). To disable the
- warning message under all circumstances, place a checkmark in the
- "Disable warning message when Brequest isn't running" field.
-
- (To re-enable the warning message, the.INI file must be edited.)
-
- Choose the OK button to continue the LAN Inventory program launch. The
- LAN Inventory application window is displayed.
-
- The application window consists of the following items which are
- discussed in this section:
-
- o The LAN Inventory Menu Bar
- o The LAN Inventory Tool Bar
- o Access to LAN Inventory's On-Line Help
-
- 3.2.3 Exiting LAN Inventory
-
- Use the following procedure to end a LAN Inventory session.
-
- 1. Choose the Exit command from the File menu.
-
- A dialog box is displayed prompting you to confirm the exit action.
-
- 2. To save your monitor configuration, check the 'Save monitor
- configuration' option.
-
- Checking this option will save the configuration of any metering windows
- that are currently open in your LAN Inventory application window. All
- open metering windows will be automatically restored upon starting your
- next LAN Inventory session.
-
- 3. Choose the OK button to close the LAN Inventory application.
-
- 3.2.4 LAN Inventory Menu Bar
-
- To choose a menu, point to the menu name and click the left mouse button.
- The menu is displayed.
-
- The general purpose of each menu item is defined below:
-
- o File - Lists file oriented commands, including those for configuring
- global print settings and exiting LAN Inventory. For several of the File menu
- commands, the command text and its associated action when selected depend on
- the currently active window in the LAN Inventory application window.
-
- o Administration - Lists the commands necessary to collect inventory on your
- network and conduct an audit.
-
- o Tools - Lists commands for viewing and managing inventory information.
-
- o Reports - Lists commands for accessing specific categories of LAN
- Inventory reports.
-
- o Window - Lists commands for positioning the open document windows in the
- LAN Inventory application window.
-
- o Help - Lists commands to access LAN Inventory's on-line Windows hypertext
- help.
-
- NOTE: Holding down the left mouse button over a menu command displays the
- function of the command in the LAN Inventory title bar at the top of the
- application window.
-
- 3.2.5 LAN Inventory Tool Bar
-
- When using LAN Inventory with a mouse, LAN Inventory's tool bar buttons
- provide an alternative for accessing the most frequently used LAN Inventory
- functions.
-
- Instead of choosing commands from the drop-down menus, you can choose the
- tool bar buttons to perform the same tasks.
-
- The function of each tool bar button is described below:
-
- o Inventory - Displays the View Inventory dialog box used for viewing and
- managing the inventory of each audited workstation.
-
- o Remote - Provides access to optional McAfee NetRemote software for
- automated user support.
-
- o NetShield - Provides access to optional McAfee NetShield software, which
- is a Novell NetWare loadable module (NLM) and provides uninterrupted
- server-based virus protection.
-
- o Tickets - Provides access to optional McAfee LAN Support Center software
- for help desk automation.
-
- o Alerting - Displays the Alerting Options dialog box used for defiing and
- scheduling auditing alerts.
-
- o Reports - Displays the report generator that was last selected from the
- Report menu. For example, if the Inventory and Distribution command was last
- chosen from the Reports menu, then the Choose Report dialog box will display,
- enabling you to generate inventory and distribution reports.
-
- NOTE: Holding down the left mouse button over a tool bar button displays the
- function of the button in the LAN Inventory title bar at the top of the
- application window.
-
- 3.2.6 Using the Keyboard
-
- To use LAN Inventory without a mouse, perform the standard Windows keyboard
- actions to navigate through the program.
-
- Each menu item on the LAN Inventory menu bar has a keyboard mnemonic. Press
- the <ALT> key in combination with the keyboard mnemonic key to choose a menu
- and cause the menu to drop down. For example, press the <ALT><F> keys to
- choose the File menu and display its commands.
-
- Each command also has a keyboard mnemonic. Once the menu is displayed
- (i.e., "dropped down"), press the keyboard mnemonic of the command you want
- to choose. For example, from the File menu, press <P> to choose the Printer
- Setup command. You can also use the <up/down arrow> keys to move the
- highlight to a desired command and press <ENTER> to select the command.
-
- For detailed information on using a Windows application with the keyboard,
- refer to your Windows documentation.
-
- NOTE: Some LAN Inventory features require the use of a mouse and cannot be
- accessed with the keyboard.
-
- 3.2.7 LAN Inventory's Help Facility
-
- LAN Inventory's help facility provides on-line assistance for using the LAN
- Inventory software. To get information quickly about a LAN Inventory feature
- or procedure, choose the Help Index command from the Help menu.
-
- Choosing the Help Index command displays an index list of topics. Choose the
- topic for which you require assistance.
-
- LAN Inventory's Help system is written in a standard Windows hypertext format.
- This means that you can jump from one topic to another by simply choosing
- topic names from a list. Several buttons display across the top of the Help
- dialog box allowing you to search for topics and also to view a list of the
- topics you have visited.
-
- For detailed information on using a Windows help facility, refer to your
- Windows documentation.
-
-
- 3.3 Printer Setup and Administration
-
- Before printing LAN Inventory reports, you should review the global print
- parameters to be sure they reflect the printer settings that you require.
-
- Printer settings include:
-
- o Printer destination
- o Page orientation (portrait/landscape)
- o Paper size and source
- o Graphics resolution
-
- The procedures for customizing the contents of individual LAN Inventory
- reports are discussed in Chapter 9. This section briefly presents the
- procedures for viewing and changing Windows global print settings
- (e.g., target printer, paper size).
-
- NOTE: Please refer to your Windows manual for detailed procedures on
- modifying the Windows print settings.
-
- 3.3.1 Changing Print Settings
-
- Use the following procedure to review and change your print settings.
-
- 1. Choose the Printer Setup command from the File menu.
-
- The Print Setup dialog box is displayed.
-
- 2. Select the printer you want to use for printing LAN Inventory reports.
-
- The printer selected from your Windows printer control is selected as the
- default. To use another printer, select a Specific Printer from the
- drop-down list associated with this field.
-
- NOTE: Choosing a specific printer does not permanently change your printer
- setting.
-
- 3. Select the desired orientation and paper parameters.
-
- Choose either the Portrait (long) or Landscape (wide) Orientation setting.
- Use the drop-down lists to define the Paper Size and Paper Source
- settings.
-
- 4. To make additional changes to the selected printer configuration, choose
- the Options button.
-
- Additional settings include dithering and intensity control.
-
- 5. Choose the OK button in the Print Setup dialog box to save the print
- settings.
-
-
- 3.4 Error Handling
-
- If you encounter an error while using LAN Inventory, a message box is
- displayed with a description of the error. Choosing the OK button returns you
- to either the previous screen to select another choice or to the LAN
- Inventory application window if no other choices are available.
-
- Appendix B of this manual lists and describes all LAN Inventory errors.
-
-
- 3.5 Inventory Configuration Options
-
- Before you begin to inventory your LAN components, you must verify that the
- appropriate rights have been granted to the LAN Inventory program directory.
-
- 3.5.1 Assigning Rights To a Common Directory
-
- Users of NetWare 4.X, 3.X or 2.2 systems need READ, WRITE, FILESCAN, CREATE,
- and ERASE rights to the directory from which the EQUIP file will be executed.
- These rights are required in order to update the transaction and log files
- upon executing the EQUIP.EXE program.
-
- Users of NetWare 2.1X systems need READ, OPEN, SEARCH, WRITE, CREATE, and
- DELETE rights to the directory from which the EQUIP file will be executed.
-
- Upon the installation of LAN Inventory, EQUIP.EXE and all transaction and
- log files reside in the LANINV program directory.
-
- 3.5.2 Establishing a Separate Transaction Directory
-
- If granting extensive rights to a program directory (i.e., the LANINV
- directory) is a concern, then follow the steps below to set up a separate
- "transaction directory" from which your users can execute EQUIP. By doing so,
- your users will no longer need any rights to the LANINV directory.
-
- Another reason for creating separate transaction directories is for
- maintaining individual LAN sites. Defining sites is useful for categorizing
- your inventory data. By establishing a separate transaction directory, you
- are defining a directory into which a site's inventory data will be collected.
- For example, you might want to maintain a separate inventory for your Sales
- Department. To do so, you must define a site for the Sales Department
- (e.g., the SALES site). You also must establish a separate transaction
- directory for the SALES site. The collected inventory data for all
- workstations included in the SALES site will be maintained in the new sales
- transaction directory.
-
- NOTES: a - The LANINV program directory must always be defined as a site
- because it maintains the file server, MAC and stand-alone inventory data.
- b - BrightWorks' Software Distribution capabilities can be used to distribute
- software and/or scripts to any workstation in the LAN Inventory local site
- (i.e., the site which identifies the LANINV program directory). Sites are
- discussed in detail in the section entitled "Maintaining LAN Sites" in
- Chapter 4 of this manual.
-
- Perform the following steps to establish a transaction directory in which
- EQUIP can collect inventory data:
-
- 1. Create a transaction directory.
-
- To allow all your network users access to the EQUIP inventory program,
- create the new directory on the file server. For example, create a
- directory named F:\LANINV\SALES.
-
- 2. Grant rights to the transaction directory.
-
- Users of NetWare 3.X or 2.2 systems need READ, WRITE, FILESCAN, CREATE,
- and ERASE rights to the directory from which the EQUIP file will be
- executed. These rights are required in order to update the transaction
- and log files upon executing the EQUIP.EXE program.
-
- Users of NetWare 2.1X systems need READ, OPEN, SEARCH, WRITE, CREATE, and
- DELETE rights to the directory from which the EQUIP file will be executed.
-
- 3. Copy the required administration files into the new transaction directory.
-
- Several administration files must be copied into the transaction
- directory; however, the files must first be configured using the LAN
- Inventory console program.
-
- a - To configure the administration files, choose the Software
- Options command from the Administration menu to display the Software
- Options dialog box.
- b - Select the Workstation software option and define the unknown
- file extensions and system files to be identified.
- c - Choose the OK button to accept the configuration changes and exit
- LAN Inventory.
- d - Copy the following administration files into the new transaction
- directory:
- o WAUDCFG.DAT
- o WFIDPC.DAT
- o WIDPCSFT.DAT
- o WSYSFLST.DAT
-
- 4. Copy the required EQUIP files into the new transaction directory.
-
- The files required to execute EQUIP are:
- o EQUIP.EXE
- o BTRIEVE.EXE or BREQUEST.EXE (depending on the Btrieve method you
- are using)
- o ENDBTRV.EXE
- o WPCSLIST.DAT
- o NRCALL.PID
-
- Several transaction files also need to be in the transaction
- directory. The first time EQUIP is run in a new transaction directory,
- you are prompted to instruct EQUIP to create the files.
- o WEQTRN.DAT
- o WEQLOG.DAT
- o WTRSOFTT.DAT
- o WSYSFTRN.DAT
- o WSYSFLOG.DAT
-
- NOTE: In order for EQUIP to properly execute, you cannot manually copy
- the transaction files.
-
- 5. Define the transaction directory as a Site.
-
- This can be accomplished in one of two ways:
- a - From the LAN Inventory menu bar, choose Inventory from the
- Administration menu, and then choose the Define Sites command to define
- the new site and its path, or
- b - When EQUIP first executes in the new transaction directory, you will
- be prompted to enter a Site name (if the Site has not yet been defined).
- You must then also define the site and its path from within LAN Inventory
- by choosing Inventory from the Administration menu, and then choosing the
- Define Sites command.
-
- At this point, the new transaction directory is established. To include
- the transaction site data in your baseline (i.e., include the data in an
- audit), choose Inventory from the Administration menu, and then choose
- the Scope of Audit command and include the transaction site in the audit
- scope.
-
- IMPORTANT:
- a - From within the LAN Inventory console, any changes made to the PC
- Software List, the "System Files to Inventory on Local Site" option, the
- "Unknown Files to Identify on Local Site" option or the Audit Parameters
- window options will update the files in the LANINV program directory. (The
- file names are WPCSLIST.DAT, WSYSFLST.DAT, WFIDPC.DAT and WAUDCFG.DAT,
- respectively.) To maintain the changes, you must copy the updated files into
- the transaction directory before running EQUIP again.
-
- b - Before you perform an audit, the WIDPCSFT.DAT file (the list of
- unidentified software) in the transaction directory needs to be appended to
- the same file name in the LANINV directory. Use a third party utility to
- append one file to another file. For example, Novell's BUTIL.EXE or Magic
- Solution's BU.EXE can be used to do this. (BU.EXE is shipped with LAN
- Inventory. It is located in the self-extracting file named TOOLS.EXE in the
- LANINV program directory.)
-
- For example, the procedures for using BUTIL.EXE to append the files are as
- follows:
-
- 1. Load Btrieve. (Either BTRIEVE.EXE or BREQUEST.EXE can be used.)
-
- 2. At the DOS prompt, enter the BUTIL -copy command, which has the following
- syntax: BUTIL -COPY <source file> <target file>. The command you enter
- may look similar to the following:
- BUTIL -COPY f:\transdir\widpcsft.dat f:\fusion\widpcsft.dat
-
- 3. Use the ENDBTRV command to unload Btrieve.
-
- Note also that the BU.EXE COPY syntax is exactly the same as the BUTIL
- syntax; simply replace the BUTIL command with BU.
-
- 3.5.3 Consider Improving LAN Inventory's Database Performance
-
- LAN Inventory uses the Novell Btrieve Record Manager as its record manager.
- Btrieve is integrated with NetWare and offers an extremely high performance
- mechanism for storing information. In addition, Btrieve is the basis for
- Novell's Network Management System (NMS), which allows McAfee to integrate
- with this important management platform more easily.
-
- NOTE: Refer to Appendix E for instructions on enabling LAN Inventory
- smart-launch within NMS.
-
- Btrieve must be loaded before running the EQUIP program. There are two
- methods of implementing Btrieve:
-
- o Server-based - All data processing is done at the file server by the
- Brequestor (the Btrieve NLM or VAP). Each workstation communicates with the
- NLM or VAP by loading BREQUEST.EXE in the local PC's memory.
-
- o Brequest uses 31-45KB of RAM, depending on the options specified. (Version
- 6.10 or greater is required when using Brequest with LAN Inventory.) It is
- much faster than the local Btrieve; it requires, however, that the NLM or VAP
- be loaded on the file server.
-
- o Client-based - Workstations load an executable version of the record
- manager (BTRIEVE.EXE) and perform all data processing locally.
-
- o Btrieve uses approximately 85KB of RAM and is much slower than Brequest.
-
- NOTES: a - General instructions for configuring the Btrieve NLM are provided
- in Appendix C. Refer to your Novell documentation for details on configuring
- Btrieve.
- b - When running the Brequestor, BSPXCOM must also be loaded. Refer to your
- Novell documentation for details on loading these programs.
- c - Verify that you are running the latest versions of the Btrieve files.
- Updated Btrieve files can be found on Compuserve in the Novell Libraries (GO
- NOVLIB).
-
- EQUIP is fully compatible with both methods of access. LAN Inventory is
- shipped with BTRIEVE.EXE; it is highly recommended, however, that you use the
- server-based method while running EQUIP, as this will improve the performance
- of data collection by at least 50% and by as much as 500%.
-
- LAN Inventory provides two batch files for loading Btrieve:
-
- o BTR.BAT - loads local Btrieve (BTRIEVE.EXE)
- o BRQ.BAT - loads server-based Btrieve (BREQUEST.EXE)
-
- All batch files provided with LAN Inventory are placed in the LANINV program
- directory upon installation.
-
- 3.5.4 Consider Placing EQUIP in the Login Script
-
- To ensure that EQUIP is executed on a regular basis, the EQUIP command can
- be placed in the system login script. The following example illustrates how
- EQUIP can be executed from within a system login script. Note that BTRIEVE or
- BREQUEST must be loaded before EQUIP is run and unloaded after EQUIP has
- completed gathering the inventory. (Refer to Chapter 5 for information on
- EQUIP's command line parameters. Refer to Appendix C for instructions on
- configuring Btrieve.)
-
- ....
- MAP F:=FS/SYS:BWORKS
- DRIVE F:
- #BREQUEST /D:17000
- #EQUIP /H /S
- #ENDBTRV
- ....
-
- where F:=FS/SYS:BWORKS is the drive ID and complete path where the LAN
- Inventory files are stored.
-
- NOTE: When mapping to the LANINV directory, make sure that you use a
- straight logical map. MAP ROOTS and MAP INS are not allowed.
-
-
- 3.6 Quick Start Guide to Inventory
-
- This section provides the steps necessary to establish an inventory before
- peforming software distribution (if you purchased BrightWorks).
-
- 1. Configure the BTRIEVE.NLM and the BSPXCOM.NLM at the file server console
- and load accordingly.
-
- See Appendix C for more information about BTRIEVE.
-
- 2. Load BREQUEST /D:17000 into memory at the administrative PC.
-
- See Appendix C for more information.
-
- 3. Open Windows and choose the LAN Inventory icon.
-
- 4. Follow these five steps to configure the collection of the Inventory and
- Audit.
-
- a. DEFINE SITE (see Chapter 4). Assign another name to the LANINV
- directory (the local site). This Site will appear in Red in the
- Define Sites dialog box. RULE: All nodes that will participate in
- Software Distribution must have a record in the Local Site (see
- BrightWorks manual).
-
- b. SCOPE OF AUDIT (see Chapter 4). Include the Local Site and the
- File Server where LAN Inventory is installed.
-
- c. SOFTWARE OPTIONS (see Chapter 4). This will allow you to collect
- unidentified software (e.g., applications that do not appear on the
- canned PC Software List).
-
- d. AUDIT PARAMETERS (see Chapter 4). Select what to audit and when.
- Additional options allos you to back up your baseline files prior to
- conducting an audit as well as notification options when changes
- occur.
-
- e. Configure the PC SOFTWARE LIST to identify the desired
- applications: Select Administration/Inventory/Qualification Lists.
- Choose PC Software List and Un-hide the applicable applications. See
- Chapter 4.
-
- 5. Modify the system login script to execute EQUIP.EXE on all workstations
- that log into the file server where LAN Inventory is installed.
-
- Suggested method:
-
- MAP F:\SERVER\VOL:LANINV
- DRIVE F
- #BREQUEST /D:17000
- #EQUIP /S /H /Y /W /SHOW
- #ENDBTRV
- MAP DEL F:
-
- NOTE: All users will need READ, WRITE, CREATE, ERASE, and FILESCAN
- rights to the LANINV directory.
-
- 6. Conduct an AUDIT.
-
- See Chapter 6.
-
-
- 3.7 Tutorial
-
- This tutorial outlines the major steps in using BrightWorks to perform an
- inventory and a subsequent audit of the components of your LAN.
-
- The steps in this tutorial include the following:
-
- 1. Collecting Inventory Data (using the EQUIP.EXE program)
- 2. Configuring the Audit Parameters
- 3. Running an Audit
- 4. Viewing the Audit Results (audit log and inventory details)
-
- NOTES: a - LAN Inventory must be installed on your network before beginning
- the tutorial. If you have not already done so, please refer to Chapter 2 for
- installation instructions.
- b - The options and features mentioned in this tutorial are discussed in
- detail in rest of this manual.
-
- You will realize the following benefits by using LAN Inventory on your
- network:
-
- o Reduce the time required to troubleshoot user and network problems with an
- accurate, up-to-date hardware and software inventory
- o Eliminate the need for manual inventory by automatically recording and
- detecting changes in software and hardware configurations
- o Inventory multiple sites to maximize resource usage
- o Reduce the time required to input new applications with the auto-learning
- feature
- o Keep records up-to-date and inform purchase decisions with detailed vendor
- and warranty data tracking
- o Reduce downtime by detecting outdated equipment
-
- 3.7.1 Collecting Inventory Data
-
- EQUIP.EXE is the program used to collect the inventory data of your networked
- PCs. The program is executed at the machine on which you want to perform the
- inventory. Inventory data includes hardware, software and system file
- information. Note that before running EQUIP you must set up the Btrieve
- database.
-
- Use the following procedure to collect a workstation's inventory data.
-
- 1. Proceed to the PC workstation for which you want to collect inventory
- data.
-
- 2. Make the LAN Inventory directory your current directory.
-
- Use the DOS CD command to change into the LANINV program directory, or
- map a search drive to the LANINV directory.
-
- 3. Setup the Btrieve database.
-
- LAN Inventory provides two batch files which setup the Btrieve database.
- Issue the batch file which corresponds to the method of Btrieve you are
- using.
-
- o BRQ.BAT automatically issues the Btrieve setup command and loads
- Brequest. Brequest uses 25-49KB of RAM, depending on the version and
- the command line switches used. It is approximately 250% faster than
- the local Btrieve; it requires, however, that the NLM be loaded on the
- file server. The BRQ.BAT file consists of the following:
- BREQUEST /D:17000
-
- o BTR.BAT automatically issues the Btrieve setup command and loads
- local Btrieve. Btrieve uses approximately 85KB of RAM, depending on
- the command line switches used. It is much slower than Brequest. The
- BTR.BAT file consists of the following:
- BTRIEVE /P:3072 /F:22 /T:BTR.TRN /E
-
- NOTE: Because of the increase in speed, Brequest is recommended.
-
- 4. Issue the EQUIP command and collect the hardware and software component
- data for the PC you are using.
-
- EQUIP /h /s <ENTER>
-
- where /h is the command line option used to specify hardware collection;
- /s is the command line option used to specify software collection. All
- EQUIP command line options are listed in Chapter 5 in the section
- entitled "EQUIP Command Line Reference."
-
- 5. Respond to the prompts that display the first time EQUIP is run in a
- transaction directory.
-
- Ignore this step if EQUIP has already been executed from the current
- directory.
-
- a - The first time EQUIP is run from any transaction directory, you
- are prompted to create new database files. Answer Yes to this prompt
- by typing <Y> and pressing the <ENTER> key. The EQUIP program will
- create the required transaction files.
-
- b - After the database files have been created, EQUIP then prompts
- you to enter a Site ID name. LAN Inventory uses the Site ID to
- determine your workstation's location. For example, enter the file
- server name as the Site ID. To do this, type:
- (file server name) <ENTER>
- where (file server name) is the name of your file server.
-
- Upon pressing <ENTER>, EQUIP gathers the hardware and software
- information from the workstation.
-
- NOTE: Follow Steps #1-4 for each networked PC you want to inventory, or call
- an EQUIP batch file from your system login script to automate inventorying of
- networked PCs.
-
- 3.7.2 Configuring the Audit Parameters
-
- Several audit parameters must be defined before performing an audit of the
- collected inventory data. All audit configuration information is defined from
- within the LAN Inventory console.
-
- The audit parameters that are defined in this step of the tutorial include:
-
- o Audit scope - the sites and file servers to be audited
- o Audited components - the inventory components to be audited (e.g.,
- hardware, software or both)
-
- Use the following procedure to configure the audit parameters for this
- tutorial.
-
- 1. Choose Inventory from the Administration menu. From the sub-menu that is
- displayed, choose the Scope of Audit command.
-
- The Scope of Audit dialog box is displayed. This dialog box allows you
- to select the sites and file servers to be included in the audit. To
- include a site or file server in the audit, click on the item name in the
- corresponding left list box, and then choose the Include button. The item
- name is moved into the list box on the right.
-
- To remove a site or file server from the audit, click on the item name in
- the corresponding right list box, and then choose the Remove button. The
- item name is moved into the list box on the left.
-
- 2. For this tutorial, include both the local site in the audit scope
- (i.e., the site that was created in the "Collecting Inventory Data" step
- of this tutorial) and the file server on which LAN Inventory is installed.
-
- NOTE: The Scope of Audit dialog box lists all file servers on the network,
- but only those file servers with LAN Inventory installed can be audited,
- even if the file server name is "included" in the Scope of Audit.
-
- 3. Choose the OK button to accept the audit scope definition.
-
- When a file server is included in the scope definition, a Server dialog
- box is displayed prompting you to enter your login name and password.
-
- 4. In the Server dialog box, enter your login name and password for the
- selected file server, and then choose the OK button.
-
- NOTE: You must have Supervisor rights or equivalent to include a file server
- in the audit scope.
-
- The configuration changes are saved, and the Scope of Audit dialog boxes
- are closed.
-
- 5. To define what to audit and when to audit, choose Inventory from the
- Administration menu. From the sub-menu that is displayed, choose the
- Audit Parameters command.
-
- The Audit Parameters dialog box is displayed. This dialog box is
- separated into three sections: What to Audit, When to Audit, and
- Additional Options.
-
- 6. For this tutorial, check the following audit parameters:
-
- o What to Audit: PC Software and PC Hardware
- o What to Audit: Fileserver Software and Fileserver Hardware
- o When to Audit: When Requested
-
- Once these options are selected, choose the OK button to accept the audit
- parameters and close the dialog box.
-
- NOTE: Chapter 4 of this manual discusses the audit configuration procedures
- in detail.
-
- 3.7.3 Running the Audit
-
- Conducting an audit compiles the collected equipment inventory data from
- your workstations and file servers and adds it to LAN Inventory's baseline
- inventory. Performing an audit updates the baseline inventory file to
- represent an accumulation of your most currently audited inventory
- information. The baseline inventory file provides data for various inventory
- reports, on-screen viewing, automatic notification of inventory changes, and
- the BrightWorks software distribution capability.
-
- The audit process uses the currently defined audit parameters. Therefore,
- before you initiate an audit, you should verify that the audit parameters are
- set properly. (In the previous step of this tutorial, the audit scope was
- defined to include the local LAN Inventory site.)
-
-
- Use the following procedure to perform an audit.
-
- 1. Choose Inventory from the Administration menu. From the sub-menu that is
- displayed, choose the Audit command.
-
- A message is displayed informing you that the baseline inventory will be
- updated as a result of the audit. In order to maintain only the most
- current inventory data, the baseline files are always updated by
- performing an audit.
-
- 2. Choose the OK button to start the audit.
-
- The Audit in Progress dialog box is displayed while the audit is running.
- When the audit is complete, the Audit in Progress dialog box closes and
- the baseline is updated to reflect the new inventory data.
-
- NOTE: Chapter 6 of this manual discusses the audit process in detail.
-
- 3.7.4 Viewing Audit Results
-
- As a result of performing an audit, LAN Inventory's equipment and inventory
- files are updated and are available for viewing.
-
- The audit results that are viewed in this step of the tutorial include:
- o Audit log - a list of all audits with access to audit summary and detail
- information
- o Inventory - a list of component data for PC/MAC workstations and file
- servers
-
- Use the following procedure to view the audit log and inventory details.
-
- 1. To view the Audit Log, choose Inventory from the Administration menu.
- From the sub-menu that is displayed, choose the View Audit Log command.
-
- The Audit Log dialog box is displayed. This dialog box displays a list of
- all the audits that have been performed. The Date, Time, Performed By,
- and Status information are listed for each audit.
-
- 2. To view the summarized results of an audit, select the audit from the
- Audit Log dialog box and choose the Results button.
-
- The Audit Results dialog box is displayed and lists the summarized
- results of the selected audit.
-
- Choose the Close button to close the Audit Results dialog box.
-
- NOTE: The above audit log results dialog box can also be displayed by double
- clicking on an audit in the Audit Log dialog box.
-
- 3. To view the details of an audit, select the audit from the Audit Log
- dialog box and choose the Details button.
-
- An Audit Details dialog box is displayed which contains an itemized list
- of audited components, nodes, and system files.
-
- Use the scroll buttons and scroll bars to view all the information.
- Choose the Close button to close the Audit Details dialog box.
-
- 4. To view the inventory of your PC/MAC workstations and file servers,
- choose the Inventory tool bar button.
-
- The Inventory dialog box is displayed and lists the workstations and file
- servers for each audited site. Use the scroll buttons to view all the
- information.
-
- 5. Double click on a workstation type entry.
-
- The detailed inventory data for the workstation is displayed in an
- inventory details dialog box.
-
- Use the slide bars and arrows to view the information on the inventory
- screen.
-
- The table below briefly lists the detailed inventory data displayed for
- PC and MAC workstations. A complete list of the detected equipment is
- provided in Appendix A.
-
- PC Workstation MAC Workstation
-
- Computer Information Computer Information
- Mass Storage Floppy Drives
- Keyboard/Display Monitor Type
- Ports Slot adapters and drives
- Network Adapter Mounted volumes
- Memory
-
- 6. View additional component data regarding the workstation by choosing the
- Software Applications, Misc Equipment, System Files, and Notes buttons.
-
- The corresponding dialog boxes provide detailed information regarding the
- selected workstation.
-
- NOTE: You can also view the Software Applications, Miscellaneous Equipment,
- and Notes associated with a file server.
-
- When you have finished viewing the information for the workstation,
- choose the OK button to return to the View Inventory dialog box. Choose
- the Close button to close the View Inventory dialog box.
-
- NOTE: Chapters 7 and 8 of this manual discuss reviewing audit results in
- detail.
-
- This completes the inventory tutorial. All of the features introduced here
- are described in full detail in rest of this manual.
-
-
-
-