iAM:Servers ER
Emergency Repair for Windows
Introduction
Windows remains among the most popular
operating systems. Its design and capabilities allow the creation of the
large, and innately scalable, distributed networks necessary to service
growing infrastructures.This
brings into focus the need to manage these systems easily and
effectively, ideally from a central location, thus avoiding the need to
have skilled resources near each system.
From time to time problems occur on a
Windows system. Many of these can be fixed using automation technology
(such as that provided by
iAM:Servers), but there are occasions when the Windows system
gets into serious trouble and normal remedial action is not possible.
A good example of this is when the
Windows Graphical User Interface (GUI) locks up and it is no longer
possible to use it to manage the system. In these cases usually the only
course of action is to reboot the system, causing serious disruption to
the business and a delay while the applications and databases are
restored to a proper state.
Several software products exist to
control Windows systems via a network connection, but they have all
taken the same route of hosting the standard GUI interface. This
approach is very bandwidth hungry and will not work when the GUI locks
up.
iAM:Servers -
Emergency Repair for Windows
iAM:Servers ER gives access to any Windows system without having to use
the GUI interface. With a rich set of emergency management commands most
Windows systems can be repaired and then recovered without the need for
a reboot.
iAM:Servers ER runs as a service on the
Windows system to be managed. Access to iAM:Servers ER is made via a
standard Telnet terminal emulator from any other system, and can be
achieved even when normal logon via SAM or Active Directory is
unavailable. Access authorisation may be precisely controlled and
monitored.
iAM:Servers ER runs at a very high priority, ensuring that it will still
work for you even when the system appears to be totally out of
resources. iAM:Servers ER provides detailed information, including
service dependencies, as well as the ability to locate and edit registry
entries, giving ability to repair systems that are seriously
compromised.
Features
To provide, from a remote system, a
text-based command shell over either TCP/IP or via a serial connection
to one of the standard COM ports. The latter is used when access is
required even if the network is unavailable.
- Users can "Log on" via this command
shell using iAM:Servers ER's remote access capability.
- During "Log on" user security is
checked against the security database. Users are granted only their
normal privileges. Access authorisation can be further limited by IP
address, and all attempts to access iAM:Servers ER, successful and
failed, are recorded in the NT Security log.
- When normal logon via SAM (or Active
Directory) is unavailable due to system or network difficulties,
iAM:Servers ER provides an alternative logon ID to access and repair the
system.
- iAM:Servers ER may be set for
auto-logoff, preventing IT staff from inadvertently leaving active.
iAM:Servers ER sessions unattended for long periods of time.
- The command shell implements
"built-in" emergency commands, including:
 •
Shutdown
• Reboot
• System Info
• Process
Resource Display
• Process
List/Kill
• Service
Start/Stop/Status/Pause/Resume
• Registry
Edit
- Beyond these the user may create a
standard "MS-DOS" command prompt and then use this, entering commands as
normal.
- To ensure availability, iAM:Servers ER
protects itself from system resource problems by running at a high CPU
priority and protecting its memory from being paged.
- iAM:Servers ER reports service
dependencies, enabling IT staff to make repairs more precisely and
without unnecessary application disruption.
Benefits
iAM:Servers ER offers significant
advantages over standard Windows access, or access via a GUI remote
control product:
- Access to the Windows system even when
its network hardware or software has failed (only if using the RS232
access mechanism)
- Access to the Windows system even when
the GUI is having problems
- Access to the system when other
processes are consuming the CPU
- Access to the system when memory is
low and page file nearly exhausted
- Ability to deal with a wide range of
problem situations without having to reboot the Windows system
- Ability to shutdown/reboot systems
from long distances without high network overheads
- Ability to control and monitor access
precisely
Summary
Not requiring GUI access to Windows,
iAM:Servers ER is able to run even when the standard GUI would be
crippled by resource limitations or network interface problems. Its
design makes for a low network overhead too.
iAM:Servers ER allows full management of
Windows systems making deployment of multiple systems easy and
manageable. Its parent product, iAM:Servers is an automatic problem
monitoring and management solution. Together they make an unbeatable
combination. |
