From the SolarWinds Family - DameWare NT Utilities (DNTU)
The keyword here is utilities. With DNTU we have a user
friendly suite of administration tools for Microsoft Windows servers.
Here is the latest version of
DameWare Remote Support.
The next concept to absorb is that DNTU is a superset of remote
control, and it adds central viewing and configuring of all your
computers. Here you can examine server components
from Active Directory to disk drives, and client services from
Wake-on-Lan to connecting printers.
See for yourself the clarity and ease of navigation provided by this
collection of utilities. Have a look at what the DameWare NT
Utilities lists under 'System Tools', see an example in the screenshot to the right.
DNTU contains custom tools such as the DameWare Mini Remote Control
(DMRC) program, which supports the use of standard shell property pages
and shell context menus.
See Solarwinds Demo Video of DameWare NT Utilities
Using the NDTU console you can select a sickly Windows Server and view
its services, furthermore, you could start
or stop a service if that would cure the problem. Another
troubleshooting technique is to look for errors in the event logs, or run
native Windows tools such as Perfmon.
NT Utilities Case Studies
Troubleshooting server problems can be time-consuming. Under
the pressure of fixing the servers before the users complain, or the
boss finds out, you don't want to waste time connecting to the servers,
and then loading tools to fix the problem. Thus it's best to just
launch the DNTU and start collecting information.
Issue: Users in marketing cannot connect to their customer
database.
Problem: Share and Active Directory permissions conflict.
Solution: Call for DNTU and adjust the permissions in AD groups and
server shares.
Problem: Email not getting through. Solution: Connect to the
Exchange Server, check the queues, perhaps restart the SMTP Virtual
server.
Problem: Server running slowly. Identify cause: Memory
problem. Solution: Reschedule backup at a different time or on a
different server.
There are numerous ways of displaying information about Windows
Servers, but none provide greater clarity or easier configuration than
DameWare NT Utilities. I suggest that the killer reason to
investigate is the Mini Remote Control feature. At the price of
this utility you could either regard the Remote Control as a bonus of NT
Utilities, or if you start with just the MRC, think of the NT
Utilities upgrade as money well spent.
More Free and Trial Network Software
Here are Guy's reviews, recommendations and download links for additional handy
utilities. Many of these programs are completely free, while others
are fully-functional, but time limited. One common theme is that
SolarWinds give you a free specialist tool ideal for testing, and then
supply a more comprehensive suite for bigger networks. To let you
into a secret, for small networks, the free tool is all you'll ever need.
Guy Recommends:
SolarWinds' NPM - Network Performance Monitor
SolarWinds' performance monitor is designed for detecting network outages,
making it easy to see what's working, and what needs your attention.
This utility guides you through creating network maps; it also helps
identifying whether the
root cause is faulty equipment, or resource overload. Give NPM a try.
