The Windows 2003 support tools are a collection of resources with the aim of assisting administrators to simplify management tasks. These include: troubleshooting operating systems, configuring networking and security features, managing Active Directory, and automating application deployment. With the use of these tools, the user is able to pin-point problematic issues with the system and will therefore be able to find a solution more easily.
The Windows 2003 Support Tools consist of a number of command-line utilities, visual basic scripts, GUI based applications, and documents - all of which you must install from a seperate application. The Support Tools are not automatically installed when you install Windows 2003; their installation isn’t an option in the Windows 2003 setup. The installation program is located on the CD-ROM in the \support\tools folder and the setup file (suptools.msi) must be opened manually to initiate the installation wizard.
The setup program installs the Support Tools files onto your hard disk and requires approximately 24 MB of free space for a full installation. You must be logged on as the Administrator or have Administrator privileges to be able to install them. Setup creates a Windows 2003 Support Tools folder within the Programs folder on the Start menu. The setup also adds the \program files\support tools directory (or the directory name you choose for installing the tools) to your computer's path environment variable – this allows you to run the command line tools from any folder on your system.
Once the installation is complete, you can click on Start > Programs > Windows 2003 Support Tools to open the command prompt in the Program Files\Support Tools directory and start using them. All the GUI-based tools, along with the command line ones, can be found in the \Program Files\Support Tools folder (or whichever location you chose at installation).
Installing the support tools
As mentioned previously, the support tools are located in the \support\tools folder on the Windows 2003 CD-ROM. Navigate to that location and double click the "suptools.msi" file to start the installation wizard.
Press Next and browse through the screens, select "I Agree" when the license agreement screen comes up. You will be prompted to choose a location in which to install the tools. By default, the location is c:\program files\support tools\
Press the "Install Now" button and the installation will proceed. The installation will take a couple of minutes to be complete. Press "Finish" and close all windows to be able to start using the tools.
The support tools explained
This section will display the list of support tools found on the Windows Server 2003 CD-ROM in alphabetical order.
To use the command line format tools, open the command prompt and type the filename followed by the appropriate parameters. If you are unaware of the parameters of the tool you wish to use then type: filename /? to show the list of available parameters.
| Tool Name: | ACL Diagnostics |
| Filename: | acldiag.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Detects and displays the permission problems found in the Access Control Lists of objects in Active Directory |
| Tool Name: | Active Directory Replication Monitor |
| Filename: | replmon.exe |
| Format: | Graphical User Interface |
| Description: | Allows the control of Active Directory replication information |
| Tool Name: | Active Directory Search Tool |
| Filename: | search.vbs |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | A script used to search an LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) directory |
| Tool Name: | Application Deployment Diagnostics |
| Filename: | addiag.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Gives you a list of the software implemented on a local computer using group policy |
| Tool Name: | ADSI Edit |
| Filename: | adsiedit.msc |
| Format: | Graphical User Interface |
| Description: | Allows the editing of objects in Active Directory in a low-level style editor |
| Tool Name: | Advanced Power Management Status |
| Filename: | apmstat.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Gives information about advanced power management features in older notebook computers |
| Tool Name: | Binary File Difference Finder |
| Filename: | bindiff.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Allows you to compare two binary files and view their differences |
| Tool Name: | BITS Administration Utility |
| Filename: | bitsadmin.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Adminsters the Background Intelligent Transfer Service which controls background file transfers for Internet Information Services |
| Tool Name: | Browser Status |
| Filename: | browstat.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Displays network browser status |
| Tool Name: | Cabinet Tool |
| Filename: | cabarc.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Creates, views and extracts compressed .CAB files |
| Tool Name: | Clone Principal |
| Filename: | clonepr.dll |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | This dynamic link library clones windows NT 4.0 users and groups to allow migration to a Windows Server 2003 forest |
| Tool Name: | Dependancy Walker |
| Filename: | depends.exe |
| Format: | Graphical User Interface |
| Description: | Allows you to view all the dependencies of a file. You are able to check which DLLs are dependant on others. This can be very useful when investigating a problem related to a missing file. The image below shows the GUI interface of the dependancy viewer. To demonstrate, I have loaded the twain_32.dll file - as you can see, this dll depends on three other dlls for it to work |
| Tool Name: | Device Console Utility |
| Filename: | devcon.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | The command prompt version of the device manager in the hardware tab of system properties |
| Tool Name: | DFS and SYSVOL Replication Topology Analysis Tool |
| Filename: | topchk.cmd |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Shows the FRS replication topology |
| Tool Name: | DHCP Server Locator Utility |
| Filename: | dhcploc.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Shows a list of all DHCP servers on the subnet |
| Tool Name: | Directory Disk Usage |
| Filename: | diruse.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Displays directory sizes and compression information |
| Tool Name: | Directory Services ACL Editor |
| Filename: | dcaslc.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Manages access control lists for Active Directory objects |
| Tool Name: | Directory Services Utility |
| Filename: | dsastat.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Compare and contrast two directory trees in the same domain or across different domains |
| Tool Name: | Distributed File System (DFS) Utility |
| Filename: | dfsutil.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Manages DFS, limits clients to targets within the same site and enables windows server 2003 based DFS servers to select remote targets |
| Tool Name: | Diskprobe |
| Filename: | dskprobe.exe |
| Format: | Graphical User Interface |
| Description: | Allows you to edit the disk sector information directly (includes also the MBR) |
| Tool Name: | Disk Manager Diagnostics |
| Filename: | dmdiag.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Provides detailed diagnostic information about hard disk drives |
| Tool Name: | DNS Server Troubleshooting Tool |
| Filename: | dnscmd.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Administrators are able to view and modify DNS servers, zones and resources |
| Tool Name: | Domain Controller Diagnostic Tool |
| Filename: | dcdiag.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Analyzes and reports on the state of a domain controller |
| Tool Name: | Encrypting File System Information |
| Filename: | efsinfo.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Provides information about files that have been encrypted using EFS. This is a very helpful tool when you want to analyze which files and folders are encrypted. If I were to go to the C: drive in the command prompt and type "efsinfo", a list of all the files and their encryption related information will be displayed. This can be seen in the example below: |
| Tool Name: | Extensible Perforamce Counter List |
| Filename: | Exctrlst.exe |
| Format: | Graphical User Interface |
| Description: | Displays information about the programs that use the regsitry to provide performance counters |
| Tool Name: | Fault Tolerance Disk Mounter |
| Filename: | ftonline.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Mounts Windows NT 4.0 fault tolerance disk sets |
| Tool Name: | File and Directory Comparison |
| Filename: | windiff.exe |
| Format: | Command Line, Graphical User Interface |
| Description: | Compares ASCII text files or folders |
| Tool Name: | File Replication Utility |
| Filename: | ntfrsutil.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Displays the status of the NT file replication service onto the screen of dumps it in a file |
| Tool Name: | FileVer |
| Filename: | filever.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | States version information of a file or folder |
| Tool Name: | FRS Connection Status Report |
| Filename: | connstat.cmd |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: |
|
| Tool Name: | FRS Health Check |
| Filename: | health_chk.cmd |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | States the health of the FRS of a specified domain controller |
| Tool Name: | FRS Inbound and Outbound Logs Report Tool |
| Filename: | lologsum.cmd |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Displays information about FRS replication |
| Tool Name: | Get Security ID |
| Filename: | getsid.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Checks if a user account database is corrupt by comparing the SIDs of the account on two domain controllers |
| Tool Name: | Global Flags Editor |
| Filename: | gflags.exe |
| Format: | Graphical User Interface |
| Description: | Allows you to edit global registry settings or flags that are in use by the kernel |
| Tool Name: | HTTP Configuration Utility |
| Filename: | httpcfg.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Manages the HTTP Application Programming Interface |
| Tool Name: | IAS Parse Tool |
| Filename: | iasparse.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Parses RAS and IAS log files and displays the results in IAS or ODBC format |
| Tool Name: | Kerberos Keytab Setup |
| Filename: | ktpass.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Configures a non-windows 2003 kerberos service to be a security principle in Windows Server 2003 |
| Tool Name: | Kerberos Setup |
| Filename: | ksetup.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Configures Windows Server 2003 clients to use an MIT Kerberos Server |
| Tool Name: | LDP Tool |
| Filename: | ldp.exe |
| Format: | Graphical User Interface |
| Description: | Performs Lightweight Directory Access Protocol operations |
| Tool Name: | Manipulate Service Principle Names for Accounts |
| Filename: | setspn.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Manipulates SPNs for active directory service accounts |
| Tool Name: | Memory Pool Monitor |
| Filename: | poolmon.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Shows information about the system's memory pool. |
| Tool Name: | Memory Profiling Tool |
| Filename: | memsnap.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Allows you to save a list of the memory resources being used by all processes |
| Tool Name: | Move Users |
| Filename: | movetree.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Moves objects between domains |
| Tool Name: | Network Connectivity Tester |
| Filename: | netdiag.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Troubleshoots network connectivity by running various tests on your configuration and displaying the results. This tool does not require any extra parameters, which allows the administrator to instruct a user to run this command, pass on the results and allow them to be analyzed. Thus, making it less complicated if say, a senior admin was at home instructing the junior admin to do this on the servers at the office. The image below only displays the first phase of the results |
| Tool Name: | Network Monitor Capture Utility |
| Filename: | netcap.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Acts as a packet sniffer by using Network Monitor to capture packets and log them to a file |
| Tool Name: | NItest |
| Filename: | nitest.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Queries the status of trusts; lists primary domain controllers; forces a shutdown and forces a user database in syncronization |
| Tool Name: | Poolmon |
| Filename: | poolmon.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Helps to detect memory leaks by displaying detailed information about the allocation of memory. As soon as you type "poolmon" from the command prompt, the following kind of data will be shown. This includes the total amount of memory in the system and the memory available, amongst others. |
| Tool Name: | Port Query |
| Filename: | portqry.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Allows you to troubleshoot TCP and UDP ports. This helps the administrator to determine the state of any given port. If you type "portqryt -n computer_name -e port_number" the name will be resolved to the ip address and the port number will be queried. Details such as the service assigned to that port, the port type (TCP, UDP), the state of the port and also any held data will be displayed |
| Tool Name: | Process Viewer |
| Filename: | pviewer.exe |
| Format: | Graphical User Interface |
| Description: | Allows you to change a process priority or kill a process. This can be described as more advanced version of the "process viewer" available in the task manager. With this tool you are able to set the priority of the thread and process or kill a process altogether. Pressing on the memory detail button will bring up a window displaying in-depth information as to where the memory of the process is going |
| Tool Name: | Remote Command Line |
| Filename: | remote.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Runs command line programs on remote computers using only named pipes |
| Tool Name: | Remote Storage Diagnostics Utility |
| Filename: | rsdiag.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Queries and reports on remote storage databases |
| Tool Name: | Remote Storage File Analysis Utility |
| Filename: | rsdir.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Displays information form files in remote storage |
| Tool Name: | Replication Diagnostics Tool |
| Filename: | repadmin.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Allows the doagnosis of replication problems between controllers in Windows Server 2003 |
| Tool Name: | Security Administration Tools |
| Filename: | sidwalk.exe, showaccs.exe, sidwalk.msc |
| Format: | Command Line, Command Line, Graphical User Interface |
| Description: | Manages access control lists |
| Tool Name: | Security Descriptor Check Utility |
| Filename: | sdcheck.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Displays access controls on an object |
| Tool Name: | Service Pack Check |
| Filename: | spcheck.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Creates a file containing a list of the service pack versions of important system files. This tool requires you to have the spcheck.ini file in the directory in which you are going to execute the command. If you do not have this file available, then you may download it from the Microsoft website. Type "spcheck" and a report will be created and dumped into the current directory. You will then have to go to the file and open it will a text editor (notepad.exe will do fine). The report contains a list of important system files and which service pack they have installed or if they are missing
|
| Tool Name: | Windows Domain Manager |
| Filename: | netdom.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Provides command line administration of domains and trusts |
| Tool Name: | Windows Installer Cleanup Utility |
| Filename: | msicuu.exe |
| Format: | Graphical User Interface |
| Description: | Removes excess registry entries from a faulty installation |
| Tool Name: | Windows Installer Zapper |
| Filename: | msizap.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | The same as the widows installer cleanup utility, only a more in depth version |
| Tool Name: | Xcacls.exe |
| Filename: | xcacls.exe |
| Format: | Command Line |
| Description: | Sets and displays files ACLs |
0 Post a Comment:
Post a Comment