USER GUIDE Product Snow Active Directory Discovery Version 1.0 Release date 2014-04-29 Document date 2015-02-09
CONTENT ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT... 3 SNOW ACTIVE DIRECTORY DISCOVERY... 3 PREREQUISITES... 4 INSTALLATION... 5 SNOW ACTIVE DIRECTORY DISCOVERY MENU... 7 CONFIGURATION... 8 Page 2 of 10
ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT This document describes how to install the Snow Active Directory Discovery service, and how to configure and run instances of the service. SNOW ACTIVE DIRECTORY DISCOVERY Snow Active Directory Discovery is a Windows service that connects to an Active Directory to discover computers in the estate that may be not yet inventoried in Snow License Manager. Information on new, changed, and removed computers and users is read from the Active Directory using log on credentials of a domain user. The inventory data is then sent to the Snow Inventory Data Receiver (or to a file share), processed by the Snow Inventory Data Processor (IDP), and finally presented in Snow License Manager. Configuration of the Snow Active Directory Discovery is straightforward. Once up and running, the service is fully automated and operates without any user interaction. The inventory of the Active Directory is executed according to the scheduling settings. All service activities are logged to file in C:\ProgramData\Snow Software\Snow Inventory\Server. In Snow License Manager, the number of days to be considered when reading the Active Directory Discovery information is defined by the AD_DISCOVERY_ACTIVITY_PERIOD setting in Snow Management and Configuration Center. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Snow Active Directory Discovery requires Snow Inventory Data Receiver 2.1 and Snow Inventory Data Processor 4.5 or newer for handling of inventory data. For presentation of the inventory data in a web user interface, Snow License Manager 7.0 is required. Page 3 of 10
PREREQUISITES Very important! Read before beginning the installation. Verify that the server meets the system requirements for this product; see the document System Requirements for all Snow products, which is available for download at www.snowsoftware.com/int/download. Install the Snow Active Directory Discovery on an application server with access to the Active Directory, using the log on credentials of a domain user. The domain user must be a member of the local administrator group on the application server to allow the service to run. Verify that Microsoft.NET Framework 4.5 is installed on the server. Before installation: o In the Add Roles and Features Wizard, make sure that the Application Server role is enabled, and that the.net Framework 4.5 feature is enabled. If the.net Framework 4.5 feature is not available, the required version of.net Framework is not installed on the server. Start the setup with the Run as administrator option. Page 4 of 10
INSTALLATION Start the setup by using the file Snow Active Directory Discovery Setup.exe with the Run as administrator option. 1. The Snow Active Directory Discovery Setup is started. 2. Click Next to continue. 3. Read and accept the End User License Agreement. 4. Click Next to continue. Page 5 of 10
5. Select installation folder for the Snow Active Directory Discovery. 6. Click Next to continue. 7. Click Next to start the installation. 8. Check the Run Snow Active Directory Discovery now option to start Snow Active Directory Discovery Configuration Manager. 9. Click Finish to exit the installation wizard. Page 6 of 10
SNOW ACTIVE DIRECTORY DISCOVERY MENU After installation, the Snow Active Directory Discovery menu is available in the Windows program menu, in the Snow Software folder. Select Snow Active Directory Discovery Configuration Manager to configure, start, and stop instances of the service. Select Uninstall Snow Active Directory Discovery to uninstall the service. When an instance of the Snow Active Directory Discovery service has been configured, the instance can also be started and stopped via the Windows service management console (services.msc). Page 7 of 10
CONFIGURATION In the Windows program menu, select Snow Software/Snow Active Directory Discovery Configuration Manager. The Snow Active Directory Discovery window is displayed. CREATE A NEW SERVICE INSTANCE 1. In the Snow Active Directory Discovery window, click Create new. 2. In the Service Configuration window, enter the following: Service instance name Enter a name for the service instance. Site name Enter the site name used in the Snow Inventory configuration in Snow License Manager. Data receiver URL For delivery of the inventory data, enter the complete URL to the Snow Inventory Data Receiver, or enter a UNC path for delivery to a file share. Schedule Select how often (Daily, Weekly, or Monthly) and at what time the Active Directory is to be inventoried. When applicable, select day of week or day of month. 3. When all configuration settings have been entered, click Create instance. NOTE: If any of the required fields (indicated by an asterisk) is left blank, or if entered Data receiver URL (or UNC path) is invalid, the Create instance button will be disabled. Page 8 of 10
START A SERVICE INSTANCE 1. In the Snow Active Directory Discovery window, select the service instance from the drop-down list. 2. Before the service can be started, log on credentials need to be entered of the domain user account that will be used for running the service. Click Set log on credentials. 3. Enter Log on account and Password of the domain user. Note that the domain user must be a member of the local administrators group on the server running Snow Active Directory Discovery. 4. To save the user credentials, click the Set Credentials button. Page 9 of 10
5. To start the displayed service instance, click Start service instance. The Snow Active Directory Discovery service is now running and requires no further user interaction. 6. Click the X icon in the upper righthand corner to close the Snow Active Directory Discovery window. Page 10 of 10