What s New 6.7
2007 Quest Software, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This guide contains proprietary information protected by copyright. The software described in this guide is furnished under a software license or nondisclosure agreement. This software may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the applicable agreement. No part of this guide may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording for any purpose other than the purchaser's personal use without the written permission of Quest Software, Inc. If you have any questions regarding your potential use of this material, please contact: Quest Software World Headquarters LEGAL Dept. 5 Polaris Way Aliso Viejo, CA 92656 USA www.quest.com email: legal@quest.com Refer to our Web site for regional and international office information. TRADEMARKS Quest, Quest Software, the Quest Software logo, Aelita, Benchmark Factory, Big Brother, DataFactory, DeployDirector, ERDisk, Fastlane, Final, Foglight, Funnel Web, I/Watch, Imceda, InLook, InTrust, IT Dad, JClass, JProbe, LeccoTech, LiveReorg, NBSpool, NetBase, PerformaSure, PL/Vision, Quest Central, RAPS, SharePlex, Sitraka, SmartAlarm, Speed Change Manager, Speed Coefficient, Spotlight, SQL Firewall, SQL Impact, SQL LiteSpeed, SQL Navigator, SQLab, SQLab Tuner, SQLab Xpert, SQLGuardian, SQLProtector, SQL Watch, Stat, Stat!, Toad, T.O.A.D., Tag and Follow, Vintela, Virtual DBA, and XRT are trademarks and registered trademarks of Quest Software, Inc. Other trademarks and registered trademarks used in this guide are property of their respective owners. This product contains Zlib from www.zlib.net. Disclaimer The information in this document is provided in connection with Quest products. No license, express or implied, by estoppel or otherwise, to any intellectual property right is granted by this document or in connection with the sale of Quest products. EXCEPT AS SET FORTH IN QUEST'S TERMS AND CONDITIONS AS SPECIFIED IN THE LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR THIS PRODUCT, QUEST ASSUMES NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER AND DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY WARRANTY RELATING TO ITS PRODUCTS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL QUEST BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR LOSS OF INFORMATION) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS DOCUMENT, EVEN IF QUEST HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. Quest makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this document and reserves the right to make changes to specifications and product descriptions at any time without notice. Quest does not make any commitment to update the information contained in this document. Spotlight on Active Directory What s New Updated - November 2007 Software Version - 6.7
CONTENTS About Quest Software Corporation............................... 3 Contacting Quest Software.......................................... 3 Contacting Customer Support........................................ 3 What s New in Spotlight on Active Directory 6.7.................... 5 Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista Support......................... 5 Windows Server 2008 support for Server Health Test....................... 5 Database Installation Support....................................... 6 Distributed Collector Update......................................... 6 Updates to Analysis Tests.......................................... 7 Third Party Redistributables Update.................................... 8 Summary................................................... 9 i
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About Quest Software Corporation Quest Software, Inc., Microsoft's 2007 Global Independent Software Vendor Partner of the Year, delivers innovative products that help organizations get more performance and productivity from their applications, databases and Windows infrastructure. Through a deep expertise in IT operations and a continued focus on what works best, Quest helps more than 50,000 customers worldwide meet higher expectations for enterprise IT. Quest's Windows Management solutions simplify, automate and secure Active Directory, Exchange Server, SharePoint, SQL Server,.NET and Windows Server as well as integrating Unix, Linux and Java into the managed environment. Quest Software can be found in offices around the globe and at www.quest.com. Contacting Quest Software Email Mail Web site info@quest.com Quest Software, Inc. World Headquarters 5 Polaris Way Aliso Viejo, CA 92656 USA www.quest.com Please refer to our Web site for regional and international office information. Contacting Customer Support Quest Support is available to customers who have a trial version of a Quest product or who have purchased a commercial version and have a valid maintenance contract. Quest Support provides around the clock coverage with SupportLink, our web self-service. Visit SupportLink at www.quest.com/support. From SupportLink, you can do the following: Quickly find thousands of solutions (Knowledgebase articles/documents). Download patches and upgrades. Seek help from a Support engineer. Log and update your case, and check its status. View the Global Support Guide for a detailed explanation of support programs, online services, contact information, and policy and procedures. The guide is available at: http://support.quest.com/pdfs/global Support Guide.pdf. 3
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What s New in Spotlight on Active Directory 6.7 Quest Spotlight on Active Directory version 6.7 sets a new standard for diagnosing and resolving problems in Active Directory environments by introducing a number of major new innovations. As a result of ongoing research and development efforts, and in response to customer feedback, improvements in version 6.7 have been made in the following areas: Server Health Analysis Test, Server Health Configuration Wizard, remote and manual installation of database, distributed collectors, and support on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista. Similar monitoring and diagnostic functionality for Active Directory is available in Quest Management Pack for Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM). Check out Quest Management Pack for Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) 1.0 at http://www.quest.com/management_pack_for_adam/. Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista Support Spotlight on Active Directory is now supported on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista operating systems. All analysis tests now support Windows Server 2008. Windows Server 2008 support for Server Health Test The Server Health test is a crucial part of the Spotlight on Active Directory testing suite. Windows Server 2008 impacts two areas of the Server Health test: Performance Counters and Critical Services. Two new Counter Properties have been added to the Server Health Configuration Wizard: Scope and Optional Counter Message. Scope allows you to collect counter information on a specific set of domain controllers (DCs), namely Windows Server 2008 only, Windows Server 2008 optional, pre Windows Server 2008 optional, or all DCs. The default is All Versions. Optional Counter Message allows you to specify an error message if the counter is not found. 5
Quest Spotlight on Active Directory Figure 1: Counter Settings dialog box showing new Counter Properties Database Installation Support Spotlight on Active Directory now allows you to install your database on a remote computer. The Spotlight on Active Directory Quick Start Guide also provides a procedure on how to manually install a database if one does not already exist and how to upgrade your current database. Distributed Collector Update Distributed Collectors can now be upgraded using the Collector Management Console. When you log onto the Collector Management Console, the version number and the icon to the left of the installed collector may be red. This indicates that the collector requires an upgrade. You can now also update the collector status. 6
What s New in Spotlight on Active Directory 6.7 Updates to Analysis Tests The following updates have been made to the Analysis Tests: Tests can now be scheduled to execute over night, for example to run from 8pm until 6 am. Test Results, that can be ignored in the Spotlight on Active Directory Topology Viewer, can now be ignored across launches of the Spotlight on Active Directory Topology Viewer until a new test result is received The Server Health Analysis Test has been updated to notify you when optional performance counters or services are missing from a target Domain Controller (DC). By default, the test presents a warning if an optional performance counter or service is missing. You can disable the warning in order to allow the test to complete successfully. Figure 2: Verify Server Health Test Configuration dialog box with new Alarm Options The Find Replication Gaps analysis test has been removed from the Directory Replication test category. This test has been replaced by Verify Directory Replication Health analysis test. The Verify Time Synchronization Test contains a new Alarm Options feature. This feature allows you to ignore alarms associated with a specified time source if a third-party NPT-based time synchronization solution is used. 7
Quest Spotlight on Active Directory Figure 3: Verify Time Synchronization Test Configuration dialog box with new alarm options Third Party Redistributables Update Quest Software no longer provides Adobe Acrobat Reader and Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (MSDE) as part of its third party redistributables. For information on how to install MSDE, go to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324998. To install Adobe Acrobat Reader, go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. 8
What s New in Spotlight on Active Directory 6.7 Summary Quest Spotlight on Active Directory continues to set the standard for Microsoft Active Directory diagnostics and troubleshooting with new functionality that allows administrators to truly detect, diagnose, and resolve problems with Active Directory replication, performance, and availability. Spotlight on Active Directory provides the ability to detect when problems occur, and to send notifications to the appropriate people to ensure problems are addressed before impacting users, and also provides the tools to help administrators pinpoint the problem, and take immediate action to fix it. For More Information For further information about: Quest Software's Windows Management solutions: http://www.quest.com/windows_management/ Quest Migration Suite for Active Directory: http://www.quest.com/migration_suite_for_active_directory/ Quest Spotlight on Active Directory: http://www.quest.com/spotlight_on_active_directory/ 9
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