TOOLS AND UTILITIES

PLEASE NOTE: The listing of any software on this page does not imply any type of formal support. This is just a collection of software that other Rutgers IT professionals have found helpful.

Windows Utilites

Inventory

• FAS Inventory System - Track your department's hardware for free with this somewhat basic but useful inventory system developed by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences - Computer and Network Operations Group. (Client currently available for the Windows platform only.)
  
  • Inventory System Extractor
  • Contact vosseler@admin.rutgers.edu or motovidlak@admin.rutgers.edu for more information.


• Novell ZenWorks - Track hardware and software, deploy software, remote control, etc.


• Microsoft System Management Server (SMS) - Track hardware and software, deploy software, remote control, etc.

Scripting

• Microsoft Windows Script 5.6 Documentation - is a very useful resource for those wishing to learn how to write scripts. Also examine the Windows 2000 Script Guide.


• Microsoft Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) - Use this set of windows interfaces to query and configure a variety of aspects of a local or remote machine. A particularly useful feature is the ability to launch a process on a remote computer. This feature can be used, for instance, to initiate an automated installer package on a remote computer. (See RemoteStartMultiple.vbs for an example script. It can be used in conjuction with a script like schedupd.cmd to deploy a package to several machines.) WMI can also be accessed via the wbemtest.exe and wmic.exe command line tools. WMI is an advanced topic for sure but worth learning. The "Scriptomatic" tool will help you build scripts and learn the syntax. Visit the Microsoft Technet Script Center for more resources.


• Microsoft Active Directory Services Interface (ADSI) - Use this set of Windows interfaces to query and configure a variety of aspects of a local or remote machine. Though not quite as powerful as WMI, ADSI is simpler to use and will allow you to manipulate services, groups, accounts, etc. The "ADSI Scriptomatic" tool will help you build scripts with this interface and learn the syntax. A graphical program called the "Active Directory Services Browser" is also available with the ADSI SDK. Additional information is available in Microsoft's MSDN section on the subject.


• Inno Setup - is a free installer for Windows. With it you can build customized "setup" programs -- e.g., automate registry and file changes, create shortcuts, etc.


• WinINSTALL LE 2003 - is a free msi package editor. Use it to tweak OEM software packages or create your own.


• IExpress - as part of the Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK), this product will let you create self-extracting archives, complete with the ability to launch a script or executable after extraction. It's useful for automating a variety of things.

System Recovery

• Bart's Preinstallation Environment (BartPE) - is a free tool that can help you create a bootable cd based on Windows XP source files. BartPE, similar to Windows PE, is a scaled down Win32 environment with network support and complete read/write access to NTFS volumes -- very useful for system recovery.


• Sysinternals - produces a lot of different utilities useful for dealing with healthy and unhealthy PC's. Some are freeware, some not. Often there is a free "read only" version of a professional tool -- e.g., NTFS for DOS, Remote Recover. This site is a good all around resource for a variety of purposes.

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