Getting Started

Setting it up

Specops Inventory comes with a program called Specops Inventory Setup Assistant that will help you to install Specops Inventory in your environment. The Setup Assistant should be run for the first time on the computer you intend to be your Specops Inventory server. The server should be running be running either Windows Server 2003 or 2008 or 2008 R2 and either SQL 2005, SQL 2008 or SQL 2008 R2 full or express editions.

The downloaded package (SpecopsInventorySetup.exe) is a compressed package that first will uncompress and then automatically start the Setup Assistant. Run the file on the computer you will use as Specops Deploy Server and follow the instructions.

Note! The Specops Inventory Setup Assistant requires that Microsoft .Net Framework is installed on the server where the Setup Assistant is started. If it is not installed it can downloaded from Microsoft, http://www.microsoft.com/downloads. The Setup Assistant guides you through four different steps that should be performed in the following order to get you started as fast as possible:
  • Server installation – Installs the Specops Inventory Server software on the local computer.
  • Admin tools installation (on a single computer) – Installs the Specops Inventory Administrative Tools on the local computer.
  • Client Deployment – Guides you through the process of Inventorying the Specops Inventory Client Side Extension to all the client computers.
  • Reporting Server installation – Installs the Specops Reporting Server that is used to access the inventory reports.

Except for instructions about how to register the ADUC menu extension, the actual setup performed is not covered in this document since all details needed for the installations can be found in the Setup Assistant, this document will focus on how to start using Specops Inventory after it is installed.

Note! Although Specops Inventory integrates into Active Directory, it does not edit or extend the Active Directory Schema so you can conduct your tests in a live environment if you want to, without having to worry about irreversible changes to your environment.

It is possible to conduct an entire evaluation on a single computer if you lack a larger testing environment, although the computer has to be a member of an Active Directory Domain and you need to have at least one Group Policy Object (GPO), which applies to the computer and preferably your user, which you can edit. In a single computer test, the computer will have the server software, admin tools and the client side extension installed.

Page last modified on February 15, 2007, at 03:54 PM