1E has released the new version of NightWatchman - intelligent software for centralised control over the power up and down of desktop systems.
In this article we will go through a brief overview of the software installation.
The core software is a small 2MB download - good start! In addition to the core software, there are a number of options:
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Agility Framework - an SQL and web based centralised reporting portal, used for most of 1E's products.
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NightWatchman Product Pack - provides web based reporting functionality specifically for NightWatchman, via the Agility Framework.
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NightWatchman shutdown script for MS Project - saves all open MS Project files and shuts down. Scripts extend the functionality of the core software and can be written in either VBScript or JScript.
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NightWatchman shutdown script for MS Visio - same deal as above but for Visio.
What does it support?
NightWatchman is supported on Windows desktop systems only i.e. Windows 2000, Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista (but not home editions). And the computer needs to be ACM or ACPI compliant - checkout the 1E site for further info: http://www.1e.com/Support/Nightwatchman-TroubleShooting.aspx.
What can it do?
The software has four core functions:
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schedule or request a shutdown
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configure options for logging users off
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save open documents
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configure shutdown options
The Installation
The software requires local administrator permissions to install (but not to continue operating after install). It comes in a single MSI file with an ADM to configure AD Group Policy - as such pushing the software out to your machines can be done with a centralised desktop management tool such as Microsoft SMS, Novell Zenworks, Altiris etc etc. For a manual install, its the usual 'next,next,next...' however during the manual install, if you select Custom, you can configure the following options:
Once installed the application can be seen residing system tray area of the toolbar - indicated by a small green computer icon (far left):
The icon varies slightly depending on the system status e.g. a green star is overlaid on the little PC monitor if a scheduled shutdown is configured.
If a user right clicks the icon, they will see a few options:
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Shutdown Now - the user is prompted to select OK to shutdown the computer (or cancel), and the system will save any documents.
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View Backup List - provides a list of the backed up documents saved during shutdown, their location and saved date & time. Users can choose to View, save (Keep) or delete (Reject) the files.
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View User Log - a one-liner summary of the recent NightWatchman actions.
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About - the usual guff around version installed and directions to the E1 website.
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Hide - removes the icon from the system tray.
Probably the coolest thing about the save process is that if a user hasn't saved the file before shutdown, the NightWatchman does it for them - no more lost documents when PCs shut down for the night! This functionality is something that is missing from the existing toolsets e.g. your stock standard power configuration in AD for Vista machines. The users will see these files in the Backup List. Below I left a basic Word document open and selected the Shutdown Now option...
When saving these files, it defaults to <systemdrive>:\Documents and Settings\<profile name>\Local Settings\Application Data\1E\NightWatchman.
