Active Administrator 8.6.3 - User Guide

Managing monitored objects

Managing monitored objects

You can monitor objects to check for computers that are added or removed. If monitoring is enabled, Active Administrator automatically adds newly discovered computers in the monitored OUs or groups to the Certificate Management window. If a computer is removed, it is automatically removed from the Certificate Management window, if computer removal is enabled.

When editing a monitored object, you can choose to enable/disable monitoring, include/exclude nested OUs or groups, enable/disable automatic removal of computers, or change the credentials used to monitor objects.

NOTE: Removing an OU or group from the list of Monitored Objects, does not automatically remove the computers in that OU or group from the Certificate Management window. Removing an OU or group only removes that OU or group from monitoring. To remove computers, see Removing computers.

To manage monitored objects

1	Select Certificate | Certificate Management.

2	Select More | Monitored Objects.

3	Use the buttons to manage the list of Monitored Objects.

Table 3. Manage monitored objects

Option	Description
Add OU	Add OUs to the list of Monitored Objects. NOTE: To reload the list of objects, click Refresh. All selections are cleared and any newly added OUs appear in the list.
Add Group	Add groups to the list of Monitored Objects. NOTE: To reload the list of objects, click Refresh. All selections are cleared and any newly added groups appear in the list.
Edit	Edit a selected object. You can enable/disable monitoring, include nested OUs or groups, allow computers to be removed automatically, and change the credentials.
Remove	Remove selected objects from the list of Monitored Objects.
Refresh	Refresh the list of Monitored Objects from the Active Administrator database.

4	Change the monitoring interval, if desired. The default value is 30 minutes.

Click Apply to apply the changes and keep the dialog box open, or OK to save the changes and close the dialog box.

Managing certificates

Managing certificates

The Certificate Management window displays the computers being managed by the Certificate module, the associated certificates and their state.

The menu at the top of this view enumerates and displays the number of valid, soon to expire, expired, revoked, parent revoked, deleted, and broken certificates. The tree view, by default, displays the computers being managed with the Certificate module in your organization and all the associated certificates. From here, you can also select to create a virtual folder structure to help visually organize those certificates to facilitate their management. The pane at the bottom of this view displays:

•	Certificates that have been deleted using system-provided tools. You can restore the deleted certificate from the Active Administrator database or install the certificate on another computer.

•	Broken certificates. You can attempt to repair the broken certificate or override the broken certificate notification, which replaces the certificate stored in Active Administrator with the broken certificate. See Managing broken certificates.

NOTE:   • To manage certificates on a computer, you must first add the computer. See Adding computers. • For full access to virtual folders you must have the Certificate Management role; for read only access, the Certificate Management Viewer role is required. See Defining role-based access. • The virtual structure that you create will also be available for selection in your reports. See Reporting on certificates. • You cannot move certificates from one computer’s virtual folder to another computer’s virtual folder. • Deactivated computers are identified with a grayed out icon in the treeview.

To create a virtual folder structure

1	Select Certificate | Certificate Management.

2	Right-click All Certificates and select Add Folder to create a container that can include certificates from any computer in your organization that is being managed by the Certificated module.

3	Once you have the desired structure in place, you can begin the drag and drop the certificates in the required folder.

The number of certificates in each folder will be displayed and updated as certificates are added.

You can sort based on the Computer column to quickly see the computer associated with the certificates in the folder.

4	If required, right-click the virtual folder and select Rename Folder to edit the name of the folder.

5	If required, right-click the virtual folder and select Remove Folder to delete the folder when it is no longer required

To manage certificates

1	Select Certificate | Certificate Management.

2	Select the computer or virtual folder to view the certificates.

3	Select the certificate to be managed.

- OR -

Select multiple certificates to be managed by holding the Shift or Ctrl keys during selection.

4	Use the tool bar to manage the selected certificates. You also can right-click a certificate and select an option from the shortcut menu.

 

Table 4. Certificate Management tool bar

Option	Description
Computers	Manage the computers on which certificates are monitored. See Updating the list of certificates.
Sync	Refresh the Active Administrator database and the display with the certificates on a selected computer. See Updating the list of certificates. NOTE: If Certificate Protection is enabled (see Configuring certificate protection), the database and display are not refreshed, but instead the certificates on the computer are checked against the Active Administrator database for differences. If broken certificates are found, email notifications are sent. If auto-repair is enabled, an attempt to repair the broken certificates automatically (see Managing broken certificates).
Add	Add a certificate to a selected computer. See Installing certificates.
Delete	Delete a certificate from a selected computer. Deleting certificates.
Install on	Install selected certificates on one or more computers. See Installing certificates.
Refresh	Refresh the display by pulling the contents of the Active Administrator database. See Updating the list of certificates.
More | Export	Export a selected certificate to a selected location, either from the list of certificates or a selected computer. See Exporting certificates.
More | Details	View the details of the selected certificate. You also can install the certificate on a computer, export the certificate, and view the validation chain. See Viewing certificate details.
More | Add to Repository	Add a selected certificate to the Certificate Repository. See Adding a certificate to the repository.
More | Validation Chain	View the validation chain of the selected certificate. See Viewing the validation chain.
More | Report	Create a certificates report to display in a report editor, to send in an email, or to save to a file. See Sending a report.
More | Report schedules	Edit, disable, or remove report certificate report schedules. See Managing report schedules.
More | Notifications	Exclude a selected certificate from being included in the certificates that support cryptography notification email. See Excluding certificates that support cryptography.
More | Revoke Notifications	Exclude a selected certificate from being included in the revoked certificate notification email. See Excluding revoked certificates
More | Broken Certificate History	View the list of the certificates that are broken, were repaired, failed repair, or were overridden. See Managing broken certificates.
More | Monitored Objects	View the list of objects that are being monitored for computers that are added or removed. See Updating the list of certificates.
Group by	Group the list of certificates by stores or by the state of the certificate. See Grouping the list of certificates.

Updating the list of certificates

The displayed certificates are a reflection of the contents of the Active Administrator® database. The display updates automatically based on the synchronization schedule set in certificate configuration. See Setting certificate configuration.

•	To refresh the display by pulling the contents of the Active Administrator database, click Refresh.

•	To refresh the Active Administrator database and the display with the certificates on a selected computer, click Sync.

NOTE: If Certificate Protection is enabled (see Configuring certificate protection), the database and display are not refreshed, but the certificates on the computer are checked against the database for differences. If broken certificates are found, email notifications are sent. If auto-repair is enabled, broken certificates are repaired automatically (see Managing broken certificates).

Sorting and filtering the list of certificates

•	To sort the list of certificates, click in a column heading to toggle between ascending and descending order.

•	To filter the list of certificates, start typing in the Filter Certificates by Name box. The display updates as you type.

•	To remove the filter, click X.

Grouping the list of certificates

While viewing certificates for a selected computer, you can group the list of certificates by stores or by the state of the certificate.

•	To group certificates, click Group by | Store or Group by |State.

•	To remove the grouping, click Group by | Remove Grouping.

Viewing certificate details

Viewing certificate details

While viewing the details of a certificate, you can install the certificate on a computer, export the certificate, and view the validation chain. You also can view details on certificates in the repository. See Viewing certificate details from the repository.

To view certificate details while viewing a selected computer

1	Select Certificates | Certificate Management

2	Select the computer or virtual folder to view the certificates.

3	Select a certificate, and select More | Details.

To manage the certificate

•	To install the certificate on a selected computer, click Install Certificate. A wizard guides you through installing the certificate.

•	To export the certificate, open the Details tab, and click Copy to File. A wizard guides you through exporting the certificate.

•	To view the validation chain, open the Certification Path tab.

Viewing the validation chain

Viewing the validation chain

To view the validation chain while viewing a selected computer

1	Select Certificates | Certificate Management.

2	Select the computer or virtual folder to view the certificates.

3	Select a certificate, and select More | Validation chain.

To view the validation chain in certificate details

•	See Viewing certificate details.