System requirements

Scope

This document aims to describe the protection mechanism of Desktop Authority component SLAgent being used in the DA Client Software.

Desktop Authority versions

Desktop Authority is supported in three versions, Desktop Authority Professional, Desktop Authority Standard and Desktop Authority Essentials. Desktop Authority Essentials is a scaled down version of Desktop Authority Professional. It does not include the following standard features included by default in the full version -- Software Management, USB/Port Security, Hardware and Software Inventory and Custom Reporting and the Desktop Authority Remote Management tool.

Feature	Professional/Standard	Essentials
Desktop Configuration
Power Management
Group Policy Template Import
Wake On LAN
Role Based Administration
Remote Management and Control
Reporting of user logons and activity
Reporting of administrator activity
Software Deployment
Hardware and software inventory

Desktop Authority is licensed based on the total number of unique seats which are managed in whole or part by Desktop Authority. A “Seat” is a desktop, laptop, or workstation computer, or thin-client session or any other user computing device.

For answers to any Desktop Authority Licensing questions refer to our licensing Knowledge Base article (186762).

Backup

Installation backup

It is strongly recommended to perform all of the following backup steps in order to assure a successful recovery should your upgrade fail for any reason. Without these backups, we will be unable to support you should you need to recover your Desktop Authority data.

• The Installer will prompt to backup existing databases during the install process.
• In addition to performing a backup of the databases, it is also good practice to backup existing Profiles before upgrading. Right-click on each profile name and select “Export Profile…”. Select a location to save the profile and click OK. Repeat for each profile.

Frequently asked installation questions

Why does the installation require Administrative rights?

The user performing the installation of Desktop Authority is required to have Administrative privileges on the member server it is being installed to. Desktop Authority is not alone in this requirement. Most software installations require this privilege level as well.

With Administrative privileges, Desktop Authority will be able to install any of the required prerequisites, extract the installation files, install and configure IIS as well as install the Ops Master service and write to the HKLM registry on the server.

Where should Desktop Authority be installed to?

It is recommended that Desktop Authority to be installed on a Member Server within the network rather than a Domain Controller. This recommendation is made based on the notion that most companies do not like to install programs to their Domain Controllers because disk space is used, the registry may be modified and there exists the possibility that the server may need to be rebooted. To avoid all of this and protect a Domain Controller from unwanted changes, opt to install Desktop Authority to a Member Server on the network.