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Active Administrator 8.4 - User Guide

Table of Contents

Active Administrator Overview

Starting Active Administrator console Using quick tasks Using the dashboard Managing domain controllers

Adding a managed domain controller Removing a managed domain controller Accessing a domain controller remotely

Searching Active Directory Opening the Web Console

Using the Certificates landing page Managing certificates Managing computers

Adding computers Excluding stores Removing computers Disabling certificate management

Managing monitored organizational units Viewing certificates Viewing certificate details Viewing the validation chain Managing broken certificates Sending email notifications

Excluding certificates that support cryptography Excluding revoked certificates

Reporting on certificates

Sending a report Managing report schedules

Exporting certificates Installing certificates Deleting certificates Managing Certificate Authority

Viewing a Certificate Authority summary Adding a forest Searching Certificate Authority Managing Certificate Authority servers Viewing certificate templates Viewing events Configuring Certificate Authority notifications Viewing Certificate Authority backups

Using the Certificate Repository

Adding a certificate to the repository Viewing certificate details from the repository Installing certificates from the repository Updating certificates in the repository Reporting on certificates in the repository Exporting certificates from the repository Deleting certificates from the repository

Searching certificates

Searching for certificates Creating a new certificate search definition Editing a certificate search definition Deleting a certificate search definition

Security & Delegation

Using the Security & Delegation landing page Managing security

Managing Active Directory objects Viewing Active Directory objects by type Reporting on Active Directory objects by type Viewing native permissions

Setting the owner Managing native permissions Removing propagation

Viewing Active Template delegations Resetting passwords Resetting computers Moving Active Directory objects Managing group memberships

Adding members to a selected group Adding selected accounts to a group Adding multiple accounts to selected groups

Reporting on Active Directory objects

Monitoring user logon activity Managing locked out accounts

Adding domains to monitor Resolving a locked out account

Managing password policies

Creating a new fine-grained password policy Linking a password policy Sending password notifications

Checking delegation status

Adding a delegation

Managing Active Templates

Creating an Active Template Categorizing Active Templates Adding a delegation link Reporting on Active Templates

Managing inactive accounts

Configuring inactive users and computers Checking for inactive users and computers Viewing inactive users and computers history Reporting on inactive accounts Purging stale accounts

Sending password reminders Sending account expiration notifications Viewing expired accounts Purging account history

Archiving account history on demand Purging account history on demand Scheduling an account history purge and archive

Azure Active Directory

Setting up Azure Active Directory Using the Azure Active Directory landing page Managing users Managing groups Searching Azure Active Directory Viewing changes to Azure Active Directory

Active Directory Health

Switching to Active Directory Health Using the Active Directory Health landing page Installing Active Directory Health Analyzer agents

Installing Active Directory Health Analyzer agents into a pool Installing Active Directory Health Analyzer agents onto domain controllers Setting up automatic Active Directory Health Analyzer agent deployment

Using the Active Directory Health Analyzer agent configuration utility

Setting network settings Enable logging

Excluding domain controllers Managing the Remediation Library

Adding custom remediations Deleting custom remediations

Analyzing Active Directory health

Managing the Active Directory Health Analyzer tree Using the analyzer pages Analyzing health of all domain controllers Analyzing health of a selected domain controller Analyzing health of all domains Analyzing health of a selected domain Analyzing health of all sites Analyzing health of a selected site Analyzing the health of a forest

Analyzing Azure Active Directory

Installing the Azure Active Directory Connect Health Monitoring Agent Setting up the Azure Active Directory Connect application

Adding the Azure Active Directory Connect application Configuring Azure Active Directory Connect application settings

Viewing Azure Active Directory Connect status Viewing Azure Active Directory Connect alerts Monitoring Azure Active Directory Connect operations Viewing Azure Active Directory Connect events Searching the Metaverse Viewing Azure Active Directory Connect connectors Managing the Azure Active Directory Connect Health Monitoring Agent

Managing the agent from the Agents tab Managing the agent from the command line

Managing Active Directory Health Analyzer alerts

Setting alerts Purging and archiving alert history Viewing alerts and alert history Filtering alert history Generating an alert history report Muting alerts Clearing mutes Viewing mute history

Managing alert notifications

Creating alert notifications Editing alert notifications Removing alert notifications

Pushing alerts to System Center Operations Manager and SNMP managers

Limiting alert notifications

Managing monitored domain controllers

Adding monitored domain controllers

Managing data collectors

Setting permissions for data collectors Setting data collectors Adding performance counter data collectors Adding Windows Services data collectors Setting an authoritative RODC Purging and archiving Active Directory Health Analyzer data

Active Directory Health Templates

Creating and Applying Active Directory Health Templates Managing Active Directory Health Templates

Managing Active Directory Health Analyzer agents

Managing agent workload Sending agent notifications Monitoring agent performance

Setting up performance monitoring Viewing agent performance

Using the Troubleshooter

Managing the DFSR service Running the Directory Service Replication Troubleshooter Enabling or disabling domain controller replication Setting directory service log levels Setting Netlogon parameters Setting startup and recovery options Cleaning up metadata Running online defrag Replicating Active Directory

Recovering Active Directory Health data

Preparing for data recovery Restoring the Active Directory Health module and data

Auditing & Alerting

Using the Auditing & Alerting landing page Managing audit reports

Creating a new audit report Creating a new audit report by copying a report Running an audit report Scheduling audit reports Changing ownership of scheduled reports Categorizing audit reports Using tags to mark events Adding a comment to an event Grouping events Viewing event details

Managing archive reports Managing audit agents

Excluding domain controllers Setting up auditing on domain controllers Installing audit agents Modifying the audit agent startup account Modifying the audit agent test account Updating audit agents Moving an audit agent Automating audit agent deployment Canceling pending automated deployments

Managing alerts

Creating an alert Managing alerts Changing the alert notification policy Setting global quiet time Managing alert history

Filtering alert history Viewing alert history details Resending an alert notification Creating an alert history report

Managing event definitions

Importing new event definitions

Archiving & purging audit events

Archiving events on demand Purging events on demand Setting purge and archive options Scheduling an event log purge and archive Managing the history log Running database maintenance

Using the Group Policy landing page Managing Group Policy objects

Creating a new Group Policy object Copying Group Policy objects Copying Group Policy objects between domains Comparing Group Policy objects Reporting on Group Policy objects Managing links

Adding a link

Managing GPOs by container

Creating containers Linking Group Policy objects Blocking inheritance Managing linked GPOs

Comparing linked GPOs

Reporting on Group Policy objects

Searching for GPO settings Managing GPO history

Rolling back Group Policy

Using the GPO repository

Adding a GPO to the repository Editing a GPO offline

Modeling GPO changes

Creating a simulation

Managing GPO backups

Backing up Group Policy objects Scheduling a GPO backup Comparing Group Policy backups Restoring a Group Policy object

Troubleshooting

Enabling logging Updating Group Policy

Purging GPO history

Purging GPO history on demand Scheduling a GPO history purge

Active Directory Recovery

Using the Active Directory Recovery landing page Managing Active Directory backups Restoring from a backup Purging Active Directory backups

Purging Active Directory backups on demand Scheduling an Active Directory backup purge

Active Directory Infrastructure

Using the Active Directory Infrastructure landing page Managing Active Directory sites

Browsing Active Directory Building Active Directory structure

Adding a new site Adding a new connection Adding a new subnet Adding a new site link Adding a new site link bridge

Reporting on Active Directory

Monitoring replication

Adding a forest

Using the replication analyzer Managing Active Directory trusts

Adding a forest trust Adding a domain trust

Using the DC Management landing page Checking domain controller status Managing services Monitoring domain controller performance Managing event logs

Using the DNS Management landing page Managing DNS servers

Adding managed DNS servers Adding records Editing records Deleting records Running reports Editing DNS server properties Editing zone properties Editing zone permissions Scavenging records

Monitoring DNS servers

Setting testing options Creating tests Running tests Editing a test Deleting a test

Using the DNS analyzer Viewing the DNS event log

Using custom filters

Creating custom filters Applying custom filters Editing custom filters Deleting custom filters

Setting display options

Searching for DNS records

Using the Configuration landing page Managing tasks Defining role-based access

Adding a new user or group to Active Administrator

Setting email server options Configuring SCOM and SNMP Settings Configuring Azure Active Directory

Adding the Active Administrator app Setting up Azure Active Directory domains Setting up Azure Active Directory change notifications

Adding the Active Administrator Change Notification app Configuring change notification settings

Setting notification options Setting Active Template options Setting agent installation options Setting recovery options

Adding a domain Enabling or disabling password recovery

Setting GPO history options Setting certificate configuration

Setting certificate notifications Setting up certificate email notifications Configuring certification authority Configuring certificate protection Setting security on the repository

Setting service monitoring policy Managing archive databases

Creating an archive database Modifying archive database settings

Migrating data to another database Setting a preferred domain controller Setting up workstation logon auditing

Deploying the workstation logon audit agent

Enabling workstation auditing Deploying the workstation logon agent Deploying the workstation logon agent from a GPO

Enabling the default port for the workstation logon auditing agent

Managing configuration settings

Setting the Active Administrator server Viewing license details Running an assessment report Scheduling an assessment report Running a configuration report Managing email addresses

Managing the AA Owner email address

Scheduling a configuration report Checking status of the AFS server

Setting user options

Setting general user options Setting options for audit reports Setting user log on activity Setting Active Directory Health Analyzer options Enabling console logging

Managing the Active Directory server

Stopping and starting services Setting the services startup accounts Managing logging for services Clearing the AFS cache Setting port numbers for services Enabling Full-Text Search Updating Active Administrator licenses Configuring the Web server

Diagnostic Console

Opening the Diagnostic Console Using components

Network components Dataflow components LSASS components File Replication components AD Store components Active Directory components Operating System components

Using indicators Using drilldowns

Performance drilldown

Top CPU Consumers tab Top Memory Consumers tab All Processes tab

Replication drilldown

Activity tab Queues tab Directory Partners tab FRS Replicas tab Collisions tab

Configuration drilldown

Installed Hotfixes tab Installed Software tab Network Adapters tab

DNS drilldown LSASS drilldown LDAP drilldown FSMO Roles drilldown

Alerts Appendix

Domain controller alerts

Active Directory Certificate Services service is not running Active Directory Domain Services is not running Active Directory Web Services service is not running Consecutive replication failures DC cache hits DC DIT disk space DC DIT log file disk space DC LDAP load DC LDAP response too slow DC Memory Usage DC properties dropped DC RID pool low DC SMB connections DC SYSVOL disk space DC time sync lost Detected NO_CLIENT_SITE record DFS Replication service not running DFS service is not running DFSR conflict area disk space DFSR conflict files generated DFSRS CPU load DFSR RDC not enabled DFSR sharing violation DFSR staged file age DFSR staging area disk space DFSR USN records accepted DFSRS unresponsive

Resolution

DFSRS virtual memory

Resolution

DFSRS working set DNS Client Service is not running Domain controller CPU load Domain controller page faults Domain controller unresponsive File Replication Service is not running File replication (NTFRS) staging space free in kilobytes GC response too slow Group policy object inconsistent Hard disk drive Intersite Messaging Service is not running Invalid primary DNS domain controller address Invalid secondary DNS domain controller address KDC service is not running LSASS CPU load LSASS virtual memory LSASS working set Missing SRV DNS record for either the primary or secondary DNS server NETLOGON not shared NetLogon service is not running Orphaned group policy objects exist Review the reported orphaned GPO folders in the local SYSVOL and remove any that are obsolete. Physical memory Power supply Primary DNS resolver is not responding Secondary DNS resolver is not responding Security Accounts Manager Service is not running SRV record is not registered in DNS SYSVOL not shared W32Time service is not running Workstation Service is not running

Conflict encountered during replication DNS server missing domain SRV records Domain FSMO role placement Global catalog server replication latency Infrastructure operations master hosts a global catalog server Infrastructure operations master inconsistent Infrastructure operations master not responding Missing root PDC time source Objects exist in the Lost and Found container PDC operations master inconsistent PDC operations master not responding Replication latency RID operations master inconsistent RID operations master not responding RODC allowed password replication policy inconsistent RODC denied password replication policy inconsistent

Inter-site replication manager Inter-site replication topology generation disabled Intra-site replication topology generation disabled Morphed directories exist in site No authority in site to resolve universal group memberships Too few global catalog servers in site

Domain naming and schema operations masters differ Domain naming operations master inconsistent Domain naming operations master is not a GC Naming operations master not responding Schema operations master inconsistent Schema operations master not responding Schema version inconsistent Site link settings inconsistent with PDC Site settings inconsistent with PDC Subnet settings inconsistent with PDC

Azure Active Directory Connect alerts

Windows Services alerts Connectivity alerts Event ID alerts

Event Definitions PowerShell cmdlets

What are cmdlets? Using Active Administrator cmdlets Using cmdlets to get information about the Active Administrator server

Getting the status of Active Administrator licenses Getting configuration settings for the Web server Getting logging status for ADS Getting operation status for ADS Getting the port number for ADS Getting logging status for AFS Getting operation status for AFS Getting the port number for AFS Getting operation status for the HTTP service Getting the status of Full-Text Search Getting operation status for the Active Administrator Notification Service

Using cmdlets to manage the Active Administrator server

Updating the Active Administrator license Setting configuration for the Active Administrator Web server Switching the setting of Full-Text Search Setting the startup account for AFS and ADS Setting the port for ADS Switching logging status of ADS Switching operation status of ADS

Example

Setting the port for AFS Switching logging status of AFS

Example

Switching operation status of AFS

Example

Switching operation status of the HTTP service

Example

Clearing the AFS cache

Syntax

Setting the startup account for the Active Administrator Notification Service Switching operation status of the Active Administrator Notification Service

Example

Third-party contributions

Restoring a Group Policy object

With Active Administrator, you can easily restore backed up GPOs to repair damaged GPOs or those that were accidentally deleted.

To restore a selected Group Policy object

1

Select Group Policy | GPO Backup.

2

Click Restore Group Policy.

3

Select the Group Policy backup to restore.

4

To restore the backup to a different domain:

a

Select Restore to Domain.

b

Click Add Domain.

c

Select the domain.

d

5

Select to restore links, if available.

6

Troubleshooting

Active Administrator® includes the ability to view event log entries on Windows® 2000 and later client computers so administrators can quickly view Group Policy object application and errors on remote computers. The Client-side Troubleshooting page provides several options to make management easier.

To troubleshoot Group Policy

1

Select Group Policy | Troubleshooting.

2

Type a computer name, or browse to locate a computer.

3

Click Retrieve Events.

4

Use the tool bar to set up logging and update group policies.

Table 89. Client-side troubleshooting tool bar
Option	Description
Refresh Events	Refresh the list of events log entries.
Apply Changes	Apply changes to the logging settings. See Enabling logging.
Update Group Policies	Update group policies. You can choose to force an update even if no changes were made. See Updating Group Policy.
View Logs	View the contents of the user config log or the software deployment log. See Enabling logging.

Enabling logging

By default, no logging is enabled. Be aware that selecting any logging option can cause an increase in disk usage as the log files grow.

To enable logging for troubleshooting

1

Select Group Policy | Troubleshooting.

2

Type a computer name, or browse to locate a computer.

3

Click Retrieve Events.

All Group Policy Events for the selected computer display. To refresh the Group Policy events list, click Refresh Events.

4

Set Group Policy logging options. By default, no logging is enabled.

Table 90. Group policy logging options

Generate GP events to the Application Event Log

Select Detailed to enable detailed Group Policy logging to the Windows® application log.

NOTE: Enabling Group Policy logging slows down the logon process and affects the rate at which the application log will grow.

Generate logging relating to Software Deployment Group Policies

Select Verbose to enable logging of the Group Policy Application Deployment process.

NOTE: Enabling Group Policy software deployment logging slows down the logon process and generates a log file that records the steps of the Group Policy application deployment component.

•

To start logging, reboot the computer after applying the changes or have the user log off and then back on.

•

To view the Appmgmt.log file, select View Logs | Software Deployment Log.

Generate logging for Group Policies relating to User Configuration

By default, Active Administrator® generates a troubleshooting file. To enable detailed logging, select Verbose Logging from the Level list.

NOTE: Verbose logging significantly increases the size of the UserEnv.log file on the target computer.

•

To view the UserEnv.log file, select View Logs | User Config Log.

5

Click Apply Changes.

Updating Group Policy

To update Group Policy

1

Select Group Policy | Troubleshooting.

2

Type a computer name, or browse to locate a computer.

3

Click Retrieve Events.

4

From the tool bar, select the option for updating group policies.

•

To apply Group Policy settings whether they have changed or not, select Force Update.

•

To apply only changed Group Policy settings, select Do Not Force Update.

5

Click Update Group Policies.

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