Domain Time II Update Server is a system service that automatically installs and/or upgrades Domain Time Server and Client on machines on the network. Update Server can run unattended, updating systems as they are discovered, or it can run on demand.

Update Server is also an excellent way to update your machines to the latest version of Domain Time when it is updated. When you upgrade the Manager/Management Tools on your Management Workstation, Update Server will take note and can automatically update your entire network to the latest version without administrator intervention (if desired).

Update Server is included as part of the Domain Time II Management Tools. IMPORTANT: If upgrading from 4.x, please read the 4.x to 5.x Considerations page.

Installation
System Requirements


Additional Requirements


• Update Server requires that Domain Time Manager be installed on the same machine.

• The Manager/Update Server machine must be a domain member.

• The target machines must be members of the Update Server machine's domain, OR be members of a domain with a trust relationship to that domain OR (if in a workgroup or a stand-alone system) have an administrative account with the same username/password as the one used by the Update Server service.

• Your network must be a correctly-configured Windows network, i.e. configured with working name resolution (DNS, WINS, NetBIOS, etc.), correct and functioning Active Directory (if used), working inter-domain trusts, etc.

• Your network must pass both UDP and TCP network traffic sent to destination port 9909. Switches and firewalls must pass this traffic bi-directionally, since traffic will originate either from Manager or the remote machines. Your network must pass this traffic, regardless of what time protocols are used to actually synchronize the time.

Note: As of Version 5.2.b.20150821, Domain Time supports automatic management of the Windows Firewall to allow access to the required time protocol and control ports. See Auto-Manage Windows Firewall Settings for detailed information.

• The remote machine must respond to PING requests from the connecting machine.

• The connecting Domain Time program, utility, or service must be run using credentials with sufficient privileges to connect to and write files to the administrative shares on the remote machine using Microsoft Networking (Domain Admin if the target is a domain member, Local Machine Administrator if the target is in a workgroup).

• The Remote Registry Service must be running on the remote systems and its registry keys must be accessible to the connecting program.

• All files from the original distribution for each type of product you want to install (Server, Client, etc.) must be extracted and present on your connecting machine. Setup copies these to the proper locations in the \Program Files\Domain Time II folder for you automatically when you install the Management Tools.

Installation

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The Update Server is installed from Domain Time II Manager. Click Update Server --> Install Update Server service on the Manager's menu to install it.

Update Server is fully integrated with Manager. Once the Update Server service has been installed, you configure it using the Update Server menu items.

Configuration

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Update Server is very simple to configure:

1. Set an update schedule.
2. Choose which components want installed on your systems (Update Actions).
3. Select which domains you want Update Server to examine.
4. Provide the access credentials for Update Server to access your target machines.

 

Schedule

Schedule  Choose how often Update Server should scan the network looking for machines to be updated or installed. Run only on demand Run once after Manager upgrade Run continuously at idle priority Run once every hours    Queue failures for later retry        Allow retries before giving up         Wait minutes between retries

Click the Update Server -> Schedule item from the Manager menu to set the Update Server schedule. You have a great deal of control over when the updates are performed.

When Update Server performs an update, it examines the domains you've selected (see below) for machines that need installation or update, and then installs/upgrades Domain Time Client or Server with the template settings you've selected (see below).

Queue failures for later retry
You can tell Update Server how many attempts it should make to install or upgrade a machine if it encounters a problem during the process. You can also select how long to wait between installation/upgrade attempts. The retry period can increase the chance of a successful update, giving time for locked files to clear or for services to stop. Any failures to complete an install/upgrade will be logged in the Update Server logs.

 

Update Actions

Domain Controllers  Ignore the computer and continue Make a note in the log, but take no other action Upgrade existing installations, but do not install if Domain Time is not already present Install if Domain Time is not present, but do not upgrade existing installations Install or upgrade as needed

New Installations  Domain Time Server, using  [Default Server Template]       Domain Time Client, using  [Default Client Template]

Use the Update Server -> Update Actions items from the Manager menu to configure how you want Update Server to handle machines it discovers.

You can set separate options for Domain Controllers and for all other Servers and Workstations found. The options on the Update Actions dialog for each type is identical (the Domain Controllers dialog is shown above).

If you've selected to install Domain Time on newly discovered machines, you have the option of choosing whether to install Domain Time Server or Client, and which settings template to use for the installation. The templates presented in the drop-down lists are the ones currently configured in Domain Time Manager. See the Manager's Using Templates page for details on working with templates.

 

Select Domains

Select domains to examine.   [Click for larger size]

Update Server shares Domain Time Manager's view of the network. The Update Server -> Advanced -> Select Domains... menu item allows you to pick which domains Update Server will process from the list of all Domains and Workgroups that Manager has discovered on your network. See Manager's Interface page for details on how the Domains and Workgroups list is generated.

 

Credentials

Credentials  Update Server needs credentials sufficient to install services and access remote file systems. In general, this should be a Domain Admin account. Run the Update Server service using the LocalSystem account, but use the following credentials to access remote computers (recommended) Domain:  Username:  Password:  Run the Update Server service using a Domain Admin account Domain:  Username:  Password:

Update Server needs administrative rights to be able to install/upgrade machines remotely. The settings on the Update Server -> Advanced -> Credentials... dialog allow you to specify the account used by Update Server to perform installations and upgrades.

You have the choice of having the Update Server service itself run under the LocalSystem account and supply the administrative access credentials only when performing an update, or having the service running with the administrative privileges at all times. In general, the first option is preferred. In either case, account details are encrypted in the registry.

Update Server can install/upgrade on domains and workgroup members as long as the credentials supplied match an administrative account on the domain (or local machines in the workgroup). If you select a workgroup or domain to which Update Server does not have administrative access, the updates will fail and will be noted in the logs.

 

Update Server Log

Text Log  Log Level: Disabled Errors Warnings Information Trace Debug    Max Size:   KB (use zero to mean unlimited size) Log Roll: Never Daily at Midnight Weekly on Sunday Monthly on the 1st   Delete old logs Keep up to   old logs

This section selects the properties of the dtupdate.log service text log.

Text Logs are kept in the %SystemRoot%\System32\ folder. There are two main log files collected when the service is running:
1. dtupdate.log
   This is the currently active service text log file.
   If log archiving is enabled (see below), additional archived log files will be created using a dtupdate.YYYYMMDD.log naming scheme (i.e. dtupdate.20090928.log).

2. dtupdate.startup.log
   A detailed text log of the service startup process. Only data from the latest startup is included.

To view these logs, click the button, which launches the Domain Time Log Viewer.

Log Level
This drop-down chooses what type of entries to include in the log. You can increase or decrease the amount of information logged as needed.

The available levels are (in increasing amount of detail):

• Disabled
  This switch will only disable the dtupdate.log file. The other system log, dtupdate.startup.log cannot be disabled.

• Errors
  Only messages marked as Errors will be logged.

• Warnings
  Logs will include both Errors and Warnings.

• Information
  Includes Errors, Warnings, and Information messages.

• Trace
  Includes all of the above, plus additional detailed trace messages.

• Debug
  Includes all available information provided by the service.

  CAUTION:
  

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  Debug logging will generate a great deal of data, so be sure to only enable it when you need the additional information, and don't forget to turn it off when finished troubleshooting.

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Max size
This sets how large the log file is allowed to grow (in kilobytes).

Once the maximum size is reached, the oldest events will be scrolled off to make room for new events. Enter 0 (zero) if you don't want to limit the log size.

It's a good idea to set a log size that will allow you to keep enough history to help you determine the timeframe and scope of any issues you may encounter.

Log Roll
Domain Time can automatically archive the text log on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule.

When the log is archived, all existing log events in the dtupdate.log file will be written to an archive file named dtupdate.YYYYMMDD.log (i.e. dtupdate.20090928.log) and the current log file will then be cleared to accept new data.

You can choose how many archived log files to keep on the machine. When the indicated limit is reached, the oldest log file will be deleted.