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03-Apr-05, ZWDynaUser Article posted! (Pt. 1)

28-Mar-05, Windows Process Authority article posted!

28-Mar-05, ZWXPDrive article posted!

22-Mar-05, ZENworks Enhancement Software Posted!

22-Mar-05, Site Updated!

NT/2000 Management via ZENworks and the NET command

 

ZENworks can be used to assist in the management of local NT/2000 workstations.  The built in "NET" command has many very useful functions.  Below,  I have highlighted a few of the ones I find most useful in the management of my NT workstations.  To use the NET commands with ZENworks, simply create an application that calls a batch file with all the necessary commands run with the unsecure system user impersonation.   It is even possible to call cmd.exe with the "/cbatchfilename" option to guarantee that the command window automatically closes as soon as the batch file completes.

Example - cmd.exe as the executable with /cz:\public\netcmd.bat as the command-line option for the application.

netcmd.bat would simply be your net command...."net user ...."

 

NET USER - allows for password management and creation of local users.

net user bill hat /add
user bill cat

The example above creates a user called bill with the password of "hat".
The next line changes the password to cat.

I often use this to regularly change all local "administrator" account to a unique value across all workstations. 

NET Localgroup - is used to create/delete local groups as well as add/remove members.

net localgroup clowns /add
net localgroup clowns bozo,clairabelle /add
net localgroup clowns

The example above creates the group called clowns and adds the members bozo and clairabelle to the group clowns.  Finally, it lists all the members of the group. 

I often use this to add/remove various DOMAIN groups to/from the local administrators group as the desktop administrator for a group of computer changes.

NET START/STOP service - This command is used to start/stop a service or retrieve a list of all running services.

net start (This will list all running services)
net stop workstation  (This stops the workstation service)
net start workstation (This restarts the workstation service)

This is useful when a service has a file locked that needs updating.  Simply stop the service, update the file, and restart the service.  Sometimes I also redirect the output of the "net start" command to a text file and search that result to see if a required service, such as an anti-virus package, is running.  Below is a sample batch file to perform such a task.

net start c:\list.txt
find "Requiredservice" c:\list.txt
if errorlevel=0 goto end
fixit.bat
:end