1. Update one copy of VNCScan to the latest release but don’t launch it yet
2. Close ALL other users out of VNCscan
3. Run VNCScan on the newly upgraded computer
4. Upgrade all of the rest of the users of VNCScan

This procedure is required so that if there are any updates to the database structure, the newly upgraded version has full control of the database to apply them upon first run.

Overview

This video shows you how to share your VNCScan data with your co-workers.  I also touch on the new data import tool.

You can download the latest beta of VNCScan Database Edition here.

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Importing Existing Groups and Computers

If you are upgrading, you will be presented with the following dialog box upon first run:

Once you select Yes, you will be taken to the following dialog:

Pressing the Import button will pull all of your groups and computer information from your XML files into the new database.  Once the import is complete, it will close and present you with the new main form.

Sharing Computers and Groups

You can now share your computers and groups with the rest of your team members.  Here’s How!

1. Create a folder on a commonly mapped network location.  You MUST map a common drive letter.  A \\UNC path causes problems.
2. Change the location of the data on the MASTER computer as shown below:
3. Choose “Yes” when asked to copy your files.
4. Perform step 2 on all of the other computers but when asked to copy the files, say “No”

Other Improvements

•  The performance and reliability of the background scanning has been vastly improved.  It uses 80% less CPU cycles and uses 95% less memory overhead
• If you have ever experienced the bug that caused your groups or computers to disappear, you can say good riddance to that one in this version
• Managed groups with a lot of computers in them should load in a fraction of the time
• Computer search (in the upper right of the main form) speed has been increased by over 90%
• Performance improvements have been made to many common forms such as the computer properties window
• Some people saw a phantom group show up frequently named “Creation Date”.  No more.

Historical Overview

When the first versions of our VNC Manager were released way back in 1999, the data was stored in a Microsoft Access database.  Despite the popular (and often justified) opinion of Microsoft’s Access database, there are some applications that use data “just right” for that platform and VNCScan was one of them.

After frustrations with requiring multiple runtimes for Access, the decision was made to move the data to an XML format.  A lot of code was written to manage that process smoothly on the thousands of existing VNCScan installs deployed all over the globe.  The XML format has been working pretty well over the past 10 years but there are some pretty serious issues that the time has come to address.

Issues with XML Databases

The largest sacrifice of moving to XML was the ability to share one set of data with many administrators.  When the back end was database driven, multiple computers could pull from the same data at the same time with very good performance and reliability.  After moving to flat XML files, doing so often led to groups disappearing and data files that became corrupted so badly that it prevented the program from starting up.  We had to remove any support for sharing data with XML. because of this.

For example, if John and Mike both point their VNCScan consoles at the same data location, they will constantly be stepping on each others changes.  An XML file must be read into memory, modified, then placed back onto the disk as a complete file (overwriting whatever is there).

If John reads the data into his console, then Mike makes a change to the group, and then John makes a different change to HIS copy of the group, Johns change will wipe out Mikes change even if they change different properties of the group.  If they both try to write their changes simultaneously, they end up with a corrupted XML file.

The Great Database Debate

A while back, I made a blog post asking opinions of using an Access back end verses using a Microsoft SQL Server back end.  I received a lot of emails with great responses from so many of you!

On one hand, the Access database format needs to be compacted and repaired from time to time to get rid of orphaned data and “white space” in the database.  It also does not do well with a lot of threads hitting it at the same time.

On the other hand, Access is a very portable database format that requires no runtime (any more) to use in your program and holds up well with the type of data accesses that VNCScan performs.  I’ve also taken performance heavily into consideration with each line of code that I have written to mitigate any “over use” of the database.

If we were to use a SQL database, we would need to deploy the Microsoft SQL runtimes (MSDE) or require that every customer has a SQL server on premises.  For the style of data that VNCScan employs, both of those options seemed like overkills at this point.

The Future

The initial database version of VNCScan will be backed by a Microsoft Access database.  The code was written in a way that will make it VERY easy to port it to a SQL database in the near future.  While we have tested VNCScan extensively on the Access database, we will be watching “wide eyed” for any indication that the platform isn’t good enough.

I believe that by June, we will have a version that will have a choice between Access and SQL. We’re only releasing the first version as Access based to cure the ills that plague the XML.  Even with its shortcomings, Access databases are a hundred times better than XML.

The Beta

We are in the final stages of “dog fooding” the database version.  That means that we’re using it internally so that we feel any hardships before the beta testers do.

Within the next day or so, you will see a bog post with instructions and a link to try the beta.  I strongly suggest that you back up your <My Documents>\VNCScan folder before installing the beta.

[Download VNCScan 2012.1.1]

Change log

• Updated to the latest version of UltraVNC for remote deployment
• Redesigned much of the interface to make things even more intuitive.  You can see a screen shot of the new form here.
• Added a button to the main form common tasks to enable RDP Remote Desktop on computers remotely
• Rewrote the XML data handling engine to improve performance when navigating data in the application
• We all hate bugs so we killed a bunch of them
• MUCH more room for the RDP tab.  By default, the RDP sessions take advantage of the increased real estate.

If you would like to beta test, you can download it here.

]]> http://vncscan.com/blog/2011/12/its-coming-vncscan-2012/feed/ 4 http://vncscan.com/blog/2011/11/remote-desktop-screen-captures/ http://vncscan.com/blog/2011/11/remote-desktop-screen-captures/#comments Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:33:18 +0000 Bozteck http://vncscan.com/blog/2011/11/remote-desktop-screen-captures/

Overview

VNCScan has had remote screen captures for about a year, now, but the latest version has brought that feature more front and center for you.  With only a few clicks, you can now capture the screen of a remote computer to your console.

To use this feature, you will need to supply remote administrator level credentials to VNCScan so that it can access the desktop resources on the remote computers.  You can set this easily in the group or computer properties

Here are some basic requirements:

• You must supply Administrative access to the remote computer
• Firewall must allow connection to TCP 445 and 139 for file transfers
• Remote computers must be Windows 2000 SP4 or better
• Someone must be logged onto the remote computer or no screen will capture

How To

    You can get to this feature on an individual desktop by simply right-clicking on a computer and then choosing . 

    You can also place the screen captures into a thumbnail view so that you can monitor an entire lab or classroom in one screen.  To do this, simply right-click a computer, then choose Thumbnails, then choose to either add it to a new tab window or add it to an existing one.  It’s that simple!

    The remote screen capture feature in VENM does not require that VNC or any other client software be installed or running on the remote computer.  It uses Bozteck patented technology to automatically snap a capture of the remote desktop with the lightest footprint of any other application we’ve ever seen!

Check it out!

You can download a fully functional trial of Bozteck VENM console here.

Summary

You can effectively backup all of your VNCScan data by backing up your <My Documents>\VNCScan folder as long as you have installed it with files in their default location.   Restoring the files to that same location will get you back up and running again quickly after a reinstall of VNCScan.

Don’t just rely upon the backup/restore feature in VNCScan.  Everyone should back up the files to an offline media to avoid slow corruption issues that are a risk for any data driven application such as VNCScan. 

How VENM Stores Data

Most data in VNCScan centers around the groups.xml file. This means that most other data resides in the same folder as this file. When you change the location of the groups.xml file in the main VNCScan preferences, much of the other data follows suit.

The default location for VNCScan data is under your “My Documents” folder inside a subfolder of “VNCScan\data”. If you browse that folder with Windows Explorer, you will see a lot of XML files.

There are a few key files that have special meaning. Here they are with their functions:

· Settings.xml – This file holds all of the initial settings for the console. It contains any customized file locations such as an alternate location for the groups.xml along with anything else that is global to the application.

· Groups.xml – This holds all of your group names along with their settings. You will find XML files in the same folder named after the group names, also. These files hold the computers and their settings.

For instance, if you have a group named “Default”, it would be listed in the groups.xml as well as have its own file named default.xml to hold it’s computers. It is separated out like this to improve performance.

· ConnectionLogs.xml – This holds the connection logs for each computer. It resides in the same folder as the groups.xml and moves with it.

· Computername_maint.xml – The Computername is any computer name with a maintenance log. These files store the maintenance logs for the computers.

Note: There is also a file called settings.xml located in the VNCScan program folder. That file should be backed up and restored with the rest of your data.

Other folders worth noting under ‘My Documents\VNCScan’ are:

· Jobs – Stores all of the remote scripts and their settings

· Profiles – Stores all of your VNC deployment profiles and their settings

Backing Up Your Data

These are the default folder locations that you should be backing up regularly:

· ‘My documents\VNCScan’

· ‘C:\Program Files\Bozteck\VNCScan Console .NET’

· ‘C:\fastpush’

Restoring Your Data

1. Close the VNCScan console and any open VNC sessions

2. Restore the data from your backup into the proper locations

3. Launch VNCScan Console.

The most recent episode talks about Spiceworks, remote desktop management, IT involvement with business decisions, and more. 

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