Remote Administration: The Basics

The remote management tools provided with Windows 95 are designed to make it easier for you to identify and solve problems encountered by users without dispatching support personnel to make changes at the users' work site. The following list describes the benefits of using these remote administration tools.

System Policy Editor.

You can use System Policy Editor to edit Registry entries in real time for remote computers. You can also create, edit, and manage system policies to control system settings for multiple computers on the network. For information, see Chapter 15, "User Profiles and System Policies."

Registry Editor.

You can use Registry Editor to read and write values directly in the Registry. You can read settings, create new keys and entries, or delete existing keys. Registry Editor should be used only by those who have appropriate access rights to identify and correct problems.

System Monitor.

You can use System Monitor to troubleshoot performance problems by monitoring virtual device drivers across the network. System Monitor can provide you with performance information from many system components, including the file system and network clients.

Net Watcher.

If you use File and Printer Sharing services, you can use Net Watcher to create, add, and delete shared resources on remote computers, and to monitor and manage connections to shared resources. This is especially useful when you need to know who is connected to a computer and which files are open.

You can manage file systems remotely by browsing specific computers in Network Neighborhood, as described in "Using Network Neighborhood for Remote Administration" later in this chapter.

Windows 95 also provides agents for remote administration, including an agent for Microsoft Network Monitor and an SNMP agent for administration with Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) system management products, as described in "Using Remote Administration Tools from Other Vendors" later in this chapter.