4.6 PlateSpin Analyzer

The PlateSpin Analyzer quickly analyzes networks and determines whether PlateSpin Recon can successfully inventory, monitor, or convert the specified Windows servers. It performs two different types of tests: Inventory and Conversion.

4.6.1 Using PlateSpin Analyzer

  1. Click Tools > Analyze Servers.

    The PlateSpin Analyzer window is displayed.

  2. Click the Select Credential drop-down list and select <New Credential...>.

    The Create Stored Credentials dialog box is displayed.

    Figure 4-5 Create Stored Credentials dialog box

  3. Type a Username and Password in the form domain\username or hostname\username.

  4. Click the Validation Type drop-down box and select either Windows Test or Unix Test.

    PlateSpin Analyzer does not support analysis of Unix/Linux servers, but they can be used for credential validation.

  5. (Optional) Type a description for the credentials.

  6. Click Save.

    NOTE:If Save is grayed out, verify that the credentials are entered in the correct format.

  7. Click the Domain Name drop-down list and select one of the available options: Domain Name, IP/Host Name, IP Range.

  8. Type a value in the empty field appropriate for the selection in Step 5. For example, if you selected Domain Name, enter your domain name.

  9. Click Analyze and wait for the process to complete.

Figure 4-6 PlateSpin Analyze analysis display

When the analysis is complete, the left pane displays either Passed or Failed. Click the Test Results tab in the right pane to view result details. If any of the tests returned a failed result, the cause must be resolved before PlateSpin Recon can successfully inventory the host. A failed result typically indicates that there are insufficient permissions and/or that the required services are not running.

4.6.2 Inventory and Monitoring Tests

Inventory tests are divided into 3 main groups, each containing a subset of tests:

Table 4-3 Inventory Test groups

Main Test Group

Test Group Subset

Description

Permission

Service Manager Access

Verifies that the user has permission to open the Service Manager.

File Access

Verifies that the correct access permission is granted on the System32 folder of the machine being inventoried.

Connection

RPC Connection Channel

Determines whether an RPC connection channel can be established by resolving the DNS/NETBIOS name.

Service

WMI Service

Determines whether the WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) service is enabled and running on the client machine(s) being inventoried.

Remote Registry Service

Verifies that the Remote Registry Service is enabled on the client machine(s).

RPC Service

Verifies that the RPC (Remote Procedure Call) Service is enabled on the client machine(s).

Monitoring tests are divided into 2 main groups, each containing a subset of tests:

Table 4-4 Monitoring test groups

Service

RPC Service

Verifies that the RPC service is running on the client machine(s).

DCOM Service

Verifies that the DCOM service is running on the client machine(s).

Port

TCP Port 135

Determines whether TCP port 135 and 445 are available. To obtain more conclusive information, consider running Port Scanner for all TCP ports above 1024.

TCP Port 445

4.6.3 Conversion Tests

Conversion Tests are similar to those performed by the PlateSpin Portability Suite PlateSpin Analyzer tool. For more information, refer to Knowledge Base article Q20478.