Quest® Reporter
version 5.5

Release Notes

September 2006

© Quest Software, Inc. 1999-2006.
All Rights Reserved


Contents

Welcome to Quest Reporter
What's New
List of Updates
Known Issues

Contents of the Release Package
System Requirements
Global Operations
Installation Process
For More Information


Welcome to Quest Reporter
 
Quest Reporter enables IT organizations to collect, store, report on and resolve Active Directory and Windows-based configurations which is essential for change auditing, Windows security assessments, or AD pre- and post-migration analyses.

Whether baselining compliance with regulations or migrating to AD, Reporter brings the information together with its extensive library of reports.

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What's New
 

Quest Reporter includes the following new features:

  • Improved support relating to newer releases of Microsoft technology. Quest Reporter now supports Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and Microsoft Windows Server 2003, R2
  • Action-enabled reporting for the NDS/eDirectory environment. Using Reporter, you can now perform key critical tasks against objects in the NDS/eDirectory environment.
  • Reporting capabilities for the Vintela Authentication Services solution. Additional reports have been added that can be leveraged by VAS customers.
  • Additional user logon-based report templates that target the different particular versions of Active Directory such as NT/2000 and 2003.
  • Enhanced linked-in attribute capabilities. You now have the option during live collection to defer the live collection of the linked in attributes.

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 List of Updates

The following is a list of issues addressed and enhancements implemented in this release of Quest Reporter:
  • Case ID # 322367 (CR 0060223)
    Issue: SID History for Groups and Computers could not be reported.
    Fixed: Report results can now include SID History for Active Directory groups.

  • Case ID # 368361 (CR 0150201)
    Issue: Linking not allowed for “Auth Orig” and “DLmemsubmitperms” attributes.
    Fixed: Linking is now enabled and functioning for these two attributes.

  • Case ID # 375841, 386075 (CR 0150527)
    Issue: Reporter installation does not appropriately handle the attempt to install a newer version over an older version.
    Fixed: The installer now prevents users from installing over an older version of Reporter by checking whether the Remote Data Collector (RDC) component has already been installed. If it is present, the following error messages displays:
    Another version of this product is already installed. Installation of this version cannot continue. To configure or remove the existing version of this product use Add/Remove Programs on the Control Panel.

  • Case ID # 384014 (CR 0154840)
    Issue: When running a Computers\Hardware Report against a Windows NT computer, the message “No objects were found to report on” appears.
    Fixed: Report results now include Windows NT computers.

  • Case ID # 390288 (CR 0155623)
    Issue: Unable to extend certain Active Directory attributes.
    Fixed: Some attributes are unable to be extended because Reporter currently supports only extensions which can be represented as strings. A specific solution for the “LocaleID” attribute has been implemented and this attribute can now be extended.

  • Case ID # 391405 (CR 0157147)
    Issue: When running a change history report for the last x days all settings are listed in the report, regardless whether changes have been made or not.
    Fixed: The functionality to group and sort attributes is described in the section "Grouping and Sorting Attributes" in chapter 4 of the Reporter User Guide, and also in a topic of the same name in the online help. This information was in place for the Reporter 5.4 release.

  • Case ID # 400088, 412698 (CR 0159795)
    Issue: “homeMDB” attribute returns no results.
    Fixed: This attribute is a Distinguished Name (DN). DNs have no maximum value and can be very long. The database column size has been increased to 1024, which should be long enough for most cases. Results for this attribute are now returned as expected.

  • Case ID # 410158 (CR 0164677)
    Issue: After making the Group Membership attribute invisible, it still shows in Excel output.
    Fixed: Hidden attributes are not displayed in the Excel and txt output files. If an attribute is linkable and set to not visible, the linked in attributes will show in the output file.

  • Case ID # 440428, 414776 (CR 0165810)
    Issue: Saving report output in Excel file format causes an error if special characters are contained in the data.
    Fixed: Report output now saves correctly in Excel file format.

  • Case ID # 411587 (CR 0168493)
    Issue: Cannot filter for extended attributes.
    Fixed: Filtering now functions for extended attributes.

  • Case ID # 363554 (CR 0168435)
    Issue: The NTFS access report results and the actual folder security information are different.
    Fixed: Issue resolved.

  • Case ID # 420818, 422662 (CR 0171128)
    Issue: "Total count" does not return an accurate result in Reporter.
    Fixed: The “Logoncount” attribute is now collected on all Domain Controllers (DCs) by default.

  • Case ID # 417284 (CR 0168679)
    Issue: When using the attribute DNS Server Search Order (WMI) the report fails and the following message displays:
    Unable to launch report: Report Views could not be created.
    Fixed: The Report Views Not Created error message no longer appears. Reports that include this attribute function as expected.

  • Case ID # 445943 (CR 0184608)
    Issue: Profile Mapped Drives produces cannot create views error.
    Fixed: Issue resolved.

  • Case ID # 398278 (CR 158964)
    Issue: Unable to add the attribute MSexchMasterAccountSID.
    Fixed: Attribute added to Reporter's data collection capabilities.

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 Known Issues

The following is a list of issues known to exist at the time of this Quest Reporter release:
  • On a new install with the Reporter console on an Windows XP SP 2 in a Windows 2003 parent domain, the DataRetrieverController service may not start when you try to start the services for Compressed Data Transport mode through the Configuration Utility. You can start the service manually.
  • In a Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 environment, there may be compatibility issues when installing both Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) and CMAK (Connection Manager Administration Kit) on the same computer. You can remove CMAK using the Add/Remove Programs | Windows Components.
  • No collection log is created on a remote RDC that is deployed on a Windows 2000 computer when the RDC compression services are running using the local system credentials (compressed job). To solve this problem, see the Workaround for Local System Account Collections.
  • If you manually stop the compression services on a remote RDC, and leave the services panel open on the RDC host, then try to create a new job from the console, an error message will be displayed that the Repository Controller service could not be installed and that it has been marked for deletion. If the services panel is closed before you try and schedule a job it works without error.
  • If you are using the Query feature when setting up object sets, you cannot query cross forest objects.
  • If you change your IP addresses on the Physical Location tab of the Properties dialog box, you need to close and then open Quest Reporter to save the changed settings.
  • Reports might not be displayed on the screen when scheduling a favorite through Terminal Services (CR 174375).
  • User accounts might be locked out when you add the NULL Passwords attribute to reports (CR 165392).
  • Quest Reporter version 5.5 can only be installed with ActiveRoles Direct version 5.3.
  • You might encounter errors if you are importing a report into multiple categories where one or more of the categories does not contain any reports. For best results, import reports individually into the category.
  • The NULL password agent cannot be installed locally when running Quest Reporter on a DC. As a result, the Users with NULL Passwords (Agent) report will return no data if run against the local computer in this case. WORKAROUND: Deploy the NULL password agent to another DC in the same domain.
  • Report categories cannot be renamed. You can create a new category and move reports to the new category directory.
  • Names for scheduled collections and favorite reports should not exceed 100 characters.
  • The Object change history items might not always appear in chronological order.
  • The report print preview screen occasionally appears in the background.
  • Specifying an extension for the Configuration Utility log file does not generate a log file.
  • There are no access errors displayed when you try to add attributes to the database in the Configuration Utility when you do not have the correct access rights to the database. Ensure you have the appropriate access rights to the database before you add attributes through the Configuration Utility.
  • When setting up a scheduled collection on a remote computer, the browse path shows the desktop on the local computer and not the remote computer.
  • The Users with NULL Passwords report might not always collect passwords for local users on computers.
  • A runtime error might occur when you try to set up the Quest Reporter database that points to an existing database where you only have public access. Ensure you have the DBO permissions or are assigned the ReporterAdmin SQL Server role.
  • Loss of server connection during data collection may cause inconsistent object results (CR 155838 and 156370).
  • Database set up does not display any name instances when collected from the database (CR 167470).
  • Right clicking some of the submenus in Action-Enabled report views may result in incorrect menu options being displayed (CR 157184).
  • In Action Enabled reporting you are restricted to the local domain (CR 172207).
  • NTFS objects stored persistently in object sets, Favorites, and scheduled collections may not resolve correctly. If the objects are viewed or changed, that set of objects may no longer be functional (CR 170423).
  • If you run an exceeding high number of reports that target similar types of attributes, database records may not be updated correctly, as the updating may take place simultaneously (CR 174892). WORKAROUND: Stagger the reports to avoid simultaneous attempts to update the same data.
  • Change History data cannot be saved in Excel file format (CR 186555). WORKAROUND: Export to txt or csv format and import into Excel.
  • Using object sets when running the "Child ACL Differs From Root" report template returns incorrect results (CR 185928). WORKAROUND: Do not use object sets with this report.
  • Deploying a Remote Data Collector configured to use compressed data transport mode on a non-english operating system may result in an installation error (CR 155373).
  • When connecting through a remote client to a Windows 2000 server, the logged on user is assigned a session key that is different from the one used by the console. As a result, output and other processes normally displayed on screen are not visible (CR 174375).
  • Management of VAS UNIX Personality Management (UPM) based objects is not possible with VAS 3.0, but will be available in the VAS 3.1 release.
  • If a regular expression is applied when running the "NTFS Object Attributes" report template, inaccurate results may be reported for the size attribute. (CR 189688).
  • When running the "NTFS Object Attributes" report template using the "Paths" option, inaccurate results may be reported for the size of the system drive . (CR 189832).

Workaround for Local System Account Collections

  1. Run dcomcnfg.exe.
  2. Under the Applications tab, select QReporterFileLogSink Class.
  3. Click Properties.
  4. Select the Security tab.
  5. Select Use Custom Access Permissions.
  6. Click Edit.
  7. On the Registry Value Permissions dialog box, click Add.
  8. Select the accounts that the RDCs and compression services are running as.
  9. Click Add.
  10. In the Add Users and Groups dialog box (make sure the type of access in the Type of Access combo box is set to Allow Access), click OK.
  11. In the Registry Value Permissions dialog box (make sure the type of access in the Type of Access combo box is set to Allow Access), click OK.
  12. Click OK.
  13. Click OK.

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Contents of the Release Package
 

The Quest Reporter distribution CD contains the following products:

  • Quest Reporter version 5.5
  • Microsoft SQL Server Database Engine version 2000 SP3
  • Microsoft Data Access Components version 2.8

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System Requirements
 

Before installing Quest Reporter, ensure your system meets the following minimum hardware and software requirements:

Platform 1 GHz or higher Intel Pentium®-compatible CPU
Memory 512 MB or more recommended
Hard Disk Space 25 MB of disk space for the application

500 MB of disk space for processing

10 MB of disk space for RDC deployment

Database size is dependent on the amount of information being collected.

Operating System Installation computers:

Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, Server, or Advanced Server (Service Pack 4).
-OR-
Windows XP (Service Pack 2).
-OR-
Windows 2003 Server (Service Pack 1).
-OR-
Windows 2003 R2 Server.

Note: All computers must be members in a domain.

Collection computers:

Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 (Service Pack 6)
-OR-
Microsoft Windows XP (Service Pack 2)
-OR-
Microsoft Windows 2003 Server (Service Pack 1)
-OR-
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, Server or Advanced Server (Service Pack 4)
-OR-
Microsoft Windows 2003 R2 Server

File System NTFS
Additional Software Supported database servers include MSDE 2000 (recommended for evaluation purposes), SQL Server 2000 (Service Pack 3 or later), or SQL Server 2005 (Service Pack 1)

For compressed data transport mode on Windows 2000 computers: Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) 2.0 or later in workgroup mode, Independent client setup

Microsoft Data Access Control (MDAC) 2.7 or later

.NET framework 1.1 or later

Microsoft Excel 2000 or later (if you are saving the report output in an Excel spreadsheet).

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Global Operations

This section contains information about installing and operating this product in non-English or non-ASCII configurations. This section does not replace the materials about supported platforms and configurations found elsewhere in the product documentation.

This release can be used on systems in different time zones, which are in different languages, and use different regional options. All components of this product must be configured to use the same default system code page. This product limits support to the Western European code page 1252. Other configurations and single-byte encodings may work appropriately, but have not been extensively tested. Multi-byte character data is not supported.

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Installation Process
 

How to install the product from this CD:

  1. Ensure that your computer meets the system requirements.
  2. To install Quest Reporter in the CD autorun window, click Install and then click Quest Reporter. For more information on how to install this product, see the Quest Reporter Quick Start Guide.
  3. To access product documentation, click Documentation in the CD autorun window, and then click the document names. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to read documents. You can install it by clicking Install Adobe Acrobat Reader in the Documentation section of the CD autorun window.

Before you start the installation, it is recommended that you close all open applications.

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For More Information

Other Document Sources

The complete Quest Reporter documentation suite includes the following:

You can display the online help by selecting an option from the Help menu or by pressing F1.
 

Contact Quest Software:

Phone: 949.754.8000 (United States and Canada)
Email info@quest.com
Mail: Quest Software, Inc.
World Headquarters
5 Polaris Way
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
USA
Web site: www.quest.com

Please refer to our Web site for regional and international office information.

Contact Quest Support:

Quest Software’s world-class support team is dedicated to ensuring successful product installation and use for all Quest Software solutions. If you have questions, please contact our technical support staff. Please include the version number and, if your question is about an error message, include the error text as well.

SupportLink: http://support.quest.com
Email: support@quest.com

You can use SupportLink to do the following:

  • Create, update, or view support requests
  • Search the knowledge base
  • Access FAQs
  • Download patches

 

Disclaimer:

The information in this document is provided in connection with Quest products. No license, express or implied, by estoppel or otherwise, to any intellectual property right is granted by this document or in connection with the sale of Quest products. EXCEPT AS SET FORTH IN QUEST'S TERMS AND CONDITIONS AS SPECIFIED IN THE LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR THIS PRODUCT, QUEST ASSUMES NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER AND DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY WARRANTY RELATING TO ITS PRODUCTS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL QUEST BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR LOSS OF INFORMATION) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS DOCUMENT, EVEN IF QUEST HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. Quest makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this document and reserves the right to make changes to specifications and product descriptions at any time without notice. Quest does not make any commitment to update the information contained in this document.

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