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Prevent server crashes by enabling administrative alerts on critical parameters such as swap file size. Run Windows NT Performance Monitor and select View/Alert, Edit/Add to Alert and % Usage Peak from the Paging File object. Set it to alert you if usage goes over 90 percent. This gives you a warning before NT starts expanding the pagefile automatically--which can degrade performance. You can use the same approach to avoid critical conditions such as running out of disk space.
You can get automatic status reports and administrative alerts through your e-mail system with Martin Heller's MAILFILE.EXE program, available at our America Online area (Keyword WinMag, then download MAILFILE.ZIP). To e-mail yourself a message when an administrative alert is triggered, specify MAILFILE.EXE in the Add to Alert dialog's Run Program on Alert field. You can also schedule regular e-mail reports using the AT.EXE command-line scheduler to run the MAILFILE.EXE program automatically.
Upgrade your NT server's e-mail system to a full MS-Mail post office using Microsoft Mail 3.5. Unlike the Mail 3.2 upgrade I've recommended in the past, Microsoft supports using Windows NT for this configuration. MS Mail 3.5 includes a multitasking message transfer agent (MMTA) and a fax gateway written for Windows NT. Set up the standard Workgroup post office on an NT server, then follow the instructions supplied with Mail 3.5 to upgrade your post office in-place.
If you have a RISC-based server, you can enable multiplatform network printing. This way, Intel-based Windows NT client systems can print over the network without having printer drivers loaded on each workstation. Add the Intel and RISC-based printer drivers by logging into one of the Intel workstations using an account with administrative privileges. Start Print Manager, select Printer/Server Viewer, select the RISC-based server on which you want to install Intel drivers and select Print/Properties. Once the Printer Properties dialog appears, select Other in the Driver: field, and an Install Driver dialog appears. Enter the pathname to the Intel printer drivers' location, click on OK and a Select Driver dialog appears. Select the appropriate printer and click on OK. Now you can print over the network without loading a local driver (it'll be copied over the network as needed).
Schedule server batch jobs and other processes using the AT.EXE command-line scheduler. Start the Scheduler service, using Control Panel's Services applet or the Server Manager. Then type AT
at any command prompt for a list of active jobs, AT /?
for on-line help, AT *server name*
for a list of active jobs on any server on the net, or (for example) AT 10 AM EVERY MONDAY NET SEND ADMINISTRATOR HI THERE
to send a weekly greeting to the administrator. You can start any valid Windows NT command or batch file using this method--including backups, and service starts and stops.
Maximize server throughput with a large client-side cache. Microsoft's *Windows NT Advanced Server Reviewer's Guide* indicates Windows for Workgroups 3.11 clients run against an NT server can double their performance with 4MB dedicated to VCACHE. This is the configuration Microsoft recommends for client-side systems with 12MB or more of RAM.
If you're running Windows NT servers from a locked closet or server room, you can make them fully bootable. This means they won't require human intervention to carry out initial log-ins and run startup batch files. Run the Windows NT Registry Editor (REGEDT32.EXE), select the server's HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key and then SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows NT/CurrentVersion/WinLogon. Select Edit/Add Value, then enter value name AutoAdminLogon of type REG_SZ
and set it to 1. Set the DefaultUserName and DefaultPassword variables to suit the server's log-in and script execution. Because this procedure stores the clear-text user name and password in the Registry, I suggest you create a special account for this purpose that doesn't have administrative permissions.
Control servers remotely--even over slow links--with REMOTE.EXE from the Windows NT Resource Kit. Copy REMOTE.EXE on both the server and client system. Start the server's copy from a command prompt by typing REMOTE /S cmd.exe server1
. You can then connect from the client by typing REMOTE /C <server name> server1
. This gives you a command session on the client that's executed on the server, allowing you to control nearly all aspects of system operation. This approach even works across telephone lines using Windows NT Remote Access Service (RAS).
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