4.0 Technical FAQs

What are the differences between Service Agents, Remote Agents, and Virtual Agents?

A Service Agent is an executable (TNTAgent.exe) and companion files. TNTAgent is installed as a service on the monitored system and communicates with an ELM Server via TCP sockets. Service Agents are Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 systems. Monitor Items assigned to a Service Agent are executed within the TNTAgent process. Only Service Agents can monitor systems in real-time, providing the highest level of monitoring.

Remote Agents provide remote monitoring and no software is installed on the monitored system. Remote Agents are also Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP systems. Monitor Items assigned to a Remote Agent are executed within the ELM Server process. Because the ELM Server performs the monitoring of Remote Agents over the network, Remote Agents cannot be monitored in real-time.

"Virtual Agent" is the ELM 4.0 updated name for ELM 3.1 Remote Agents. They have the same role in ELM 4.0 that Remote Agents had in ELM 3.1.

What is the best way to backup ELM Server configuration data?

Every ten seconds the ELM Server polls for configuration changes. If it detects any, the ELM Server creates a backup of its current configuration data. This file has a .BAK extension (e.g., EEMSVR.BAK). You can also manually backup the ELM Server configuration from within the ELM Console.

ELM also stores a small amount of data in the Windows registry. This includes both software-specific settings, and COM component registration information. It is essential that you also take regular backups of your registry. In Windows NT 4.0, you can preserve this data by backing up the Registry with NT Backup or a third-party application. In Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000 and Windows XP, the registry and COM registration database are backed up as part of the System State Data. We also strongly recommend regular backups of your ELM Server database, as it contains all of the data collected from Agents. You can back up this data with NT Backup or a third-party application.

In short, a complete backup of the ELM configuration should include the following components:

• ELM Server .dat and .bak files [ELM 3.1 and ELM 4.0]
• TNT Software registry key [ELM 3.1 and ELM 4.0]
• ELM databases [ELM 3.1 and ELM 4.0]
• appSettings.xml [ELM 4.0]
• ReportDefinitions folder [ELM 4.0]
• Report .mht files [ELM 4.0]
• ELM Advisor .dat and .bak files [ELM 4.0]

Depending on your backup needs, not all these components are necessary. For more details, please see 'Backup and Restore the ELM Configuration Data' in the ELM on-line help. [ELM 3.1 and ELM 4.0]

When I launch User Manager against a Windows 2000/2003 Server from the Tools menu, I receive an error that says "User Manager for Domains cannot be used to manage a Windows 2000 or higher domain, Do you want to select another Domain to administer?" How can I resolve this?

This will only happen on ELM Consoles that are running on Windows 2003, Windows 2000 or Windows XP. The User Manager tool that is included with Windows 2000/XP does not allow the management of Windows 2000 domains. The tool recognizes that the server is a Windows 2000 or later server and, even if the server is not part of a Windows Active Directory, it will generate this error message. You can work around this problem by replacing the version on these platforms with the one from Windows NT 4.0 SP4 or later. Details for installing the NT 4 version of usrmgr.exe onto your ELM Console machine can be found in Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q237995.

If you want to preserve the version that ships with Windows 2003/2000/XP, you can copy the NT 4 version to the directory containing the ELM program files, or to any other location, and modify the Tools menu entry to point to the NT 4 version.

What is the best way to transfer or move my ELM Server configuration data to another server?

You can use the following procedure to move your ELM Server and its configuration data to another system:

1. * Export the ELM Server to an XML file.
2. * Export the registry hives:
   
   HKLM\Software\TNT Software
   HKEY_USERS\.Default\Software\TNT Software
   HKCU\Software\TNT Software
   
   
3. On the old computer, make a copy of the EEMSVR.DAT in ..\Program Files\ELM Enterprise Manager.
   
   Note: Other editions will have sub-directories and .dat files of:
   
   ...\ELM Log Manager\ELMSVR.DAT
   ...\ELM Performance Manager\EPMSVR.DAT
   ...\ELM Event Log Monitor\EVMSVR.DAT
   
   
4. Install and configure ELM on the new computer, including the license, and activate ELM.
5. Stop the ELM Server service on the new computer.
6. Replace the EEMSVR.DAT with the copy from the old ELM server.
   
   Note: Other editions will have ELMSVR.DAT, EPMSVR.DAT, or EVMSVR.DAT.
   
   
7. Delete EEMSVR.BAK.
   
   Note: Other editions will have ELMSVR.BAK, EPMSVR.BAK, or EVMSVR.BAK.
   
   
8. Depending on your requirements to keep collected data, you may need to migrate data to a new SQL or MSDE database.
9. Start the ELM Server service.
10. Open the ELM Console, right-click on the 'All Agents' container, and select All Tasks | Update All Agent Configurations.

* Optional steps. These provide additional files for a back-out plan, if required.

When testing or using an SNMP Notification Method, I receive: "Notification Error: Error 0x80070002, The system cannot find the file specified."

This usually indicates that the SNMP Service has not been installed on this system, or that the service was installed after installing ELM. This error can also occur if the SNMP Service is not running. To troubleshoot this problem, first verify that the SNMP Service is installed and running. If the SNMP Service is not installed, you must first install it and then run the Setup repair process.

1. Go into Control Panel | Add/Remove Programs.
  2. Select ELM and click Change.
  3. Select repair and step through the repair process.
  4. Launch the ELM Console and try to send a test SNMP trap. 
     If that works, proceed to Step 6 and skip Step 8. 
     Otherwise, continue with Step 5 and perform all remaining Steps.
  5. Uninstall ELM.
  6. Reapply the latest service pack for your OS (unless you installed the 
     SNMP Service from a slipstreamed install point).
  7. Visit http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com from your ELM Server machine 
     and install all critical updates, security fixes and any desired recommended 
     updates.
  8. Reinstall ELM.

How can I tell what build of ELM I have?

There are several ways to do this. The setup package uses a naming convention that incorporates the build number. For instance, if the setup package you downloaded is named ELM40_157.msi, then you have ELM 4.0, build 157. If the name of the package is ELM31_189.EXE, then you have ELM 3.1, build 189. You can also get build information using the ELM Console. To do this:

1. Right-click on the ELM Server. 
    2. Select the Modules tab and look for Product Name (version) and Product 
    Version (build) under Product Info.