Hi all,
Am thinking of buying Ranger as have heard nothing but praise for it - anyone use it could let me have some feedback, I'd appreciate it. Looking at it as a time saving exercise more than anything as I'm already happily leveraging GP to lock things down but could do with an all-in-one tool.
Haven't had the time to evaluate yet though.....
Ta...
We tried it a couple of years ago so it may have changed, but at the time we found it far too restrictive and very difficult to get rid of.
Cheers
I used for a short time but also found it very restrictive and the slightest problem seemed to knock out all computer connectivity (something which I believe may be fixed).
I could see no reason to use it anymore and it was becoming more of a hinderance than a help - so I binned it off (thus saving money for other software!)
Don't do it - especially if you already use AD to lock everything down.
AD is very nearly all you need to lock the system down I would say.
The 2003 AD & XP SP2 combo works well
I use a few other tools for stuff but generally GP on the AD is all
Save the £££ and either do a course on Group Policy, or just learn (like some of us) as you tinker with it and put the money saved by not buying ranger on new server hardware or networking gear
Cheers
N
Ranger is one of those products aimed at schools with the 'Dabbler' running the show or no IT support whatsoever. All it does is put a nice front end on AD and make you pay twice for the privilege. If you have not yet learned AD and AD group policies now would be the ideal time to learn. I had to teach myself back in 2000 and back then there was little or no support or people to takl to to learn it and several months of trial and error occured. Once you have the basics however the slow, sly grin which will creep accross your face is well wort the effort as you lock down your network tighter than a whales bottom.
You are sooooooo right DB
cudn't agree more
Its exactly how I felt when I was learning the basics
Still learning as always
Nath
When I used Ranger, it wasn't even a nicer front end to AD.
The policies in Ranger are more akin to NT4 policies. So it's more like taking a step backwards.
Spend your money on something like NetSupport Manager which you can use to monitor the kids, teach lessons and generally get plenty of use out of.
Thanks for the feedback....
I appreciate the points about AD GP as that's what I use now (2003/XPSP2), however, it was also the remote control and general network management features such as instantly seeing who's logged on which machine, management reporting etc.
We currently use Altiris for this but as it's coming up to contract renewal I'm looking at alternatives.
I'm thinking along the lines of saving time and making life easier by having a complete management tool rather than using different packages -I also have two technicians (I know I'm lucky!!) who don't have the skills to use group policy so it would be a bonus to be able to give them something to use so I can concentrate on building an extranet and VLE next year....! any other tools that you could suggest...?
Must say I'm new here and what a really great idea this forum is.... mucho kudos (not the software!) to the originators...
Once again, thanks for taking the time to reply....
As far as seeing who is logged on where, LanView3 is exactly what you need.
Buy NetSupport Manager\NetSupport School then. They will provide they functionality you require to compliment AD.Originally Posted by Netman
Thanks for the feedback....
I appreciate the points about AD GP as that's what I use now (2003/XPSP2), however, it was also the remote control and general network management features such as instantly seeing who's logged on which machine, management reporting etc.
We currently use Altiris for this but as it's coming up to contract renewal I'm looking at alternatives.
I'm thinking along the lines of saving time and making life easier by having a complete management tool rather than using different packages -I also have two technicians (I know I'm lucky!!) who don't have the skills to use group policy so it would be a bonus to be able to give them something to use so I can concentrate on building an extranet and VLE next year....! any other tools that you could suggest...?
Must say I'm new here and what a really great idea this forum is.... mucho kudos (not the software!) to the originators...
Once again, thanks for taking the time to reply....
The remote control in Ranger uses the NetSupport School APIs - buy NetSupport Manager and you will get NetSupport School (for use in IT suites for teaching) plus all the nice tools that NSM has. You will also save some serious £££££.
AD/GPOs are not hard to teach - sit them down in front of a test network and tell them to do something!
PSTools can show you who is logged on where (BTW this is free from Sysinternals).
yep, ranger + it support of any kind = disaster.
had it in 3 of my schools, got rid of it.
lol @ Ric...
...you have spare machines that you can use for a test network?? :P
Throw a few my way
Nath
I assumed that any network manager with underlings must be from a rich school! The lack of AD knowledge also implies a level of training which would require a practice network.lol @ Ric...
...you have spare machines that you can use for a test network?? :P
Throw a few my way
Nath
I'm from a very rich school!! But also work with a very poor one (voluntarily).
Thankfully your replies have been really helpful and it seems it's just not as good as I've heard, in which case I'll carry on using GP and probably stick with Altiris for RC/Management of remote clients. Or go back to NSM (Have used at a previous job).
Your replies have been much appreciated..... Thanks
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