enjay Posted June 19, 2018 Posted June 19, 2018 After accidentally restarting the wrong server yesterday evening (there was a full-screen RDC session open to another server which I didn't spot when I connected), I'd like to get something like BGInfo on them so I know what's what. The problem with BGInfo is it is only as good as the last boot, which on our servers might be months ago. That's obviously not a problem for machine name, but the other data becomes meaningless quickly, so I'm looking for a better alternative which could tell me name and basic health info - doesn't need to be real-time, daily refresh would do.
enjay Posted June 19, 2018 Author Posted June 19, 2018 we run ours via GPP on logon Evan that's not particularly frequent, as we access our servers via RDC so don't log in/out very often either, just reconnect to the previous RDC session. Of course, since that is how I accidentally restarted the wrong server, because the previous user didn't tidy up before disconnecting, maybe we should log out more frequently!
DJ-1701 Posted June 19, 2018 Posted June 19, 2018 (edited) Something like this then? https://alternativeto.net/software/desktopinfo/ Or you could just set a scheduled task to update the BGInfo information. Edited June 19, 2018 by DJ-1701
sister_annex Posted June 19, 2018 Posted June 19, 2018 Evan that's not particularly frequent, as we access our servers via RDC so don't log in/out very often either, just reconnect to the previous RDC session. Of course, since that is how I accidentally restarted the wrong server, because the previous user didn't tidy up before disconnecting, maybe we should log out more frequently! Ah ok, fair enough, yeah we set our RDC to boot off idle/disconnected sessions after a certain amount of time
LeMarchand Posted June 19, 2018 Posted June 19, 2018 Could you schedule a script to close bginfo and then reopen it every few hours? Edit: Ninja'd
LeMarchand Posted June 19, 2018 Posted June 19, 2018 Something like this then? https://alternativeto.net/software/desktopinfo/ I use Rainmeter (the first alternative in the list) which has loads of plugins (or you can roll your own) on my machines - looks suitably techie and like you've got lots going on if anyone passes...
6Foot2 Posted June 19, 2018 Posted June 19, 2018 we run ours via GPP on logon We run ours upon boot/reboot. We also run it when a user logs on to get a user specific BGInfo display.
Steve21 Posted June 19, 2018 Posted June 19, 2018 The problem with scripting it is you're then going to need to force refresh desktops or kill/relaunch explorer etc which for a server isn't always a great idea Do you specifically want the background info in that regards? I generally find it's easier to just go command lines, so run a hostname before a shutdown etc. No way to get that mixed up then Not as fancy, but deffo works! Steve
enjay Posted June 19, 2018 Author Posted June 19, 2018 Do you specifically want the background info in that regards? The thing which brought this "need" to my attention was the machine name, but other BGInfo-esque data such as disk usage would be helpful - if I'm setting something up, I might as well do it properly!
LeMarchand Posted June 19, 2018 Posted June 19, 2018 The problem with scripting it is you're then going to need to force refresh desktops or kill/relaunch explorer etc which for a server isn't always a great idea Haven't got time to have a play, but it looks like BGInfo has a countdown timer. Not sure what it counts down too, though! They suggest it's suitable for long-running systems: You can also use the Windows Scheduler to run BGInfo on a regular basis to ensure long-running systems are kept up to date.
TechMonkey Posted June 19, 2018 Posted June 19, 2018 The thing which brought this "need" to my attention was the machine name, but other BGInfo-esque data such as disk usage would be helpful - if I'm setting something up, I might as well do it properly! I'd say as lovely as that would be, wrong tool for the job. Use BGInfo to warn you which server you are on (that is the pressing need you have) and find a different solution to monitor disk space. If money is tight PRTG will allow 100 free sensors, or you can go the Zabbix/Observium/Nagios route. Alternatively, get into the habit of opening My Computer when you log into a machine to check disks.
enjay Posted June 19, 2018 Author Posted June 19, 2018 I'd say as lovely as that would be, wrong tool for the job. Use BGInfo to warn you which server you are on (that is the pressing need you have) and find a different solution to monitor disk space. If money is tight PRTG will allow 100 free sensors, or you can go the Zabbix/Observium/Nagios route. Alternatively, get into the habit of opening My Computer when you log into a machine to check disks. We have Solarwinds, which alerts at critical levels- maybe I'll just set the warning threshold a bit lower.
dapaulio Posted June 19, 2018 Posted June 19, 2018 Evan that's not particularly frequent, as we access our servers via RDC so don't log in/out very often either, just reconnect to the previous RDC session. Of course, since that is how I accidentally restarted the wrong server, because the previous user didn't tidy up before disconnecting, maybe we should log out more frequently! In addition to logon script bginfo. We have a script which logs disconnected sessions out every night on our rds
Alis_Klar Posted June 21, 2018 Posted June 21, 2018 I’ve set each server to have a different taskbar colour (exported registry key from desktop OS which allows colour changes). Also cludged a shortcut with the name of the server on the taskbar
SeanAllen Posted August 6, 2018 Posted August 6, 2018 I use Task scheduler to refresh BGInfo every 15 mins. Keeps it up to date no problem.
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