Netman Posted July 23, 2005 Posted July 23, 2005 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...
Voodoo_ Posted July 24, 2005 Posted July 24, 2005 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
Ric_ Posted July 24, 2005 Posted July 24, 2005 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.
tarquel Posted July 24, 2005 Posted July 24, 2005 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
Dos_Box Posted July 24, 2005 Posted July 24, 2005 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.
tarquel Posted July 24, 2005 Posted July 24, 2005 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
Ric_ Posted July 24, 2005 Posted July 24, 2005 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.
Netman Posted July 25, 2005 Author Posted July 25, 2005 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....
RobC Posted July 25, 2005 Posted July 25, 2005 As far as seeing who is logged on where, LanView3 is exactly what you need.
Dos_Box Posted July 25, 2005 Posted July 25, 2005 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.... Buy NetSupport Manager\NetSupport School then. They will provide they functionality you require to compliment AD.
Ric_ Posted July 25, 2005 Posted July 25, 2005 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).
Inox Posted July 25, 2005 Posted July 25, 2005 yep, ranger + it support of any kind = disaster. had it in 3 of my schools, got rid of it.
tarquel Posted July 26, 2005 Posted July 26, 2005 lol @ Ric... ...you have spare machines that you can use for a test network?? Throw a few my way Nath
Ric_ Posted July 26, 2005 Posted July 26, 2005 lol @ Ric... ...you have spare machines that you can use for a test network?? 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.
Netman Posted July 26, 2005 Author Posted July 26, 2005 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
E1uSiV3 Posted August 22, 2005 Posted August 22, 2005 ive spent the last 2 years trying to get rid of it, nuff said lol. Seriously tho, just to reiterate what everyone else has said, it is a poorly written and overblown front end for AD without many options. The only useful thing i found was titlebar checks but even now ive worked around stuff like that. Ironically enuff as i post this post itll be the last day Ranger runs on my network as im pulling the plug on it (finally) tomorrow
tosca925 Posted August 22, 2005 Posted August 22, 2005 The school were using it when i started 3 years ago. With NT4 servers and 98 clients. Within 5 months i upgraded the servers to 2000 and all XP Pro machines,(they gave me the money to do this) I then got rid of Ranger straight away. The guy i work with is was admin staff (who got side tracked to look after the Sims setup), said it caused him loads of grief. Shortly after i upgraded to 2003
secman Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 Bout 2 years ago we looked at Ranger and Winsuite 2000. Found Ranger much more difficult to set up and it didn't control the desktop in the way we wanted. We also let 4 hackers from yr 11 try to break in but they didn't get past either. We went for Winsuite 2000 which at that time cost about £3.5K for a site license. All is going well and now we are thinking of upgrading to the AD version (known as Enterprise) which uses Policies rather than simply controlling settings on the PC. The system stops any software being run that is not authorised and can provide a secure menu system if required. If you want one go for WinSuite!
MkII Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 We had Appsense Application manager for our Win2K Citrix system. Worked a treat. The licence for the three application servers was £2k, which we thought was worthwhile at the time. Dunno how much it is now. Had a salesman call about it yesterday - he wouldn't give a price - probably a bad sign!
free4440273 Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 why on bloody earth would anyone want to buy ranger - it's crap. w3k server and active directory is all you need - does everything ranger does, far better. used ranger in a secondary school (stupid ict co-ordinator was intent on buying it) and had massive slow logon times. spend your money somewhere else. oh, and their support? run by morons from mars.
tarquel Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 lol @ free You dont like ranger then i guess?
free4440273 Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 another person lol at me...nice to see nothing changes...
tarquel Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 Sorry - didnt realise i cause offense [was only jokin] I've removed my own comment Sorry again dude Regards N.
ajbritton Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 why on bloody earth would anyone want to buy ranger - it's crap. w3k server and active directory is all you need - does everything ranger does, far better. used ranger in a secondary school (stupid ict co-ordinator was intent on buying it) and had massive slow logon times. spend your money somewhere else. oh, and their support? run by morons from mars. @free448345878789327932: If you think that W2K3 server & AD can do everything that Ranger can do then I guess you never figured out how to use Ranger. I suggest you try reading the Ranger manual or look at the website. Maybe you could go on a course.
jonny_valentine Posted November 27, 2005 Posted November 27, 2005 Post Removed please stop advertising on this forum we don't mind suppliers here but trying to disguise adverts in posts is not allowed you have be warned we will ban you if do it again. Russell Admin
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