DameWare software is not directly supported in Terminal Server/Citrix
environments. However, if the network environment is configured properly, DameWare NT Utilities
(DNTU) and DameWare Mini Remote Control (DMRC) programs will work in these scenarios allowing multiple administrators to use
the product. Many users report the use of DNTU and DMRC programs in Terminal Services and/or Citrix
environments without any problems.
There are some things to keep in mind regarding Citrix and Terminal
Server environments.
1. Each user that runs the software, even on a Citrix/Terminal Server, must have
a license to use the software.
2. Each user that runs the software, even on a Citrix/Terminal Server, must
enter the registration information into the software under his or her own user profile.
There is no way to register for "all users" on any specific machine.
It is possible to create a .REG file containing the appropriate
registration information and place it into some type of login script for the users that need the software.
3. By default, program shortcuts are only created for the user (administrator)
that installs the software on the machine, not for all users. Therefore, the shortcuts
under the All Users profile must be re-created. To accomplish this, explore
to the DameWare Installation folder, then drag each of the necessary files to the
All Users profile and select "Create Shortcut here." The executable for
the DNTU software is DNTU.EXE, for the DMRC software it is
DWRCC.EXE, and for the DameWare Exporter (DEXP) it is DWExporter.exe.
4. After the software is installed on the Citrix/Terminal Server, delete any settings that may have been created in the Shadow
Registry on the Citrix / Terminal Services server during the installation. Please take a look at the following article from Microsoft regarding the Shadow Registry. If possible, this should be done before any users run the
software for the first time.
Programs Can Revert to the Default Settings on Terminal Server
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=297379
Program Shortcuts:
The software can be used by more than one "user profile" on any given
machine. However, the MSI install package for DameWare software only automatically
creates shortcuts (i.e. Start / Programs / DameWare...) for the user that installed
the software, not all users. This is due to how DameWare Development software
is licensed, which is by the User, not by the computer. Other users can still use the software under their profiles by running it
directly from the DameWare Development installation folder (i.e. C:\Program
Files\DameWare Development\DameWare...).
The executable for the DNTU package is DNTU.EXE, and the executable for the DMRC
program is
DWRCC.EXE. The Start menu shortcuts can
also be dragged to the All Users profile; be sure to right-click, drag, and select Copy Here. Do not select
Create Shortcut Here because the shortcuts will become corrupted each time a new version of the software is installed.
As another work-around, the software does not have to be "installed" on any specific
machine or for any specific user because it does not require
a specific installation process in order to work properly. Therefore, the software can be installed
on a single machine, the DameWare Installation
directory copied from this machine
to any other machine and the software will work properly. One last thing to
note is the fact that all settings for the software,
including the registration information, are profile specific. Each user profile will have its own host list, and each individual user profile must enter the registration information to
register his or her copy of the software.
Silently deploying the Registration information:
Many DameWare users report they are deploying the software using an MSI package
within their environment, either via Group Policies or some other
third-party software (SMS, etc.) and want to "silently" deploy the
registration information as well. It has also been reported that using an
MST (Transform) file for the installation and deployment of default
settings and registration information
provides a convenient means to accomplish this task.
To deploy the registration information, a .REG
file that contains the following Registry keys can be created. Include this .REG file within the MST file to make this part of the
installation process. Here is how it works:
Beginning with version 4.1, DameWare software uses Microsoft's Security APIs (CryptoAPIs) to encrypt
and store the registration information. The Registry keys below will instruct the software to extract the registration information from the Registry and then pass it
to Microsoft's security API's, which registers the software without
having to click on the Help / About menu. This allows an Administrator to "push out" a Registry key, or even include
it in a user's login script, without having to physically send the
Registration information to every remote user.
Each time the software starts up, it will look to see if the "Reg Update"
Registry key has
been created and set to 1 (i.e. retrieve the registration information from the
Registry). If so, it will look for the appropriate Registry keys
for the User, Company, and License information so it can populate the registration information
into the software. After the software retrieves this information from the
Registry and the registration process is successful, it will delete the
specific Registry keys (only) so that an
attempt to re-register the software every time it starts up is not made.
If exclusively deploying the DMRC program, only the second key (i.e. DWRCC Settings) is needed. If deploying the DNTU program it is recommended that all three keys be included.
The version 5.x & 6.x Registry Keys are the following:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\DameWare Development\NT Utilities\DNTU\Settings]
"Reg Update"=dword:00000001
"Registered Name Update"="Your Registered User Name"
"Reg Number Update"="Your License Number"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\DameWare Development\NT Utilities\DNTU\DWRCC
Settings]
"Reg Update"=dword:00000001
"Registered Name Update"="Your Registered User Name"
"Reg Number Update"="Your License Number"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\DameWare Development\NT Utilities\Exporter\Settings]
"Reg Update"=dword:00000001
"Registered Name Update"="Your Registered User Name"
"Reg Number Update"="Your License Number"
The version 4.x Registry keys are the following:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\DameWare Development\NT Utilities\DNTU]
"Reg Update"=dword:00000001
"User Name Update"=""
"Company Name Update" ="Your Company Name"
"Reg Number Update"="Your Registration Number"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\DameWare Development\NT Utilities\DNTU\DWRCC
Settings]
"Reg Update"=dword:00000001
"User Name Update"=""
"Company Name Update" ="Your Company Name"
"Reg Number Update"="Your Registration Number"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\DameWare Development\NT Utilities\DNTU\DNTUE
Settings]
"Reg Update"=dword:00000001
"User Name Update"=""
"Company Name Update" ="Your Company Name"
"Reg Number Update"="Your Registration Number"
Shadow Registry:
Occasionally, when using the software in a Citrix/Terminal Server environment and
under a different
user profile (other than the Administrator that installed the software), the
software still tries to point to a Database file under the Administrator's
profile. Unfortunately, this has to do with the Shadow
Registry under Citrix & Terminal Services. If this occurs, the resolution is to delete the DameWare Development
Registry key from the Shadow Registry of the
Citrix Server (see below), and then
from all other user profiles on this Citrix Server. Each user may also need
to delete the DameWare Development Registry Key from the Registry on his
or her local machine:[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\DameWare Development].
Once this is done, everything should work properly.
The Shadow Registry keys created by Citrix and Terminal Services for 32-bit and
64-bit Operating Systems are the following:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Terminal Server\Install\Software\Dameware
Development] (for 32-bit)
-and-
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Terminal
Server\Install\Software\DameWare Development] (for 64-bit)
The next time the user logs on to the Citrix Server
and runs the software, it will automatically recreate the DameWare Development
Registry key under his or her profile, referencing his or her own database files and no longer try to use the shared one from the
Shadow Registry.
Additional information about the Shadow Registry can be obtained from the following
Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
Programs Can Revert to the Default Settings on Terminal Server
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=297379