Deploying Providers

After you choose the replica sets you want to monitor, you are prompted to install providers on the servers that are part of those replica sets. It is recommended that you install providers on every server to be monitored, though you might choose not to install providers on servers that have unreliable or low-bandwidth connections.

Note

• When you are prompted to install providers, you also have the option of having Ultrasound perform an initial data collection after providers are deployed. If you do not select this option, you must wait for the data polling schedule to open for each provider, which can be up to two hours, or you can manually poll providers by using the procedure To manually poll providers.

You typically deploy providers by using the Ultrasound console. (This procedure is described in To install providers by using the console.) The provider deployment is done in the background after you choose the servers to monitor. Because the console deploys providers on remote servers on behalf of the user running the console, you must run the console when logged on using an account that is a member of the local Administrators group of the remote replica member or the Domain Admins group before deploying providers. The provider deployment is a one-time operation; after that, users who are given access to the database can use the console to monitor FRS, even if they are not administrators on the replica members. For more information about giving multiple users access to the database, see Granting Database Access to Multiple Administrators.

After you select servers on which to install providers, the provider deployment status changes from Uninstalled to Installed (Queued). A background operation in the console is started and selects servers that are in the Installed (Queued) state. The status is then changed to Installed (Pending) and the operation to install the provider begins. Multiple installations can occur at any one time.

After the provider setup package is copied to the %windir% folder on the remote server, the console triggers a remote installation, after which the server installs the provider setup package, registers the WMI namespace, and sets the appropriate permissions to allow the controller to access the provider. The console then queries the provider to validate the installation, at which time it will update the database to indicate a successful installation, and the provider deployment status changes to Installed.

Deploying providers can be a time-consuming process, because Ultrasound must contact each server. Expect to wait one hour for every 100 servers, though it’s possible that provider deployment can take as little as five minutes for 100 servers. Keep the console running until the deployment status is Installed for all selected servers. For more information, see Starting and Stopping Provider Deployment.

If Ultrasound is unable to install a provider, it will wait 30 minutes before trying again. This process will continue for a maximum of 60 attempts, after which the provider deployment status changes to Installed (Failed). A failure can occur for the following reasons:

• The user logged onto the console does not have permissions to do the required operations on the remote server.
• The console cannot contact the server because of network problems.
• Firewall issues prevent the provider setup package from being copied to remote servers.
• Problems on the remote server cause the deployment to fail, such as a lack of disk space. (The provider requires approximately 400 KB.)

If these issues occur, you must resolve them before the providers can be installed. See Troubleshooting Ultrasound Deployment Problems for more information. After you resolve the issue, click Install Provider again to restart the process. You also have the option of installing the providers on the local servers. For more information, see To locally install providers by using the command line.

The process for uninstalling providers is similar to the installation process. When you click Uninstall Provider, the provider deployment status changes from Installed to Uninstalled (Queued). The console then begins the uninstallation process and changes the status to Uninstalled (Pending). After the uninstallation is complete, the status changes to Uninstalled. If the uninstallation is not successful, Ultrasound waits 30 minutes before trying again with a maximum of 60 attempts.