Windows Server Solutions Best Practices Analyzer: Operation

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Scanning a server using Windows Server Solutions BPA

Windows Server Solutions BPA scans supported operating systems. It compares existing settings to the set of recommended best practices, and then reports the results to the user. Use the following steps to scan a local server that is running a Windows Server Solutions product.

To start a scan on your local server

  1. Open the Windows Server Solutions BPA: Click Start, and then click Windows Server Solutions BPA.

  2. Right-click Windows Server Solutions BPA, and then click Run as administrator.

  3. On the Home page, under Select a product, click Windows Server Solutions BPA, and then click Start Scan.

Setting up the client to scan the remote server

To run the scan on a remote client that is connected to the server, use the following steps.

To scan a connected remote client

  1. Install both Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer 2.0 and Windows Server Solutions BPA on the computer that is running a supported platform. During the installation, choose to enable remote scan on the server.

  2. Install Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer 2.0 on the client that you will use to run the scan.

  3. From the client’s Start menu, launch Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer 2.0.

  4. On the Home page, click Connect to Another Computer, and then type the computer name or IP address of the remote server that you are connecting to.

  5. Click Connect as another user, and then click Set User.

  6. Type the administrator credentials in case you need to switch to an administrator account while the scan is running, and then click OK. You are connected to the remote computer.

  7. On the Home page, in the Select a product drop-down list, click Windows Server Solutions BPA.

  8. To start a scan, on the Home page, click Start Scan.

Note

If the client is not a domain-joined computer, you need to add the target server as the trusted host to the client. Use the following steps to complete this task.

To add the target server as the trusted host to the client

  1. Open a command line, type WinRM quickconfig, and then press Enter.

  2. When the command has run, type the winrm set winrm/config/client `@`{TrustedHosts=`"ServerName`"`}, and then press Enter.

Viewing the results report in Windows Server Solutions BPA

There are two report types on the View Report page:

  • Results: The results report is used to view BPA errors, warnings, and compliances that are generated after a successful scan. These are categorized under Noncompliant and All.

    • Noncompliant: This section lists the BPA errors or warnings that were generated by the scan.

    • All: This section list all errors, warnings, and compliances.

    For all noncompliant warnings or errors, the BPA provides the following information:

    • Category: This field indicates the category of the rule. Categories include Security, Performance, Operation, Policy, Configuration, Predeployment, or Prerequisite.

    • Source: The ID of the rule.

    • Issue: The long description of the symptom.

    • Resolution: The recommended steps to fix the issue.

  • Collected Data: This view is currently not applicable to Windows Server Solutions BPA users.