Maintaining software records

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Applies To: Forefront Client Security

To limit the amount of time you spend troubleshooting software-related problems during a disaster recovery, maintain current software records, including a:

  • List of your software vendor contact information, including phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and Web pages for online support.

  • Chronological list of all software upgrades (such as service packs) and software updates that are installed on your servers. By keeping this list, you can install the software updates in the same order in which they were installed originally.

  • Record of the configuration for each server, including:

    • Server name.

    • Administrative group name to which the server belongs.

    • Hard disk configuration information, including a list of each hard disk partition with the volume names and sizes of the partitions as well as a summary of what is installed on each partition.

    • List of any static IP addresses, subnet masks, and default gateways used by the server.

    • Any customizations you made to the server.

Important

Maintain a copy of this information off-site in case your facilities are damaged and you need to recover your systems in a new location. Your software installation CDs and DVDs and product keys should also be kept in a secure location.