RGRMAN and installing / removing Ranger from workstations

Question

How does Ranger Manager work?

Symptoms

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Resolution

Instructions

Ranger client components can be is installed onto workstations in two ways:


1) Log on to a workstation as the Ranger user: RangerInstall

The recommended method is to log onto the machine as the RangerInstall user. This will start an application called Ranger Manager - Rgrman.exe - which will start the client installation process.

RgrMan will only work if it detects the username of the currently logged on user is either RangerInstall, RangerRemove or RangerSetup. Depending on the user name, the program will perform either an automatic install of Ranger, an automatic removal of ranger or display a dialog to let you choose your action. The verification of the username is important for security reasons to ensure that the exe cannot be used stand alone by unauthorised users.

 
Ranger Install - Install Ranger client components onto the workstation.

This option will start the install process and wait for it to complete. After installation, an automatic check will be made to ensure all Ranger files and system changes have been transferred correctly and the server can be contacted.

After the check has completed, the user is automatically logged off.

 

RangerRemove - Removes all Ranger client components and Ranger-specific folders.
 
Note: This option will leave a hidden Ranger rollout folder called "C:PackCtrl" on the machine which contains information about Ranger deployed software packages installed on this machine. This directory contains only small data files and can normally be left. If you want to remove it, either delete the directory manually or log in as the RangerSetup user and select the option "Remove Ranger Package"

 

RangerSetup - This option allows manual control of Ranger setup, install and checking.

Actions can be performed one after the other without the need to restart or log off. RangerSetup allows an installation to be checked manually and allows access to system tools such as Explorer and RegEdit pre-logon to verify files and registry keys.

RgrMan is executed via a special Ranger.bat batch file created automatically during installation inside the server's NETLOGON directory. Note: On networks with multiple domain controllers, it is wise to check that this file exists on all domain servers.

Initial installation checks:

When RgrMan stats to install Ranger, a number of checks are performed to ensure Ranger is not already installed. If any of these checks are true, the installation will not continue (as Ranger appears to already be installed) and RgrMan will timeout and close.

 Is there a SecMon.exe file anywhere on local hard disks?
 Does a HKLMSoftwareHyperion Security SoftwareRanger key exist?

The most common cause of the Ranger client not installing is a Secmon.exe file located somewhere on the local disk. To find this, use Explorer's "find" or "Search" feature to search the entire disk.

Note:

1. Ensure you are searching through hidden folders and files as occasionally if an installation failed unexpectedly a copy of SecMon can be found a hidden "C:RngrUpdt" directory. If Ranger should have been removed then this directory can be deleted manually.
   
   
   
2. On certain systems running 2000/XP, the root inherited permissions on this folder do not allow the system access to delete this folder during the normal RangerRemove process. In this case it may be necessary to manually take ownership of the folder and its sub-folders, add System or Administrator permissions and delete the directory manually. Ranger version 4.4 and later automatically fix any permissions issues during installation.

2) Add a link to "\\server\Ranger\secmon.exe install" in a login script

This will run each time a user logs on, so will install Ranger automatically if it does not exist on the workstation. This method can be used for initial setup on multiple machines, but is not recommended for long-term use as it adds a 500k network bandwidth overhead each time any user logs on and the program is executed.


Note, the initial installation checks discussed above also apply when installing Ranger using this shortcut method. They provide the mechanism by which an existing Ranger installation is detected and the setup process skipped.

Testing

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