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What are the new features and benefits of upgrading to Directory and Resource Administrator 7.0?
goal
Why should I upgrade to Directory and Resource Administrator 7.0?
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Directory and Resource Administrator 7.0
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The following are the new key features and functions included in Directory and Resource Administrator 7.0:
Improved Graphical User Interfaces
Directory and Resource Administrator (DRA) provides 2 new Win32 graphical user interfaces (Delegation and Configuration Management & Account and Resource Management) that include the following enhancements:
- Faster performance
- Improved and simplified usability
- Embedded help
- No IIS server dependency
The following features have been added to the new Win32 graphical user interface (GUI) in version 7.0:
- Provides the ability to select multiple user accounts and perform common tasks such as Delete, Move, Add to Groups, Enable or Disable and Unlock User Account.
- Provides the ability to resize the Property pages of objects.
- Provides the ability to select\de-select displayed columns and organize the columns.
- Provides ad-hoc reporting capabilities in the Win32 GUI and the ability to export the reports.
- Provides the ability to drag and drop objects into containers.
Support for Windows Server 2003
DRA 7.0 support running DRA on Windows Server 2003.
Support for Windows Server 2003 Active Directory
DRA 7.0 support administration of the Windows Server 2003 Active Directory by a dedicated DRA server, which manages only that Windows 2003 domain. However, DRA does not allow administration of inetOrgPerson objects.
Support for Exchange Server 2003
DRA and Exchange Administrator (ExA) 7.0 support managing Exchange Server 2003 mailboxes.
Power and Role Simplification and Cleanup
To enhance usability, several DRA powers and roles have been renamed to better reflect their purpose. In addition, better descriptions have been added.
Specify DC for Updates Feature
The Specify DC for Updates feature allows you to specify a domain controller as the target domain controller for the following updates:
- Resetting a user account password
- Unlocking a user account when you reset the password
- Enabling or disabling a user account
This new feature allows the updates to occur locally and prevents downtime from directory replication latecy. For more information on this topic, please refer to the following Knowledge Base article:
NETIQKB34686"Which operations support the 'Specify Domain Controller' feature in Directory and Resource Administrator?"
Extended Web Console
The DRA 7.0 Web Console has been extended to include additional features and properties. The following have been added to the Web Console:
- The ability to manage resources such as Services and Printers of computers.
- Ability to manage additional Microsoft Exchange 2000/2003 mailbox properties.
- Ability to multi-select when adding users to a group in the web console
Extended DRA ADSI interfaces
The DRA ADSI provider has been extended in DRA 7.0. In each new DRA version, more functionality has been added to the DRA ADSI to make it more powerful. Information about the DRA ADSI interface can be found in the Software Development Kit (SDK). Information about the SDK can be found at:
.ref="https://www.netiq.com/kb/esupport/consumer/esupport.asp?id=NETIQKB311">NETIQKB311"What is the Software Development Kit (SDK) and what can it do?"