Backing Up and Viewing LAN Manager NET.AUD File (130420)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft LAN Manager 2.0
  • Microsoft LAN Manager 2.1
  • Microsoft LAN Manager 2.2

This article was previously published under Q130420
LAN Manager's NET.AUD file contains the server's audit trail in a non-text format. To view the file, administrators need to run NET AUDIT at a command prompt or run NET ADMIN and choose Audit Trail from the Status menu.

This works well if you are viewing limited auditing. However, if full auditing is necessary, the audit file can fill quickly. Either of the normal viewing methods is unacceptable.

To get around the limitations of these viewers and to limit the growth of the NET.AUD file, administrators can use the AT command scheduler to redirect NET AUDIT's output to a text file and then clear the current NET.AUD file. The resulting text file can then be viewed with an editor or word processor.

For example, to redirect NET AUDIT to a text file at 5 am and clear the NET.AUD file at 5:15 am, enter the following commands at the OS/2 command prompt:

AT 5:00 "NET AUDIT > C:\ARCHIVE\AUDIT.TXT"
AT 5:15 "NET AUDIT /DELETE"

To append the output to an existing file instead of replacing the file, type the following command:

AT 5:00 "NET AUDIT >> C:\ARCHIVE\AUDIT.TXT"

It is also possible to write a REXX script or a client program that will retrieve the AUDIT.TXT file from the server and rename it with a unique name, perhaps including the day's date, such as 050895.AUD.

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:9/30/2003
Keywords:KB130420