Main Console Interface

The main Alter-Ego console window provides the mechanism to configure and execute a migration.

The menu contains many options, including the ability to save or load migration settings, import computers from Active Directory or from file, refresh or clear the display, configure program options, start the Easy Setup Wizard, perform a Network Test, and start a migration.

The computers pane, on the left, provides a hierarchical view of all computers which will be migrated. This is also called the inheritance tree. Computers can be grouped for organizational purposes, or to facilitate the deployment of similar settings to many computers. The root of the tree is always a group (folder) called All Computers. Each computer> or group in the tree is also called a node. For more information on computers, groups, and settings, please see Alter-Ego concepts.

Computers and groups can be moved as desired by simply dragging the node and dropping it on the destination group. When moving any node, you must consider its effect on settings inheritance (see below).

Any group with settings becomes a new settings inheritance point for all nodes beneath it in the tree. This is referred to as a settings root. All computers and groups beneath a settings root will automatically inherit settings from the settings root unless given their own individual settings (which, in the case of a group, creates a new settings root). A computer cannot be a settings root as it cannot contain other computers or groups.

The computers and groups in the computers pane are color-coded to reflect their current settings and settings inheritance. By default computers are blue and groups are orange-yellow. A default-colored object is inheriting its settings normally from the first group above it in the tree which has settings (the settings root). Green computers and groups have custom settings. A green group is a new settings root. A grey-colored group indicates that a computer or group somewhere within the hierarchy beneath the grey group has custom settings. A grey group inherits settings normally, just like a default-colored group. This coloration is merely an indicator to allow users to easily locate changes in settings inheritance.

If we consider the screenshot above as an example:

• The All Computers group always has settings (i.e. it is always a settings root) so it will always be green.
• The Europe, USA, and Bogota groups are all green indicating that each of these groups has its own settings. Any groups or computers within these groups will inherit the settings from these settings roots unless they are overwritten by settings at a lower level.
• Norway and Portugal are default color indicating they are inheriting permissions from the first parent above them which has its own settings (indicated by a green folder) -- in this case, the Europe group.
• The North America, Canada, and Calgary groups are all grey indicating that they are inheriting settings normally (from All Computers), however there is an object somewhere within the path with custom settings set. Following down through the tree we see this is COMPUTER001, which is green. COMPUTER002 is the default blue computer color, meaning its settings are inherited (again, from All Computers).
• The South America and Colombia groups are grey because the Bogota group has its own settings (it is green). Though the Brazil group is found within the South America group, it is default color meaning it and all of its children are inheriting settings normally from All Computers.
• Finally, COMPUTER299 and COMPUTER300 are the default blue color meaning they are inheriting from the first settings root above them -- in this case the Bogota group.

For more information on inheritance please see the Settings Inheritance help topic.

Below the computers pane is a pane containing buttons which can be used to manually create New Computers and Groups.

Located at the top-right corner, the profiles list displays the source and destination usernames or SIDs of each profile migration which Alter-Ego will perform. Entries can be added to or removed from this list using the Add and Delete buttons located just under the list. Each computer has its own profile list. Groups cannot be assigned profiles.

In the bottom-right corner is the general settings area. These settings can be inherited from parent groups or set directly on any computer or group. Typically, settings are initially set through the Easy Setup Wizard, then customized for certain groups. The settings are organized into tabs:

• The Profile Context tab contains information on source and destination contexts -- if the account is a local or domain account, and domain information -- for the profiles to be migrated.
• On the Domain Change tab you will find options on changing a computer's domain membership: which domain or workgroup to join, and domain controller information for domain joins.
• The Options tab contains other settings pertaining to the profile migration.
• The Authentication tab displays a list of the accounts for each authentication role to be used in the migration. Buttons to launch the Authentication Wizard and to manually change accounts are found just beneath the list of authentication roles.

The Save Settings button will save the settings for the currently selected node. If the selected node has settings, clicking the Inherit Parent Settings button will cause the node's custom settings to be deleted. This results in the selected node and any inheriting children to inherit their settings from the next-higher settings root in the tree. Overwrite Child Settings has the opposite effect, forcing all settings beneath the selected settings root to be overwritten, re-establishing complete inheritance of the current settings.