How to set up the Active Directory Watch Daemon¶

The Active Directory Watch Daemon or adwatchd is a Windows application for automating the otherwise manual process of incrementing the version stanza of a GPT.ini file.

The program can be simplified to the following steps:

Watch a list of user-configured directories and their subdirectories for changes, where only the root directory has a GPT.ini file
When a change is detected, attempt to locate a GPT.ini file at the root of the watched directory or create one if absent
If a GPT.ini file is found, increment the version stanza of the file by 1, which ensures that a new version of the assets (including scripts) are available to download during the next client refresh

Installation¶

The adwatchd application is available as a standalone Windows executable file, distributed as part of the adsys-windows Ubuntu package.

It is also packaged as an installer, which is available in the ADSys GitHub repository.

Installing with the Ubuntu package¶

To source the adwatchd executable from the adsys-windows package, run the following on Ubuntu:

sudo apt install adsys-windows

This installs the adwatchd.exe executable in the following directory on the Ubuntu client:

/usr/share/adsys/windows

We recommend that you deploy this executable to a persistent directory on the AD Domain Controller, such as:

%SystemDrive%\Program Files\Ubuntu\adsys\

Installing using the bespoke installer¶

Download the latest release of the adwatchd_setup.exe file — or a specific version if you prefer.

Run the executable then follow the installation steps.

You can optionally specify a different installation directory for the application.

Configuring and starting the daemon¶

We recommend using the interactive configuration tool to install the application, as it provides a level of error handling, accounts for path normalization and handles the creation of the configuration file.

After installation, the configuration file can be edited further as needed.

Using the interactive configuration tool¶

Regardless of how the application is installed, the configuration steps are the same:

Locate and run the adwatchd.exe executable to start the interactive configuration tool
Specify a path for the configuration file, or leave it blank to use the default location (the directory where the executable is located)
Specify a list of directories to watch, one per line (the program will block installation if any of the directories do not exist)
Hit the Install button to finish the installation, this will:
- Create the configuration file if it does not exist
- Install and start the adwatchd Windows service

For a better understanding of what directories should be configured for watching, please refer to the installing scripts on the sysvol in the explanation page for scripts execution.

Note

The interactive configuration tool can only be run if the adwatchd service is not already installed on the machine.

Please refer to the adwatchd service section of the CLI reference for adwatchd for instructions on how to manage the service.

Editing the configuration file¶

The configuration is stored as a YAML file, which can be freely edited after the application has been installed.

The following keys are configurable:

verbose: 0     # 0 = warning, 1 = info, 2 = debug, 3 = debug with caller output
dirs:          # list of directories to watch
  - C:\Windows\SYSVOL\sysvol\testdomain.com\Ubuntu     # traditional path
  - \\testdomain.com\SYSVOL\testdomain.com\Ubuntu      # UNC path

Configuring the service using a pre-filled configuration file¶

For convenience, the adwatchd application can be configured with a pre-filled configuration file.

Open a Command Prompt or PowerShell terminal and run one of the commands below.

Run interactive configuration tool:

C:\path\to\adwatchd.exe -c path\to\config.yaml

Run service installation command:

C:\path\to\adwatchd.exe service install -c path\to\config.yaml

Upgrading the service¶

The upgrade process differs based on the installation method used. If you decide to switch to a different installation method, you need to uninstall the existing service beforehand.

Upgrading with the Ubuntu package¶

Source the new adwatchd executable from the adsys-windows Ubuntu package
Stop the adwatchd service using the Services GUI or the adwatchd service stop command
(Optional) Remove the existing adwatchd service from the system through the adwatchd service uninstall command
Replace the existing adwatchd.exe executable with the new one
(Optional) Install the adwatchd service through the adwatchd service install command
Start the adwatchd service using the Services GUI or the adwatchd service start command

The optional steps are only necessary if you want a complete upgrade of the application, which is not usually needed. Always refer to the changelog for information on the latest version of the application.

Upgrading with the bespoke installer¶

Source the latest release of the adwatchd_setup.exe file
Run the installer and follow the prompts

The installer automatically handles the upgrade process.

It will offer to stop the service if it is running prior to the upgrade, and start it again afterwards.