I'm looking for advice on how to effectively monitor the desktop machines we have in our conference rooms. These machines often sit unused for long periods, sometimes weeks or even months. When they're finally turned on, they start patching immediately, which leads to complaints from users as they experience interruptions during meetings. I want to avoid relying on our data center monitoring solution and am considering setting up some sort of system to power on these machines if they've been off for more than a couple of days. What proactive measures do you use to keep your conference room computers ready and monitored?
5 Answers
We handle this by setting the BIOS to power on these PCs every morning. Additionally, we have Group Policy Objects (GPO) configured to restart them every evening. If shutting down is a problem, you can use GPO to remove that option altogether. This way, they’re always ready for use when needed!
I've found keeping them always on is the best method. You can set them to auto power on or off via BIOS. Alternatively, switching to a Teams room setup might be beneficial, especially if you connect them to a TV via HDMI for simpler operations.
We have a strict policy preventing users from rebooting or shutting down our boardroom PCs. Instead, we provide an easy 'reboot' icon on the desktop. Plus, we schedule a task to automatically reboot them every morning at 2 AM to keep everything fresh.
If you want a more hands-off solution, consider scheduling them to power on at around 2 AM and power down by 9 PM. This gives them enough time to update and be available during the day without manual intervention.
Having them powered on at all times is the way I manage things. Our remote support tool lets me check their patch status. It keeps everything running smoothly without unexpected interruptions.
This is exactly what we do! I set the Dell BIOS to power on at 6 AM, and our remote management software restarts them at 3 AM. We also removed the shutdown option with GPO and set a screensaver to display our logo, so it doesn’t look like a black screen TV. I even glued the power buttons on the keyboard and mouse to ON! Plus, we have a scheduled maintenance ticket to change the batteries in those devices every six months.