To keep these tools updated to the latest versions, manually updating can be quite tedious and time consuming, especially when there are multiple servers in the mix. So we have a solution for you: a simple to set up solution where you maintain a single set of tools and all your machines sync the versions of their tools to this location.
For example, suppose you maintain systems on 3 separate networks and like to have the same set of 10 tools available on all these machines for scripts and maintenance. You would have a master folder of tools (available via a web site) where you maintain the release versions you want distributed to all your systems. All your other systems then “phone home” to this master folder and download the respective version locally. This process provides an automated solution to always making sure your utility versions are consistent across all your systems.
Setting up the Environment
The environment for this to work is pretty easy to set up and, once done, is truly a “set it and forget it” solution.
Create a folder inside of a web site you have access to which will server as the master folder (i. e. ToolsFolder). Upload all your common utilities to this folder. On the servers you want to sync to the master site, place the script below into the local folder which holds the tools (and WGet if you do not have it already). Update the URL to your master folder (i. e. http://my. site. com/ToolsFolder). Schedule the script to run periodically and all the local tools which exist on master site will be sync’ed.
Alternate Uses
While we have covered a practical use a system admin may have for this type of script, there are many other situations where this script can come in handy:
Use to update Sysinternals and Nirsoft utilities on local machines (URL’s are included in the script). Use on a desktop system to keep a set of documents sync’ed with a master copy.
The script supports both hardcoding a URL as well as supplying one from the command line (i.e. UpdateFromWeb http://source.site.com/Stuff.zip), so use your imagination.
The Script
Links
Download UpdateFromWeb Script from SysadminGeek.com
Download WGet
