Tips for executing external scripts and batch files with alerts

This article provides advice that can help with preventing errors when using either the "Execute an external program" or the "Execute an external VB script" actions with a SolarWinds Platform alert.

• Generally, if a batch or VBS script runs correctly from the desktop of your SolarWinds Platform server using the same account specified, it will most likely fire correctly from an alert.
• Run all external batch files and scripts from the C: drive of your SolarWinds Platform server.
• Remove all spaces in VB script names.
• In some cases, quotation marks may be required around script names and any variables passed to the called script.
• Please note, if you are using a batch file to create a text file as a test, you should specify the path.
  Example: “echo Working!!! > lolzor.txt”
  If you do not specify the path, you will not see the text file generated and think that the file did not generate.
  Windows may have stored this in the default directory instead - C:\Windows\SysWOW64.
• Microsoft locks down the way scripts run by default for a service so that applications with graphical user interfaces cannot be launched. It is possible, however, to configure services to interact with the desktop, as shown in the following procedure:

​Note: Running a process under the Local Account may be considered a security risk.

a. Click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.

b. Right-click the service you want to configure and then click Properties.

c. On the Log On tab, select Local System account, and then check Allow service to interact with desktop.

• If a script does not run as expected from the Alert Manager, even if it runs correctly from the desktop, confirm that the user under which the Advanced Alert manager is running has permission to run the desired script, as shown in the following procedure:

​a. Click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.

b. If the account listed under User Name cannot restart the service, the service will fail to launch.

For the latest information about alerts, see Alerting resources for Orion Platform products.

• If the service is launched by a non-Administrator user, complete the following steps to launch the service as an Administrator:

​a. Right-click the service, and then click Properties.

b. On the Log On tab, select This account.

c. Provide or Browse to a user with administrative privileges, and then provide and confirm the administrative user password.

d. Click OK.