Working with Non-Domain (Workgroup) Machines

Purpose:

You wish to know the best way to configure PDQ Deploy and/or PDQ Inventory to work with machines that are not joined to an Active Directory domain such as Workgroup computers.

Resolution:

Working with non-domain machines is covered in the following:

Credentials

AD Sync

Central Server

Credentials:

In both PDQ Deploy and PDQ Inventory, you may add as many unique credentials as you need. If you have an identical local admin account on all your targets then you're one-and-done, but we know this is rarely the case. The process of adding credentials is covered in the following article.

Adding and Using Multiple Credentials in PDQ

AD Sync:

Note: This section will not apply if you have a strictly non-domain environment.

When you have a mix of both domain and non-domain machines you'll want to set your AD Sync Delete Mode Options > Preferences > Active Directory > Delete Mode to Mixed Sync or Import Only. Either option will ensure that your inventory not synced from AD will remain when a sync runs. More details on these modes may be found in the following article: How to Synchronize Active Directory with PDQ Inventory

 

Central Server:

  • Server is installed on a domain machine, but client is on a non-domain machine
  • Server and client are both in a non-domain environment, but utilize different local admin accounts

For both of the scenarios listed above, you will need to go through the following two steps in order for the client to connect to the server.

  1. The local admin account used to launch the client console will need to exist as a local admin on the server using the same exact username/password.
  2. Add those credentials into Options > Console Users, leaving the domain field blank or with just a period ".".

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See Also:

Article - Adding and Using Multiple Credentials in PDQ

Article - How to Synchronize Active Directory with PDQ Inventory

Article - Disable Remote UAC for Local Admin/LAPS accounts

Article - Scan for AD Info When Using a Local Account (LAPS)

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