{{Multiple issues, {{Advert, date=February 2016 {{Unreferenced, date=April 2022 SYDI (Script Your Documentation Instantly) is an

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

project aimed at assisting

system administrators A system administrator, or sysadmin, or admin is a person who is responsible for the upkeep, configuration, and reliable operation of computer systems, especially multi-user computers, such as servers. The system administrator seeks to ensu ...

do in documenting their networks. Hosted on

SourceForge SourceForge is a web service that offers software consumers a centralized online location to control and manage open-source software projects and research business software. It provides source code repository hosting, bug tracking, mirrorin ...

, the project provides scripts that target computers running

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

and Linxu operating systems. The Windows scripts are written in VBScrip, while the Linux script is written in

Python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

. Each script serves two basic functions: collecting and reporting. After targeting a system, the script collects information from the target and outputs it to either an

XML Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing arbitrary data. It defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. T ...

file or a

Microsoft Word Microsoft Word is a word processing software developed by Microsoft. It was first released on October 25, 1983, under the name ''Multi-Tool Word'' for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms includin ...

document. SYDI is licensed under the

BSD License BSD licenses are a family of permissive free software licenses, imposing minimal restrictions on the use and distribution of covered software. This is in contrast to copyleft licenses, which have share-alike requirements. The original BSD lic ...

SYDI components

As of version 2.0, SYDI consists of four separate script packages, each of which targets specific

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

s or applications.

SYDI-Server

SYDI-Server is the most developed script within the SYDI project. It is used to document Windows servers or clients. It collects information with

Windows Management Instrumentation Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) consists of a set of extensions to the Windows Driver Model that provides an operating system interface through which instrumented components provide information and notification. WMI is Microsoft's impl ...

(WMI) and by reading the

Windows registry The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores low-level settings for the Microsoft Windows operating system and for applications that opt to use the registry. The kernel, device drivers, services, Security Accounts Manager, and use ...

. SYDI-Server finds basic hardware settings, installed software, domain membership, network settings etc.

SYDI-Exchange

SYDI-Exchange is used to document

Microsoft Exchange Server Microsoft Exchange Server is a mail server and calendaring server developed by Microsoft. It runs exclusively on Windows Server operating systems. The first version was called Exchange Server 4.0, to position it as the successor to the related ...

organizations. Information is gathered through

LDAP The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP ) is an open, vendor-neutral, industry standard application protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services over an Internet Protocol (IP) network. Directory servi ...

queries to the

Active Directory Active Directory (AD) is a directory service developed by Microsoft for Windows domain networks. It is included in most Windows Server operating systems as a set of processes and services. Initially, Active Directory was used only for centralize ...

where the Exchange information is stored.

SYDI-SQL

SYDI-SQL is used to document Microsoft SQL (

MS SQL Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system developed by Microsoft. As a database server, it is a software product with the primary function of storing and retrieving data as requested by other software applications—which ma ...

) Servers. Information is gathered by using SQL queries against the target server.

SYDI-Linux

SYDI-Linux is the least developed package within the SYDI project. Information is gathered by reading various files on a Linux system. SYDI-Linux focuses on documenting the

Gentoo Linux Gentoo Linux (pronounced ) is a Linux distribution built using the Portage package management system. Unlike a binary software distribution, the source code is compiled locally according to the user's preferences and is often optimized for the ...

distribution. Unlike the other SYDI packages this is not able to write Microsoft Word documents, however the XML file created can be converted into an

OpenOffice OpenOffice or open office may refer to: Computing Software * OpenOffice.org (OOo), a discontinued open-source office software suite, originally based on StarOffice * Apache OpenOffice (AOO), a derivative of OOo by the Apache Software Foundation, w ...

document.

SYDI-SMS

SYDI-SMS is an offshoot of the SYDI project. It was created by a Microsoft MVP to document his System Management Server 2003 unlike the other Microsoft-based SYDI packages, this script only create a Word document.

SYDI-SCCM

SYDI-SCCM is an offshoot of the SYDI project. It was created by a Microsoft MVP to document his System Center Configuration Manager 2007 unlike the other Microsoft-based SYDI packages, this script only create a Word document. This version will document most of CM12 too.

SYDI-CM12

SYDI-SCCM is an offshoot of the SYDI project. It was created by a Microsoft MVP to document his System Center Configuration Manager 2012 unlike the other Microsoft-based SYDI packages, this script will only create a Word document. This version will document most of CM12 too.

External links

Official SYDI WebsiteCreators blog with news about SYDISYDI-SMS, SYDI SCCM, and SYDI CM12 scripts
Free documentation generators Windows network-related software