Client notifications in a domain

Question

We are interested in sending notifications to our user clients in a windows domain. So for example before restarting the file server (windows server 2016) we would like to inform (with a pop-up or so on their desktops) all online users that a restart will happen. Is this possible with integrated tools or third-party software?

E-Mail is not an option since people should be forced to see it, even if the e-mail program is not running. — InDubio, Apr 21 '17 at 11:42

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 21 '17 at 11:11

3

You can create a scheduled basic task with GPO. There is a task action called Display a message. Use this and run the task once at the time you like. This shows a simple message box with your text.

answered Apr 21 '17 at 11:11

duenni

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score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 21 '17 at 11:10

msg.exe in combination with psexec could be something you want to look into (requires list of all computers on your domain.):
https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/431275-sending-messages-to-all-domain-users
Group message in Skype for Business (formerly known as Lync) (requires Skype / Lync and users to be signed in)
Plain email to all users
Email with an attached calendar event with notification in the past which will pop up for the users upon receiving it (requires Outlook afaik)
Custom software which runs in the background polling a server every couple seconds / minutes for a message and displays it as a popup for the user (quite simple to implement)

score -2 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 21 '17 at 12:06

-2

Try:

shutdown -r -t <time> -c "<comment>"

edited Apr 21 '17 at 12:06

mzhaase

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answered Apr 21 '17 at 10:41

hill_sprints

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This isn't what the OP is asking for. This will make an entry into the Event log of the machine being shut down. No message will be sent to users of other computers in the domain. – I say Reinstate Monica Apr 21 '17 at 21:50

Client notifications in a domain

3 Answers3