Find running COM objects (of a specific type) on LAN computers
Hi,
I've been given the task of writing a COM automation server (which will be added to
an existing program) and a related executable that connects only to that specific
COM interface.
The question is this: What is the best (or at least a good) way to search all the
machines on a LAN for running instances of this COM object? (I've seen SQL Server's
Enterprise Manager do something like this when adding a server registration and
hitting the "..." button to select the server.)
Of the few ideas I currently have, they would either: 1) time-out while trying to
create an object which wasn't installed on a machine, 2) require a special
object-finder COM object installed on every machine on the LAN (BAD), or 3) force
remote registry connections (which means an extra installation step on 9x machines).
Any good feeback would be appreciated!
John