Systems Management Server 2003. Microsoft Corp., (800) 426-9400, (425) 882-8080. www.microsoft.com/management/default.mspx
Computer Associates' product is a collection of integrated components, and does it show! We had to keep jumping from window to window to access different features of the suite. Unicenter was also the most expensive product we tested. And though the version of Unicenter we tested does not provide patch management, CA offers this functionality in its eTrust suite, which can be intergrated with Unicenter.
The Unicenter suite's ability to set access controls for each object and folder, roll back across all targets if an installation fails on any one and record remote-control sessions all add brownie points. However, these pluses couldn't overcome its lack of patch management, poor UI design and high price. CA's product also does not support HTTP communication and wouldn't let us specify not to distribute a package on a slow link.
Unicenter Software Delivery 4.0, Unicenter Asset Management 4.0, Unicenter Remote Control 6.0. Computer Associates International, (800) 225-5224, (631) 342-6000. www.ca.com
Novell ZENworks works with and authenticates against eDirectory, which replicates data from other directories, such as Active Directory. The product's DirXML component sends any changes made in AD to eDirectory. If you use AD for your directory services, this arrangement is less than optimal, but if you can get past that, or use eDirectory, ZENworks offers some cool features. It had the best lockdown capabilities, limiting application access to certain users and groups. Novell also is the only vendor to support Linux patch management, via Ximian Red Carpet, which the company recently acquired. We could configure ZENworks to run an application in thin-client mode when a user is on a slow network connection, and locally when on a fast connection.
If you manage mostly desktops and want to save a few bucks, you can purchase ZENworks for Desktops, which manages only PCs; the full ZENworks 6 suite includes server and handheld management.
To use ZENworks effectively, you'll need to be familiar with eDirectory, which is used to store and reference all policies. We found the reporting mechanism weak and difficult to interpret, and alerts are limited to SMNP and log files. However, if you purchase Crystal Reports Designer, which works with ZENworks, you can write custom reports.
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