Netopia's Timbuktu Pro doesn't supply add-on modules for secure gateways, like NetOp Remote Control does, or Notification Servers to distribute the program, like Altiris Carbon Copy does, and did not distinguish itself in any category. But it does support multiple operating systems in the enterprise, provides all the features associated with remote control and has average memory requirements.
Timbuktu Pro's performance surprised us. Although a popular remote-control program, it only managed seventh in file transfers and sixth in bitmap transfers. Although it does have good directory integration and distribution utilities, it lacks central event handling, does not provide inventories and does not give enterprises much of a break on price, coming in at $36,360 for a 1,000 user site.
On the other hand, Timbuktu Pro is the only product in our lineup that supports Mac OS 9 and X along with Windows 98, Me, NT, 2000 and XP, and it covers all the basics to observe and control remote computers along with file transfer and chat (text and voice) utilities. Like pcAnywhere and LapLink, Timbuktu Pro provides several communication options for remote control, including LAN, ISDN, DSL, cable and direct dial-up. And not surprisingly, it is the only player to support Apple Talk in addition to IPX and TCP/IP.
Timbuktu Pro supports push or pull, unattended, scheduled network installations and offers a "Make List" program that finds all computers on a network eligible for installation or upgrade. It also lets you upgrade existing versions and push common address books and site policies to share host information and enforce configurations and security.
Timbuktu Manager is the administrative tool used to scan network computers running Timbuktu Pro. It can connect to a particular machine and change configuration to enforce standard settings throughout the enterprise. In this way, we locked down our Timbuktu Pro machines in the lab and forced them to act as hosts only. The Manager can work in MMC (Microsoft Management Console) through a Snap-It module.
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