Asset Management Products Let You Gain Network Control

Inventory Anyone who's performed an enterprise inventory knows that obtaining an accurate list of desktop resources is a never-ending job. Therefore, it's critical that every scan of your network recognizes changes and obtains flexible, accurate and automated information. In testing inventory control, we specifically looked at the areas of hardware and software scan preparation, scanning detail, change tracking and database query. We evaluated solutions from HP, Intel , MainControl, Microsoft, PLATINUM, Seagate, Tally and Tivoli. Assigning unique IDs is critical to tracking, but not as easy as it sounds. Most major PC manufacturers insert serial numbers and asset tag numbers in a system's BIOS. But where this information is located has not been standardized. One way to circumvent this problem is through the use of Desktop Management Task Force MIF (Management Information Format) files. Most PC makers load these text-based files on new machines. Many of the products tested can read and use MIF files. However, many corporate deployment strategies call for wiping new hard drives clean, which removes the MIF files. Another way to solve the inventory problem is to use the specialized information on a PC vendor-by-vendor basis and model-by-model basis. Of course, these strategies address only the tracking of PC BIOS information. What about memory, hard drives and monitors? The serial numbers of these peripherals cannot be read by the products tested. Drum Roll, Please Top honors in the inventory category go to MainControl's MC/Empower, which makes the tedious job of asset-tracking a bit easier. Its asset-tracking functionality, along with wide platform support, a distributed architecture and a flexible o bject-oriented design, make this newcomer a winner. Overall, Seagate Software's Desktop Management Suite has strong features, even with its limited platform support. Disappointing was PLATINUM's AutoXfer Inventory, which lacked asset tracking and flexibility in scanning. This situation will no doubt change since PLATINUM has purchased Intel Configuration Manager and is expected to begin integrating other parts of Intel's scanning technology into its product. Software Distribution Distributing software is a two-part process, split between packaging the software installation and its deployment to client end stations. Generally, workgroup-based products have tended to excel in packaging, while larger enterprise-based products have offered specialized deployment mechanisms. The deployment process is further divided into the operational procedures of monitoring the transfer and physical distribution of data. These are two key factors that determine a product's ability to handle an enterprise. Wit hin the discipline of software distribution, we tested solutions from HP, Intel, MainControl, Microsoft, ON Technology, PLATINUM, Seagate, Tally and Tivoli. The process of packaging software for distribution is really a development process, not a management one. Software packaging can be further broken down into two clearly defined camps: delta-based products, which track the differences on a machine after software has been installed and send only the differences, and script-based products, which create scripts to guide and auto-answer installation wizards for users. Delta-based products are easier to use, while script-based products are more flexible. In most cases, delta-based processes are enhanced with scripts and text file edits. Our winner in this category is Tivoli's TME 10. Tivoli's strong enterprise architecture and production control carried it through average packaging functionality. Another strong finisher is Microsoft's System Management Server (SMS) 2.0, which is in beta tests. Microsoft's latest SMS offers very good bandwidth control, an improved architecture and excellent depth of functionality. However, it's suited only for Microsoft OS-based environments. Software Metering Software metering is a discipline divided between trending software usage and managing who gets to use that software and when they get to use it. Also included in this category is the enforcement of licenses. Here, we tested products from HP, Intel, Microsoft, Seagate Software and Tally. The license usage and trending data provided by each of these vendor's solutions was fairly equal. All provide online and reporting formats that facilitate software metering. The solutions varied in their ability to share licenses among servers and sites. The top finisher in the software-metering portion of our testing was Microsoft's SMS 2.0. We were surprised to find Microsoft's recently added metering functionality has leapfrogged the competition with dynamic license sharing across servers and domains. The solutions from Seagate and Tally follow close behind, offering excellent metering functionality. Coming up short in this discipline is HP, which offers basic functionality, but lacks flexible queuing and the VIP control offered by the others. Because of the three disciplines examined in this review, we present the product comparisons in alphabetic order by vendor.

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