InformationWeek

May 8, 2000

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Solution Series:
Management Options Abound

Systems managers opt for more control as companies grow

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PDF file: Selected Systems Management Software

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ast, unbridled growth is usually the biggest catalyst for adopting centralized systems management. As users begin to number in the hundreds or more, systems managers need to be able to centrally control systems to maximize IT dollars and efficiency.

The right solution for your company should let managers conduct critical management functions without leaving their desks. It should also let them maximize staff using the latest technologies.

Systems-management software is mature and most of its features are self-explanatory. However, some of the newer standards may be less familiar:

The Desktop Management Interface is a specification developed by the Desktop Management Task Force (DMTF), a consortium of hardware, software, and peripheral vendors. DMI gives support personnel access to hardware and software components so they can access and change parameter values and settings, and view data generated by software agents and diagnostics routines.

Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) permits Internet technologies, such as browsers, to access, view, and manage enterprise networks, systems, and software resources. This standard was finalized in the fourth quarter of 1999 by the DMTF. Watch for more software solutions to support WBEM as more vendors adopt the standard. So far, some WBEM-enabled devices are in the early stages and must wait for applications to contact remote gear and retrieve information about their location and configuration, but they are finally gaining the ability to report their status to management applications.

In the future, WBEM needs to work with directory enabled networks to manage virtual networks by retrieving information from network directories.

The DMTF also approved specs that describe how the Extensible Markup Language can be used to specify Common Information Model information in a Web format.

Wired For Management is Intel's umbrella term for a set of management standards supported by hardware vendors. It communicates with network management software to help PCs send inventory data, manage power, and reboot remotely.

We've provided a short list in this buyer's guide of some products that are currently available. Included are departmental solutions geared toward smaller companies, as well as those capable of managing multilocation, multisite enterprises.

Download a list of "Selected Systems Management Software" as a PDF file.

(To view a PDF file, you must first have the Adobe Acrobat Reader.)

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