Tivoli IT Director 2.1

Using the Internet to Monitor Information
You can use IT Director to create and publish an Internet home page that lets you or your users view monitoring information on a managed system, request configured software distribution packages, or view realtime event status. Using the Web Site Builder to publish a Web page is simple. From the Tasks menu in the main console, I chose the Web site directory, entered a page title, and chose to enable monitor publishing, event publishing, and software distribution package publishing. I created a Web page in less than a minute. After I logged on, I could use several hyperlinks in the left pane of the Web page, as Screen 3 shows, to open information. When I clicked the Software Distribution link, the program listed all the software packages that I could install. I selected the package I wanted and clicked Install.

Swiss Army Knife?
IT Director lets you manage other LAN management suite agents, such as SMS, Intel LANDesk, and IBM Netfinity. The program uses the MPM API, which is a comprehensive and expandable specification that lets management programs communicate. When you install the IT Director Management Server, NT agent, Win95 agent, or OS/2 agent, the program prompts you to install the corresponding MPM provider for the LAN management application on the machine. After you install the software, you select MPM Systems from the Tasks, Discover Systems menu to discover systems. After you discover the IT Director agents, the agents report to the IT Director Management Server and specify whether the system on which they're installed includes MPM provider software.

IT Director and MPM systems differ in several ways. You can't delete individual MPM systems from IT Director dynamic groups, inventory statistics from MPM systems aren't as granular as are those from IT Director systems, and MPM systems don't support file distribution servers. Furthermore, if you delete the IT Director system that serves as the MPM site, then the program automatically deletes all MPM systems.

The software's remote control is a useful feature. Remote control lets you take over a user's NT 4.0, Win9x, Windows 3.x, or OS/2 system for repairs or to conduct user training. Although you can concurrently monitor multiple systems from one console, you can remotely control only one system at a time. In addition, you can't remotely control systems running SNMP devices, NetWare, or OS/400. However, small and midsized businesses will appreciate remote control for their Help desk functions.

Security
You configure IT Director's security through the Console Security dialog box. Select Options, Console Security on the main screen to access this dialog box. Each time a change occurs and you open the IT Director console, you automatically update and import all the domain's user accounts into the Console Security window. I found the extra user accounts unwieldy at first because you can't filter them. Although you can't change the accounts' user information, you can modify IT Director-specific information. You can also create IT Director server accounts to administer the program, but these accounts don't show up in NT users' lists. The software includes an option that lets you view unauthorized server users, but you can't sort users by their domain privileges. You can add a new user through the File menu or edit a current user's settings by right-clicking the username in the Console Security window and selecting Edit from the pop-up menu. You can choose from four information tabs: User Properties, Privileges, Group Access, and Task Access. The User Properties tab lets you set user IDs and enter user information. The Privileges tab lets you choose privileges to grant to the user from the Available Privileges pane, which includes 11 choices from Allow access to server file system to Allow wake-up of systems. The Group Access tab lets you limit the groups that users can access, and the Task Access tab lets you select which tasks a user can access and configure.

Inventory Taking
Many companies need an equipment inventory, but inventory products are expensive. One of IT Director's strengths is its granular inventory data collection. This feature lets you use 35 standard queries, including basic system, disk IP address, and partition information queries. The program takes an initial inventory of each computer when you install an IT Director agent on the system. You can view the inventory of one system at a time, or you can view group inventories. I opened the inventory for all systems and devices, which launched the Inventory Query Browser: All Systems and Devices dialog box. The left pane lists standard queries. To build a custom query, right-click the Custom query folder and select Build Custom Query from the pop-up menu. In the window that appears, you can choose the items you want inventory data about and drag the items from the Available Criteria pane to the Selected Criteria pane. To remove items from the inventory, drag the items to the Available Criteria pane. You select Options, Server Preferences and make the appropriate changes to the Inventory Collection Preferences tab to change inventory data refresh rates. The granularity of the collected inventory data makes IT Director valuable because you can save your data as an HTML file or Comma Separated Values (CSV) file for export to other applications.

To view software installed on one or more computers, open the group's Inventory Query Browser, expand the Standard folder, and select Software, as Screen 4 shows. In the right pane, the program lists all the software that matches an entry in IT Director's software dictionary. To customize the dictionary, select Options, Edit Software Dictionary. The dictionary window lists folders of entries by program type in the left pane and entry definition data in the right pane. To add a dictionary entry, I selected File, New, entered the program's title and vendor information, which I included in the systems management type, and entered backup as a keyword. Finally, I associated the program's main executable and Help files in the Associated Files box and saved the changes. However, when I performed another software query of all systems and devices, the program I had just entered didn't show up in the list. I rechecked the settings and queried again to no avail. Even a call to Tivoli's technical support yielded no results, and I was disappointed that my custom software entry didn't work.

Distributing Software to the Masses
One of IT Director's most helpful features is integrated software distribution, which works similarly to SMS but is easier to use. To open the Software Distribution Manager, right-click Software Distribution in the Tasks pane of the main console. Screen 5 shows some of the 28 software-package templates you can choose, including Microsoft Exchange Server 5.0 clients, Internet Explorer (IE) 5.0, Office 97 or 2000, and NT 4.0 service packs. Wizards help you use an SMS program definition file (PDF), InstallShield file, or IT Director File Package to create a distribution package to use with IT Director. Finally, you can create a custom package by double-clicking Custom Package Editor in the Software Distribution Manager and entering information in the multiple tabs.

I wanted to test the templates, so I double-clicked Microsoft Office 2000 Premium, which opened a wizard. This wizard included all the steps I needed to complete to create the package, including an administrative installation of Office 2000. I closed IT Director, performed the administrative installation, restarted IT Director, and finished the steps for the Microsoft Office 2000 Premium template. I clicked Next, entered the path to the administrative installation I had completed, and clicked Finish. I created the package in about 20 minutes. I dragged the new package to the 130MBRAM+NT4.0+333MHzproc group and clicked Execute Now to initiate an installation of Office 2000 Premium. The installation completed on all the systems in about 15 minutes and didn't require a reboot of the client systems. The software distribution tool is easy to set up and configure, and it will save many small and midsized companies time and money in application and update rollouts. If you can create an installation package for an application or update an OS, then you can use the program's software distribution feature to push the installation to your IT Director client's systems.

The Final Tally
IT Director helps businesses of 1500 or fewer seats with their network management without breaking the annual budget. I was pleased with the program, especially the breadth of its inventory information and the simplicity of the software distribution tool. The Web Site Builder helps users install software and helps administrators monitor managed systems.

The program isn't all gold, though. I was frustrated with the thick manual and disorganized online Help. When I wanted to accomplish a task, neither the manual nor the online Help explicitly laid out steps to do so, and they didn't offer links to point me to the window I needed to work in. I made three calls to Tivoli's technical support group and received fast responses that got me working again, but the company needs to improve the software's online Help and manual. Despite these drawbacks, if you want enterprise-like management tools at a small-business price, then IT Director is the package for you.