Third Parties Enhance Microsoft's Systems Management Efforts

HP aims to bring adaptive enterprise capabilities to the console by developing and acquiring products that provide these capabilities. For example, at the OpenView console, you view the discrete technologies that make up an application as a single business service. You can drill down in the service view to see problem areas. You can tell OpenView to perform automated actions in certain error situations, such as creating a Help desk ticket or starting a service, or specify a manual action, such as opening a Microsoft Knowledge Base article or annotating a solution to the problem in an internal knowledge base.

IBM's Tivoli
IBM has integrated 25 years of systems management knowledge and processes into an array of solutions under the Tivoli umbrella. Like the other big four NSM vendors' products, IBM's Tivoli can either operate as a standalone product or integrate into Tivoli's centralized console.

Tivoli consists of four product groups organized according to their functionality: security, storage, performance and availability, and configuration and operations. These categories encompass many solutions, ranging from essentials, such as IBM Tivoli Monitoring, to more specialized products, such as Tivoli e-Marketplace Manager. IBM also offers a Change and Configuration Management (CCM) tool—IBM Tivoli Configuration and Operations—that distributes software, manages the change and control of IT assets, automates workflow, and lets you remotely control systems.

Like the other big four vendors, IBM has tailored its products to help organizations align their NSM infrastructure with business objectives. IBM has also successfully promoted its autonomic computing initiative, which the company defines as using technology to manage technology so as to reduce the cost and complexity of owning and operating computers. IBM's ultimate goal with Tivoli is to enable an IT infrastructure that's self-configuring, self-healing, self-optimizing, and self-protecting.

Third-Party Assistance
Although Microsoft has significantly enhanced SMS, the product still has room for improvement. Many third-party add-ons are available that add capabilities to SMS or improve existing features. Following is a quick guided tour through third-party SMS add-ons. Table 1 provides a detailed listing of SMS and MOM add-on products.

1E offers four SMS add-ons: SMSWakeUp, SMSNomad, Patch Management Pack, and RightClick Deployment. SMSWakeUp automatically turns on one or more networked PCs to facilitate off-hours SMS activities (e.g., software and patch distribution, inventory). SMSNomad provides features such as intelligent bandwidth allocation and restartable downloads that facilitate the distribution of software across low-bandwidth links. Patch Deployment Pack combines SMSWakeUp and another 1E product, Night Watchman, and lets you perform reboots remotely. RightClick Deployment is an automated Windows XP migration solution.

Aelita Software's Aelita SnapReports for Microsoft SMS is an SMS-specific reporting tool that lets you create meaningful reports from SMS repository data more quickly than with the SMS tools. Altiris, a longtime SMS collaborator, offers several tools that integrate with SMS to extend its reach to Apple Computer's Macintosh, Linux, Palm Computing's Palm OS, Research in Motion's (RIM's) BlackBerry, and UNIX. The Altiris Web Administrator for Microsoft SMS provides SMS Console functionality in a Web interface, including remote control and reporting. The Altiris Mobile Client for SMS leverages your SMS infrastructure and provides specialized management capabilities for mobile clients. Finally, Altiris's UNIX Client for SMS lets you use SMS to manage UNIX systems.

CompuThoughts' SMSworks improves your control over SMS's software-installation process by managing installation privileges and allows more granular control over application settings during installations. Gravity Square's Advanced Scheduler for SMS integrates with SMS to better control when software packages are distributed, minimizing interruption of managed systems while they're in use. ManageSoft's Microsoft SMS connector integrates with and extends SMS by enhancing inventory data and making remote and mobile device management more robust. NetIQ's AppManager for Microsoft Systems Management Server monitors and manages SMS's core services and performance metrics to ensure that your SMS system is healthy and runs at peak efficiency.

PS'SOFT's QP: SMS License Compliance helps you manage installed software and maintain license compliance. Tally Systems' PowerCensus enhances SMS's inventory process by providing more accurate hardware and software recognition capabilities. Vintela Management eXtensions (VMX) lets you use the SMS interface to perform system discovery, hardware and software inventory, and software delivery to non-Windows platforms. XcelleNet's Afaria SMS Integration Suite extends SMS's ability to manage PCs, laptops, tablets, handheld devices, and smart phones.

Microsoft's plan for MOM is to provide tools for managing Microsoft's server and application infrastructure and let third parties create tools for managing other operations management areas through management packs. Many vendors—among them Actional, AmberPoint, and Service Integrity—have created management packs for managing Web services. CA has joined the effort with its Unicenter Web Services Management Pack for Microsoft Operations Manager, which integrates with MOM UI information that Unicenter Web Services Distributed Management, Unicenter Management for .Net Framework, and other CA products related to Web services management collect.

Dell and HP have created management packs for their hardware offerings. Similarly, VERITAS Software made its VERITAS NetBackup application more manageable by creating the Veritas Management Pack for MOM, and Citrix Systems created the MetaFrame XP Management Pack for Microsoft Operations Manager 2000. Full Armor released FAZAM Auditing for MOM to automate and simplify auditing of changes to Group Policy environments. NetIQ has Extended Management Pack (XMP) modules, and eXc Software has management packs that extend the reach of MOM to platforms such as IBM's iSeries, Linux, Novell NetWare, and UNIX. NetIQ also offers XMP modules to connect MOM to other management platforms, such as Tivoli and Micromuse's Netcool. NetPro Computing has released management packs for extending MOM's monitoring and management of AD, Novell eDirectory, and various flavors of DNS.

The advent of MCF has opened a new category of third-party add-ons to MOM: MCF connectors. These connectors let MOM and other management frameworks interoperate. Early companies offering connectors include Aprisma, IBM Tivoli, Maranti Networks, MetiLinx, Skywire Software, and SMARTS. These companies recognize MOM's potential and understand the importance of interoperability with the MOM framework.

Point Products
Not every organization requires the breadth of solutions that the NSM big four offer. Fortunately, other vendors offer point products for managing smaller, less diverse environments. NetIQ has management products for Windows, SQL Server, and Exchange environments and products for Internet, performance, security, and voice/video management. Quest Software recently acquired Aelita to increase the depth and breadth of Quest's product portfolio. The merged companies will develop and market their respective management products until they combine product lines.

BindView targets its management solutions to specific business categories and has a strong security-management background. Novell ZENworks management solutions offer software distribution, asset management, and operations management for desktops, servers, handheld devices, and enterprise services. Heroix eQ Management Suite has solutions for managing applications, servers, databases, messaging systems, Web and e-commerce systems, and infrastructure devices. Many other management products are available that focus on a few areas or even one management area.

If you're looking for a focused NSM solution, make sure you select a best-of-breed application that adheres to management standards and has a history of integrating with larger solutions. Table 2, lists key features of systems management solutions from the big four and vendors of point products. Table 3, lists niche products.

Options Abound
If you run only Windows in your organization, Microsoft's management offerings might cover your immediate needs. The reality of heterogeneous systems in the data center, however, probably won't change; therefore, the need for integration between NSM solutions will remain strong. Finding a balance between easy deployment, scalability, and breadth of scope is key to selecting the best solution for you. Somewhere between the big four and the finely focused niche products, you'll find the management tools you need.