Novell gussies up management suite

Novell, continuing to push hard on its open source agenda, last week announced an upgrade to its management suite that includes improved Linux support.

The company's ZENworks 7 Suite now has the ability to manage Windows, NetWare and Linux workstations, and servers from a Linux server. The new Linux Management module initially runs on Novell's SuSE Linux Enterprise Servers, though it can be used to manage Red Hat Linux servers and workstations.

Since many Linux and Unix administrators are accustomed to managing from the command line and shell scripts rather than a Web-based interface, the module includes a command line interface that offers full functional parity, Novell says.

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Novell, continuing to push hard on its open source agenda, last week announced an upgrade to its management suite that includes improved Linux support.

The company's ZENworks 7 Suite now has the ability to manage Windows, NetWare and Linux workstations, and servers from a Linux server. The new Linux Management module initially runs on Novell's SuSE Linux Enterprise Servers, though it can be used to manage Red Hat Linux servers and workstations.

Since many Linux and Unix administrators are accustomed to managing from the command line and shell scripts rather than a Web-based interface, the module includes a command line interface that offers full functional parity, Novell says.

ZENworks lets IT professionals automate the provisioning and installation of software, patches and applications on servers and desktops. It also performs inventories of devices on the network and lets IT distribute content and report on management operations. The suite includes modules for desktop, server, handheld, patch and inventory management.

In addition to the extended Linux support, Novell's follow-on to ZENworks 6.5 adds support for Novell's Open Enterprise Server, a combined NetWare and Linux offering. The package also adds support for Novell's eDirectory and Microsoft's Active Directory technologies.

Also new are Macintosh inventory capabilities, plus patch management support for Macintosh, AIX, HP-UX, AIX, Solaris and VMware environments.

Beta user Brad Staupp, senior support analyst at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kan., has been relying on ZENworks 7 Suite to manage more than 3,000 workstations.

"We use ZENworks for just about everything-creating applications, policy-based management, pushing out printers," he says.

Staupp has a mix of NetWare 6.5, Open Enterprise Server and Windows servers. All of his workstations are Windows-based.

ZENworks debuted seven years ago, and Novell says that it is used to manage more than 40 million desktops and servers.

The suite competes with Altiris' Server, and Microsoft's Systems Management Server. Unlike these packages, ZENworks runs on NetWare, Linux and Windows servers.

ZENworks 7 starts at $130 per user. Each module can be bought separately for prices ranging from $18 to $69 per user.

Read more about infrastructure management in Network World's Infrastructure Management section.