Novell progresses policy management with ZENworks announcement

Two themes often permeate discussions regarding where vendor management product functionality is headed. One is a user-push concept - lowering the cost of network desktop administration. The second is a vendor-pull concept - policy management based on Lightweight Directory Access Protocol-based directories. The key question that transcends these two ideas is, Can policy-based management result in service improvement while streamlining the cost of service delivery?

One vendor intends to answer that question with its recent announcement. Novell's ZENworks is a set of management products that enable a networked PC to automatically register local configuration, application and security information within Novell Directory Services. This data can then be utilized by network administrators to define specific configuration, access and usage policies that can also be stored within NDS. The attractive price ($39 per user) and immediate availability of the product make it a viable alternative to Microsoft's oft-delayed Active Directory, which will likely not be available until later this year.

The ZENworks approach addresses two issues that have dogged support expenses and policy management efforts for some time. First, with the automatic collection and storage of network end system data, ZENworks reduces the need to manually configure the managed entity data into the policy directory. Second, when a problem occurs, ZENworks automatically generates an e-mail message to the help desk ‹ including local profile and configuration information ‹ which helps decrease support time and costs.

If you're a NetWare user or if you have substantial investment in Windows NT as a server platform, the combination of more automated technical support delivery and a more efficient means to implement policy-based networks make the ZENworks product and functionality worth checking out.