We tested Castanet 4.0 on a TCP/IP network using Windows NT Server 4.0 as the transmitter and Windows 98 clients to run the tuner software.
We first installed the tuner on each of our computers, including the server. Then we connected to Marimba's transmitter over the Internet and downloaded the transmitter software, administration software and package creation utility. Each component installed automatically after download.
Marimba's Web site includes many sample channels, which we used to get accustomed to the application. We also tried creating and publishing our own channels. We created a package of a shrink-wrapped Windows application, a small utility with a searchable database, by laboring through the time-consuming snapshot process. We then published the package to the transmitter, creating a channel.
We also created a package containing data files for Microsoft Word and Excel. The process is similar, but doesn't require that you take snapshots of your system. Marimba copied the files into the clients' My Documents directories. To update the master files, we had to recreate the package and republish it to the transmitter.
To test the asset management features of Castanet, we inventoried each client and collected hardware and software, operating system and network information, which we stored in an Oracle 8 database.
We were able to search the database and manage the channel subscriptions based on inventory results. For example, we distributed a channel only to the workstations that had Windows 98 running on computers with Pentium II processors.
We distributed another channel only to computers running Windows NT 4.0. RELATED LINKS Back to the main Marimba review
