RE: [ActiveDir] OT: Management Solutions

[Brian Desmond]

I use WSUS for patching in some decent size places. My strategy has been to combine a variety of free products into a single system – I’ve gotten good at it and I’ve also written glue when I need to. My overall feeling is that I get more flexibility just gluing things together than with a single baked product.   Thanks, Brian Desmond [EMAIL PROTECTED]   c - 312.731.3132   From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Robert Rutherford Sent: Monday, September 11, 2006 6:31 PM To: ActiveDir@mail.activedir.org Subject: RE: [ActiveDir] OT: Management Solutions   I agree with Brian that Ghost does tend to be the front runner for imaging (IMHO).. I’ve tested and used many but Ghost is a mature project which does what it says on the tin. You’ll be surprised how forgiving it is and how much you can do with varying software and hardware with a little work.   In terms of helpdesk… well it’s a minefield and a road of I have travelled many times. I have actually found that most of the time it’s actually easier to get a dev guy to come in and build a system which actually meets your requirements. I have found this to be cheaper (most of the time) in the larger organisations as every organisation has different SLA’s, contracts, processes, methods, etc.   I just recommend going onto sourceforge.net and typing ‘helpdesk’ initially. This should get you going and you may find something that suits your needs or something you can amend to fit. Yes, you can go for the bigger boys, i.e. Hornbill but you’ll pay for it….. have a sniff around and see what fits your requirements.   In terms of patch deployment… I do like Patchlink. It will give you patch deployment across most applications with good reporting. You also get software and hardware inventory included in the price.   Cheers, Rob Robert Rutherford QuoStar Solutions Limited T:    +44 (0) 8456 440 331   F:    +44 (0) 8456 440 332   M:    +44 (0) 7974 249 494   E:    [EMAIL PROTECTED] W:    www.quostar.com     From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Brian Desmond Sent: 11 September 2006 20:26 To: ActiveDir@mail.activedir.org Subject: RE: [ActiveDir] OT: Management Solutions   I have a lot of experience using Ghost for all of that but helpdesk. Helpdesk I have worked with Peregrine (will empty your check book & very complex), TrackIt (kind of basic but folks seem to like it), and customized free open source package called Liberum (so far my favorite).   Thanks, Brian Desmond [EMAIL PROTECTED]   c - 312.731.3132   From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Alan J. Gendron Sent: Monday, September 11, 2006 3:16 PM To: ActiveDir@mail.activedir.org Subject: [ActiveDir] OT: Management Solutions   I would love some feedback from those that actually use some of these products.  We initially started looking at a Helpdesk solution.  It has now evolved into an asset management, OS deployment, patch management and license compliance package.  I can’t tell you whether it’s evolved to this because the package we are looking at has it or because it was decided we could use the additional functionality.  The current front-runner is Altiris.  Could anyone provide some helpful insight into this package or a comparable solution we could look at?  If we’re going to spend the money, I’d like to see us spend it wisely.  Thank you in advance.   Alan Alan J. Gendron Senior Network Specialist  Lutheran Church Extension Fund Sunset Corporate Center 10733 Sunset Office Drive St. Louis, MO 63127-1219 314.885.6596