RE: [ActiveDir] OT: Management Solutions

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 07:13:36 -0700

Alan,
 
My 2c worth...like the way Brian thinks...
 
Should you wish to develop your own RIS/Unattended CD/DVD image the MSFN forums are a good place to start http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php . A RIS/Unattended CD/DVD is not such a bad idea especially across a lot of different hardware where imaging has its limits i.e. across disparate hardware, use driver packs. GHOST and is still the best imaging software but Acronis http://www.acronis.com/ are doing some very good things in that line too and are more cost effective. Have a look at EZAudit for an audit/inventory package. WSUS is in mind great as a patch management strategy especially the reporting an ability to apply specific patches to specific workstations and servers...you can't go past the AD Group Policy roll out as well...its also free except for some possible headaches but that is what paracetamol is for...
 
James Blair  

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Alan J. Gendron
Sent: Tuesday, 12 September 2006 10:06 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [ActiveDir] OT: Management Solutions

Thanks for the suggestions.  I’ll go look around further.  We’re only around a 100+ user shop and while a full-featured solution would be nice, I’m very concerned it would be over-kill and not money well-spent.  I want to be a “good steward” of the church’s money.

 

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

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Brian Desmond
Sent: Monday, September 11, 2006 10:21 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [ActiveDir] OT: Management Solutions

 

Never used/heard of Kace. Looks like a kind of limited use appliance?

 

Thanks,

Brian Desmond

[EMAIL PROTECTED]

 

c - 312.731.3132

 

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Patrick Paul
Sent: Monday, September 11, 2006 10:47 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [ActiveDir] OT: Management Solutions

 

Have you tried HelpStar – works great. Inventory  - use Kace box running FreeBSD.

 

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Brian Desmond
Sent: Monday, September 11, 2006 9:34 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [ActiveDir] OT: Management Solutions

 

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: [email protected]
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: [email protected]
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: [email protected]
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

 

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