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CA software consolidates desktop/server management

15.03.2006
On Monday, CA Inc. will announce new desktop and server management software that consolidates some of the functions and software agents used in prior management tools for software delivery, remote control and asset management. The new software also adds patch management and Windows PC life-cycle management functions and is seen by analysts as part of a trend among major vendors in the management industry to streamline and automate routine tasks on hundreds of machines.

CA will rely on a product called Centralized Management DataBase (CMDB) to unify information about what could be thousands of desktops and servers in an organization, said Michael Walker, CA's director of product marketing for desktop and server management.

CA Desktop and Server Management r11 includes two new products: CA Desktop Management Suite for Windows and Unicenter Patch Management. The Desktop Management Suite for Windows is a tool for managing PCs through their life cycles that automates software distribution, maintains information on hardware and software inventory and protects local data. It is available now at a price of US$86 for each managed asset.

Unicenter Patch Management works with several other CA tools and is backed by an online patch management content research team that monitors and publishes relevant patch management information. It is also available now and starts at $12 per managed asset.

The software combines into one the three different software monitoring agents that currently run on PCs and servers, beta testers said. It also offers monitoring capability from a single interface.

Jason Bullock, systems administrator for School District 11 in Colorado Springs, and a beta tester since October, said he most likes the single management console for monitoring software delivery, asset management and remote control of machines. The change also reduces the drag on processing and memory in hardware running the agents. "Previously the CPU and RAM could go through the roof on each machine," he said.