Novell expands ManageWise platform
Version 2.1 successfully melds NetWare and NT, but product lacks a software distribution
module of its own
By Julie Bohman
First Look
With last month's release of ManageWise 2.1, Novell Inc. has brought management of Windows NT and NetWare servers under one roof. It has also broadened the product's desktop management capabilities to include Windows 95 and OS/2 clients.
While this expanded platform support is impressive, PC Week Labs found that ManageWise's NT management capabilities are not yet on par with those it offers for NetWare. In addition, it does not support Windows NT clients. As such, ManageWise 2.1 is best suited for medium NetWare shops with just a few NT servers.
ManageWise's stratified pricing varies from $795 for a five-user license all the way up to $12,995 for a 1,000-user license. The ManageWise Agent for Windows NT Server sells for $595 per server. Users of previous versions of ManageWise can upgrade for $400.
ManageWise 2.1, which began shipping last month, competes with Intel Corp.'s LANDesk, Microsoft Corp.'s SMS (Systems Management Server), and Symantec Corp.'s Norton Administrator Suite. Like ManageWise 2.1, LANDesk and Norton Administrator support both NetWare and NT servers, while SMS is for NT only.
All four products have solid desktop management capabilities. Unlike its three competitors, however, ManageWise currently lacks a software distribution module of its own. And although it's the easiest to use of the four products, ManageWise also lacks metering and scheduling tools. Both LANDesk and Norton Administrator offer these features; SMS does not.
Up and running
We installed ManageWise agents on two Pentium Pro-based servers, one running NetWare 4.11, the other Windows NT Server 3.51, and found the agents blended nicely into both NetWare and NT--although the management software loaded a whopping 31 NLMs on the NetWare server. We loaded ManageWise 2.1 on a Windows 95 client, which acted as our management console. From the console, we were able to manage both NetWare and NT.
While the NT server management feature shows promise, it doesn't yet have the full functionality of its NetWare sibling. We could inventory our NT server software and hardware, and check disk space, CPU utilization and memory usage, but we couldn't use the NT management utility to obtain information on connections or users, or to launch virus protection. We had no trouble initiating any of these functions from the NetWare management utility.
In Version 2.1, Novell has also extended ManageWise's desktop management reach beyond DOS and Windows to include support for Windows 95 and OS/2. From our ManageWise console, we were able to take control of our Windows 95 and OS/2 clients, exchange files and messages with the clients, and reboot the clients remotely. (ManageWise also includes minimal support for Mac clients, which allowed us to scan them for viruses.)
The client installation process was relatively painless. From our management console, we added the clients we wanted to manage to our ManageWise group. When we then logged each one of the clients back onto the network, ManageWise took over the installation process, requiring minimal input. After the installation, however, it took our client significantly longer to boot because ManageWise inventories each client's hardware and scans for viruses before the operating system can load.
Remote control par excellence
ManageWise's excellent remote control performance continues to be one of its strengths. Though ManageWise still lacks a software distribution feature of its own, we used the remote control capabilities to install software on our Win 95 clients fairly easily. Automated software distribution is possible, however, using NetWare
Application Launcher, which is part of NetWare Client 32 and can be downloaded from Novell's Web site.
Another of ManageWise's strengths is its network management capabilities, which its competitors lack. Though SMS and Norton Administrator provide some SNMP support, ManageWise goes beyond this, supporting not only SNMP but also management of Hub Management Interface nodes such as modems, CSU/DSUs, hubs, print servers, and routers. We did not test this feature.
Unfortunately, ManageWise 2.1 still lacks auditing capabilities. Although we could set a password for our management console to prevent unauthorized access, ManageWise does not provide a means for tracking user log-in histories to determine if any break-in attempts have occurred.
For setting and tracking alerts, ManageWise offers its Alert Reporter and Alarm Monitor tools. Using the Alert Reporter, we could set and change alert thresholds, such as the number of clients allowed to log into a server simultaneously; a bell icon indicates which alerts have been set. In the event of trouble, a bell will also appear in the corner of the management screen or over the icon of a struggling device. The Alarm Monitor tracks the types and frequencies of alerts,
displaying them graphically in pie chart form.
To test the alert feature, we lowered the number of user connections allowed, and then logged in all the clients to exceed this threshold. The bell appeared in the corner of the console screen and the alert was noted in the alert log. Unlike ManageWise 2.0, ManageWise 2.1 can send alerts to administrators via pager or E-mail.
ManageWise can also analyze network traffic down to the packet level and decode protocols. This feature will work on all common protocols. On our test network, which ran TCP/IP, IPX/SPX and AppleTalk, we used ManageWise to identify all three protocols and trace packets between a Windows 95 client and the NetWare server.
Senior Analyst Julie Bohman can be contacted at julie_bohman@zd.com.
USING MANAGEWISE 2.1, we were able to manage both NT and NetWare servers from a single console.
Scoreboard
ManageWise 2.1
Novell Inc.
Software distribution: NA
Software inventory: B
Software metering: NA
Hardware inventory: B
Reporting capabilities: C
Virus protection: C
Range of OS support: B
Device diagnostics: A
Remote control: A
Help desk: NA
Auditing: NA
Access security: C
Data security: C
Protocol analysis: NA
Network health: A
Server installation: NA
Client installation: A
User interface: B
Task automation: B
Documentation: B
NA=Not Available
Strengths & Weaknesses
ManageWise 2.1
Novell Inc.
Orem, Utah (800) 453-1267
novell.com
+ Provides solid server, desktop, and device management through an easy-to-use Windows interface; supports Windows NT Server as well as NetWare; offers
good remote control of DOS, Windows, Windows 95, and OS/2 clients.
- Lacks software metering and distribution capabilities, as well as auditing features; can't manage NT servers as fully as it does NetWare servers; does not support
Windows NT clients.
The Bottom Line
A great tool for monitoring and managing NetWare servers and Windows 95 and OS/2 clients, Novell's ManageWise 2.1 is best suited for such NetWare-centric
environments despite its newly added support for Windows NT Server. Organizations heavily committed to Windows NT should stick with Microsoft Corp.'s
SMS.
Test Methodology
PC Week Labs tested Novell Inc.'s ManageWise 2.1 using two Pentium Pro-based Hewlett-Packard Co. Vectra servers, one running Novell Inc.'s NetWare 4.1
and the other, Microsoft Corp.'s Windows NT Server 3.51.
We loaded the appropriate ManageWise agent onto each. To the servers we connected three Pentium-based Windows 95 clients, one Pentium-based OS/2
client, one Macintosh Quadra client and one Power Macintosh client. We loaded ManageWise 2.1 on one of the Windows 95 clients and used it as our
management console. |
