Unifying Branch Office Networks
BranchManager for NT Delivers Single-Point Administration
"What organizations need today are solutions that
tie heterogeneous network systems
together—seamlessly and cost-effectively," says
Randall Harvey, product marketing manager for
Novell. "And that's what we've accomplished with
Novell BranchManager™ for NT."
BranchManager for NT is a suite of integrated Novell
products to help simplify and unify the administration
of mixed networks. It combines four of Novell's top
management solutions:
NDS for NT 2.01
ZENworks 1.1
ManageWise Agent for Windows 2.6
BorderManager Authentication Services 3.0
BranchManager for NT is aimed at mid- and
large-size companies with branch offices or remote
departments that run Windows NT servers and
Windows desktops: for example, insurance
companies, banks, real estate offices, retail stores,
and so on. These companies have an enterprise
network in their corporate headquarters with a
dedicated IT staff to keep it running. The branch
offices, however, have NT servers for applications or
file and print tasks and NT or Windows workstations,
but no IT staff to maintain them.
What BranchManager does is bring the management
of these NT-based offices to a single point of
administration. IT staff can then monitor, manage,
and troubleshoot both servers and desktops
remotely, without having to travel to individual sites.
WHY BRANCHMANAGER?
Organizations with NT-based branch offices face a
variety of daily obstacles that keep them from fully
realizing the benefits of their network investments.
For one thing, managing NT domains is a grueling
chore. "You have to deal with those complicated
trust relationships between domains," says Harvey.
"Keeping the database current is a time-consuming,
repetitive, expensive task that can and should be
automated. And users are slowed down because
they have to log in multiple times to reach all the
network resources they need."
But BranchManager solves these problems by using
NDS for NT 2.01 as the object directory. NDS for NT
creates a single database using Novell Directory
Services, the mature, stable network directory used
by more organizations than any other. Changes to
NDS get replicated automatically throughout the
network, saving untold hours and countless potential
mistakes, and users need log in only once anywhere
on the network.
Plus, because NDS for NT 2.01 supports pure IP,
companies can standardize on a single protocol and
reduce WAN traffic between branch offices, which
frees bandwidth and speeds access.
Related Links:
BranchManager Home Page
All sorts of information about the
product suite
Report from Giga
Read what Giga Information Group
said about BranchManager
The NDS for NT Advantage
Why is NDS for NT so great?
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COST-EFFECTIVE REMOTE MAINTENANCE
Another problem distributed organizations have is how to cost-effectively maintain branch
office networks.
"Often, companies have to fly IT staff around the country to solve software or user
problems," Harvey points out. "But BranchManager lets them accomplish a variety of
important tasks directly from the corporate office—tasks like software distribution,
application maintenance, server updates, and more. BranchManager enables IT managers
to take their expertise across the wire instead of hitting the road."
The combination of NDS and ZENworks, which is also part of the BranchManager for NT
package, enables these functions at the desktop level. When a new version of an
application is available, for example, or when an important file gets damaged, or when a
user requests a new program, ZENworks kicks in to fix the problem automatically and
remotely. And ZENworks goes beyond maintenance: it uses NDS profiles to allow users
to maintain a consistent desktop interface anywhere on the network.
The suite also includes a five-user version of Greenwich Mean Time's Check2000, which
integrates with ZENworks to check the Year 2000 compliance of all the applications on
the workstations across the network.
ENHANCING PRODUCTIVITY
ZENworks and NDS work together to enhance the productivity of both users and
administrators. So does ManageWise Agent for Windows NT, the third component of
BranchManager.
"There's no greater productivity enhancer than a network with extremely high uptime,"
Harvey explains. "And with ManageWise Agent, administrators can keep their networks
running more efficiently than ever."
ManageWise Agent minimizes downtime of network services and provides faster
resolution to network problems by monitoring NT servers and communicating critical
information. ManageWise Agent lets network administrators manage and monitor the
entire network, tracking CPU utilization, memory usage, network traffic, server outages,
and more.
The fourth component of BranchManager, BorderManager Authentication Services 3.0
(BMAS), also improves the productivity of users by providing secure authentication for
remote users through NDS and the Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS)
protocol. BMAS uses a sophisticated set of encryption and authentication mechanisms to
deliver the highest levels of security so that users can access the entire suite of network
services from anywhere in the world.
"We've put all of these tools together to form a single integrated suite, with a simple
installation interface," says Harvey. "For branch-office organizations that are trying to
lower IT costs, unify their complex, heterogeneous networks, and reduce dreaded
downtime—in other words, just about every one of them—BranchManager for NT is an
excellent solution."
TO LEARN MORE
Visit the BranchManager for NT web site for more details, including price and availability.
Published June 9, 1999
novell.com |
