Stephan Rose said:
When you say monitor, what exactly does it monitor about my network?
Bandwidth? Traffic? What makes it special?
Aside from the example I gave, it can monitor all status issues. All
Windows Events, just about anything you setup. For example I can have it
report back anytime hardware changes. Anytime an application installation
is attempted. Status reports on SQL, Exchange, ISS. Are these servers and
applications running as well as they should? Audit your entire network.
Are there other third party apps that so this? Some of the stuff. However
I would need multiple solutions to do everything. This is one solution.
Can you elaborate on this too a little bit? Kinda makes me think about SSH
a
little bit but not sure if I am right.
There's a lot, this would probably do a better job:
Capability Description
Application Deployment
• Detailed application deployment planning. Detailed reports available in
SMS 2003 ease the application deployment process. For a planned deployment,
it is easy to obtain the target group's current hardware base, existing
applications, and version information, as well as the current service pack
and hotfix levels of the system.
• Rich distribution targeting. Software distribution and other management
tasks can be specifically targeted to machines and users using a wide
variety of properties including network and hardware configuration, Active
Directory® organizational unit, and group membership and software
installation status.
• Delta distribution between site servers and distribution points. When
changes are made to previously deployed software package sources, only the
source changes are propagated between SMS 2003 site servers and distribution
points, rather than the entire application image.
• Elevated rights Windows Installer service. Because SMS 2003 supports the
Windows Installer service (.msi), it is able to switch user account contexts
during a package installation allowing for self-healing application
installation on systems that have been secured.
• Add or Remove Programs support. Applications can be easily published to
the Add or Remove Programs interface to provide users with a consistent way
of installing applications.
Asset Management
• Application usage monitoring. Summary and detail reports can be generated
specifying which applications were used by users, how long they were used,
and on which managed systems they were used. Usage can be tracked by user or
computer, and reports can be created around concurrent usage data.
• Granular software inventory file level searching. Now you can configure
SMS 2003 to provide you with the asset discovery you need--to the level that
you need.
• Detailed hardware inventory. Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)
enhancements allow improved client-side performance during inventory scans
and provide a richer set of inventory data, including BIOS and chassis
enclosure data.
• Web-enabled reporting. More than 120 pre-built reports are included,
covering hardware and software inventory as well as computer status and
software deployment progress.
Security Patch Management
• Vulnerability identification. Standard Microsoft security tools, such as
the Microsoft Baseline Security Inventory Analyzer and the Microsoft Office
Inventory Tool for Updates enable you to inventory your systems for
applicable patches and vulnerabilities.
• Patch deployment wizard. A simple console wizard is provided to assist
administrators in deploying required patches to managed devices.
• Vulnerability assessment and mitigation reporting. After missing security
patches have been identified, the results of these individual scans are then
posted to the central database for reporting and targeting purposes. As
missing patches are deployed, this data may be optionally updated in real
time.
Mobility
• Bandwidth-aware clients. The new Advanced Client uses the Background
Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) technology to automatically detect the
capacity of the client network connection and adjust transfer rates
efficiently.
• Checkpoint/restart. Upon reconnection, any partial downloads to clients
will continue where they left off; there is no need to restart transmissions
because of a disconnected session. Checkpoint/restart works at the byte
level, requiring only the download of those bytes in a package that haven't
already been transferred.
• Download and execute. After a new software package has been successfully
downloaded to a client, it remains in the cache of the client system until
the scheduled install time, when it is then executed.
• Location awareness. As mobile users move through geographic locations,
flexible site boundaries ensure that they always receive software packages
and updates from the nearest appropriate installation source, and are not
required to install software across the enterprise wide area network (WAN).
Windows Management Services Integration
• Active Directory discovery. SMS 2003 can automatically discover the
Active Directory properties of both users and systems, including
organizational unit container and group level membership. Software packages
can then be targeted based on these Active Directory attributes.
• Active Directory-based site boundaries. Site boundaries can now be based
on Active Directory site names, rather than on Internet Protocol (IP)
subnets.
• Advanced Security Mode. Built-in computer and local system accounts can be
used for all server functions (such as database access), dramatically
simplifying the management of accounts and passwords within SMS 2003 and
making the enterprise more secure by not creating extra high-rights
accounts.
• Improved status tools. The status data provides real-time information
about the current state of SMS 2003 processes, both on servers and clients.
• Windows XP Remote Assistance support. The high-performance Windows XP
Remote Assistance feature is now an option for troubleshooting clients
remotely from the SMS Administrator Console when a user is present at the
remote machine.