Novell (News - Alert), a provider of enterprise infrastructure software and services, recently released its ZENworks Configuration Management Support Pack 1.

 

The pack includes added features for new levels of scalability and performance for remote and low-bandwidth locations, according to the company.

 

According to Novell, ZENworks Configuration Management SP1 supports Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008.

 

The new ZENworks Configuration Management SP1 offers an identity-based, cross-platform system management, enabling customers to manage both medium and large-scale enterprise IT environments, said the company. The new role-based administration features in Support Pack 1 give more control over the creation and assignment of administration rights.

 

Novell said that ZENworks 10 Configuration Management now includes full support for disk images that users create and edit, using ImageX.

 

ZENworks Configuration Management SP1 features satellite capability, which allows content, applications and images to be sent once to a remote location and then distributed to all the devices at that site, said Novell. This enables it to move distribution and collection management functions to a local device and speed up distribution of updates and applications, ensuring all machines are properly managed regardless of location, without slowing down the business.

 

ZENworks Configuration Management is the first product to be performance tested in the Novell Systems Management SuperLab, said the company. Novell says its Systems Management SuperLab is a new facility designed to simulate real world environments.

 

ZENworks Configuration Management has the ability to support more than 30,000 devices within a single management zone, Novell says. The platform offers optional support for Oracle (News - Alert) Database 10g, enabling customers to leverage their existing IT investments for superior system scalability and back-end manageability.

 

“Our organization is made up of more than 4,500 employees spread out across the state of Louisiana, which translates to more than 10,000 devices and thousands of users that need to be supported and managed regardless of location,” said Chad Israel, a technical account manager at Lousiana’s Department of Social Services. “With ZENworks Configuration Management we are able to reduce IT administration and costs through automation, making it a critical technology solution for enabling the staff to help our citizens get the services they need to live safer and more independent lives.”

 

“Enterprise customers are faced with the challenge of managing their distributed IT environment in the same way they manage their on-site resources, all while keeping the business productive and meeting regulatory compliance demands,” said Joe Wagner, senior vice president and general manager of Systems and Resource Management at Novell. “With increased scalability and expanded platform support, this release of ZENworks Configuration Management helps customers deliver critical IT services throughout their organization, no matter where the users or devices are located, reducing the cost and time spent keeping systems updated and meeting business needs.”