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BMC Expands Scope of Patrol

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BMC Software has unveiled a variety of new modules that complement its Patrol infrastructure management solution.

Patrol for Desktops, Patrol for File and Print Servers, Patrol for Microsoft Windows Servers, Patrol for Microsoft Exchange Servers, and Patrol for Unix for Distributed Linux have joined the BMC Patrol family to offer “a set of solutions to manage the [IT] environment in a way expected by end users,” Carl Coken, vice president and general manager of Patrol platform solutions told ServerWatch.

BMC Software has unveiled a variety of new modules that complement its Patrol infrastructure management solution.

Patrol for Microsoft Windows Servers module is designed to ensure the availability of all Windows servers, including file and print servers. The high availability offered by the module does not increase personnel expense, and in most cases it allows the system administrator to fix problems before they affect customers or end users. The product claims rapid ROI and low support costs. Patrol for Microsoft Windows Servers can support Windows NT and Windows 2000 simultaneously.

Key features in Patrol for Microsoft Windows Servers are quota management, intelligent availability (which can kill runaway processes, automatically increase DFS connections, and back up event or temp log files and clear events), health-at-a-glance containers, and Patrol-specific enhancements for Active Directory.

Patrol for File and Print Servers enables a system administrator to manage mission-critical file and print servers remotely from a single console. The module extends Patrol”s capabilities to an area end users seldom think about, but one that must be managed on the back end for applications to continue to run seamlessly.

Patrol for Microsoft Exchange Servers features intelligent availability, Internet mail tracking, and cluster management. It uses Active Directory set to published configuration settings used by other Patrol agents, and is compatible with both Exchange 5.5 and Exchange 2000.

Patrol for Desktops brings the management functionality found in BMC”s enterprise-level products to the desktop. The product is designed for an environment where the desktop is particularly critical, such as that of a trader, Coken said. Patrol for Desktops is managed remotely via polling. It monitors key operating system health indicators (e.g., registry changes, services, printers, memory, and disk). Its features, such as intelligent availability, are similar to those found in other Patrol offerings.

BMC also discussed its Linux management solutions strategy. Patrol for Unix for Distributed Linux has been available since September and offers support for SuSe Linux and Red Hat; the just-released Patrol for Desktops is Linux compatible; and general Linux server support will offered in Mainview for Linux, which is scheduled for release in early 2002. The other two stops on Patrol”s Linux management road map are the release of Patrol for Linux zSeries, and its Mainview/Patrol Linux Enterprise solution (which will enable a system administrator to manage any Linux server from Mainview or Patrol).

Patrol”s Linux management support options are BMC”s way of recognizing the growing role Linux plays in mission-critical applications. According to Coken, Linux is running back-end applications with increasing frequency. Although end users don”t see them, these applications impact what users need to have their processes up and running.

Key features in BMC”s Linux management solutions are intelligent availability, performance analysis and capacity planning, and server consolidation options.

Prices for BMC”s new modules vary widely. Patrol for Unix and Patrol for Microsoft Windows Servers are priced starting at $815. Patrol for Desktops is priced starting at $170. Patrol for File and Print Servers is priced starting at $405. Pricing for Mainview will be announced in 1Q2002 when the product is scheduled for general availability .

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