Novell ZENworks Configuration Management Expands Scalability and Platform Support

Novell today announced the availability of ZENworks® Configuration Management with Support Pack 1 (SP1) which has been designed and tested to enable new levels of scalability and features improved performance for remote and low-bandwidth locations. With expanded platform support for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008, this latest release extends Novell's leadership in identity-based, cross-platform system management. ZENworks Configuration Management SP1 helps customers efficiently manage both medium and large scale enterprise IT environments by offering streamlined operations, greater flexibility, better compliance and increased performance.

"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, technical account manager at State of Louisiana, 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."

This latest release includes the new ZENworks 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. Previously, customers managing systems in remote offices were constrained by network bandwidth. With the option to move distribution and collection management functions to a local device, ZENworks Configuration Management speeds distribution of updates and applications, ensuring all machines are properly managed regardless of location, without slowing down the business.

The first product to be performance tested in the Novell® Systems Management SuperLab, a new facility designed to simulate real world environments, ZENworks Configuration Management has demonstrated support for more than 30,000 devices within a single management zone. Additionally, this solution now offers optional support for Oracle Database 10g, enabling customers to leverage their existing IT investments for superior system scalability and back-end manageability.

"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."