Dell and Novell are combining their respective server management programs—OpenManage tool kits and ZENworks—into a comprehensive, integrated package.
ZENworks 7 Linux Management – Dell Edition aims to enable system administrators running Novells SLES (SUSE Linux Enterprise Server) or Red Hats RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) on Dell PowerEdge servers to manage both their hardware and software from a single console.
With the new package, managers will also be able to deploy, manage and maintain hardware, operating systems, and applications from a single, intuitive console, Novell officials said. This joint effort is intended to simplify Linux environments by consolidating and automating the management of diverse IT resources, eliminating effort, controlling costs, reducing training requirements and optimizing performance.
It can also be used to automate mundane, repetitive and error-prone tasks with centralized and remote control, imaging, and inventory features. In particular, a Novell representative said, it should save costs for a companys remote sites that might not have a local Linux administrator.