ConfigureSoft Inc. this week will join the self-healing fray with a new release of its Enterprise Configuration Manager.
ECM 4.5 adds the ability to automatically detect Windows server and workstation configurations that dont comply with IT standards, report the exceptions and fix them. The self-healing function exploits ECMs compliance module, a template that lets users model the configurations they want. Version 4.5 simplifies the creation of compliance templates.
Configuresoft officials said users will want to use caution in exploiting the self-healing feature.
Beta users were even more reluctant. “We tend to be more conservative. We are not quick to roll out automatic updates and changes,” said Ismael Pimienta, network specialist at the University of Miami, in Florida. “We prefer to have reports first and then select what is and isnt done. Every once in a while, you get a patch that breaks something else.”
A new feature that Pimienta applauded is the ability to collect configuration data and make changes through firewalls—without having to modify the firewalls.
The company added to ECM the ability to communicate via HTTP in a new, lightweight agent installed on managed systems. ECM encrypts communication with the agent.
“The HTTP communication is very important to us. Were trying to shut down as many ports on our perimeter firewall as possible. If we can narrow all communication to a single port— enough for us to do our collections and administration—we can keep an eye on it,” said Pimienta.
“You can run the compliance tem-plate against three or 3,000 items, ad-dress a whole host of issues in one process, and get a clear listing of everything out of compliance,” said Alex Goldstein, CEO of Configuresoft, in Woodland Park, Colo. “Then using the sorting capabilities, you can aggregate like kinds of problems, highlight what you want to change, and make changes across hundreds or thousands of machines.”
The new release is available this month.