Desktop Engineering Evaluation of Software Deployment Products

Evaluation of Software Deployment Products

P R O D U C T E V A L U A T I O N D O C U M E N T

2018 年 4 月 4 日

[email protected] Page 1 4/4/2018 Desktop Engineering Evaluation of Software Deployment Products

Table of Contents

Introduction...... 3 Evaluation Overview...... 3 Requirements...... 4 Client Requirements...... 4 Server Administrative Requirements...... 4 Product Information...... 5 Microsoft SMS 2003...... 5 Marimba...... 5 Altiris...... 6 LanDesk...... 6 CABC...... 7 ZenWorks...... 7 Eliminated Software Tools...... 8 Altiris...... 8 LanDesk...... 8 CABC...... 8 ZenWorks...... 8 Evaluation...... 9 System Requirements...... 9 Microsoft SMS 2003...... 9 Marimba...... 9 Deployment Tool Features and Structure ...... 10 Microsoft SMS 2003 ...... 10 Marimba ...... 13 Evaluation Results...... 16 Conclusion...... 18

Introduction

Evaluation Overview

Tasked with the management of thousands of desktop and notebook computers, Systems Corporation must find a method to maintain these machines. Systems Desktop Engineering group has compiled a list of the current software distribution vendors and completed a review of each.

The software deployment tool selected will be used for Systems internal software deployment method, as well as a solution we can provide our customers. Since we will deploy the product to many diverse environments we have several key requirements software distribution tool must meet:

 The ability to provide software and updates to remote computers  The ability to function within any range of network conditions  Complete reporting on hardware, software and compliance.  Simple role based management and scalable architecture.  Advanced packaging and deployment features

A tool with all these core components will enable Systems Corporation to better manage its own environment as well as win larger contracts providing these services for our customers.

Requirements We have set the following requirements for software distribution tool.

 Simple Administration – A console where clients can be managed from anywhere simply and easily.  LAN Independent – Users must not be required to be on the typical “corporate network” to receive software and updates.  Advanced Reporting – The tool should have “canned” reports as well as the ability to complete advanced SQL queries.  Scalable Architecture – We need the ability to set this tool up for our environment as well as those of our customers.  Efficient Resource Usage – Systems and Networks should not be inhibited by the usage of this tool.

Client Requirements

 Low Overhead, users performance must not be inhibited  Multiple Operating System vendor Support  Customizable client settings  Ability to “Brand” the client software

Server and Administrative Requirements

 Simple Administrative Consoles  Advanced software packaging capabilities  Scalable Architecture  Ability to integrate with LDAP compliant directories.  Reporting from canned reports as well as advanced queries  Features for remote servers at disconnected sites  Simple patch management for Microsoft and non Microsoft operating systems  Compliance reporting based on installed software and patches  Inventory features including installed hardware and software  Discovery features to help install client software on computers not in domains

Product Information

Microsoft SMS 2003

Product Name SMS 2003

Company Name Microsoft www.Microsoft.com/SMSServer

Contact Person Eric LeBlanc Technology Specialist Telephone: (469) 775 - 7473 Email: [email protected]

Marimba

Product Name Marimba Server Management

Company Name Marimba 440 Clyde Ave Mountain View, CA 94043 www.marimba.com

Contact Person Bradley Ross Director, Alliances & Strategic Accounts Telephone: (949)-798-5576 Cell: (310)-505-2929 Email: [email protected]

Altiris

Product Name Altiris Client Management Suite

Company Name Altiris Software Corporation Corporate Offices 588 W. 400 S. Lindon, UT 84042 Telephone: (801) 226-8500 www.altiris.com

Contact Person Nick Lund Telephone: (940) 241-2743 Email: [email protected]

LANDesk

Product Name LANDesk Software

Company Name LANDesk Software Corporation 698 West 10000 South Suite 500, South Jordan, Utah 84095 www.landesk.com

Contact Person Mark Harrison Field Sales Engineer Telephone: (801) 208-1389 Email: [email protected]

Product Name CABC

Company Name CABC 5910 North Central Expressway Suite #720 Telephone: (214) 363-6400 www.cabc.com

Contact Person Layne Smith Email: [email protected]

ZenWorks

Product Name ZenWorks 6.5 Suite

Company Name Novell 6565 North MacArthur Blvd Suite 500 Irving, Texas 75039 Telephone: (972) 501-6700 www.novell.com/products/zenworks

Eliminated Software Distribution Tools Based on the requirements set for this evaluation the following tools have been eliminated.

Altiris

The Altiris product was eliminated due to the hard to use administrative interfaces and overhead of the client software. The packaging tools included with Altiris were very similar to the administrative tools which were very cumbersome and difficult to manage.

LANDesk

LANDesk was removed from the selection process due to the number of requirements placed on the client machines. When clients are loaded with the LANDesk client at least 5 LANDesk services were running on the machine at all times. The overhead from these services caused noticeable effects on the client computers.

CABC was eliminated due to the fact that the company is a serviced based offering not a simple product. CABC is also a very young company with few released products in production.

Novell

ZenWare was removed from the product selection due to the fact that is a Novell product and we have recently made efforts to remove Novell from the Systems environment.

Evaluation

System Requirements

Listed below are the recommended hardware and software requirements for each software distribution tools server and client product.

Microsoft SMS 2003

Server Component Requirements  550 MHz processor or better  Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2  256 MB of RAM  2 GB of available disk space  IIS must be installed

SQL Server 7.0 with SP3 or later

Client Component Requirements  133 MHz processor  Windows 98 and up (9x clients)  Windows NT 4 and up (NT clients)  64 MB of RAM  80 MB of available disk space

Marimba

Windows Server Component Requirements  500 MHz processor or better  Windows NT Server SP5 or later  128 MB of RAM  1 GB of available disk space

Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or Oracle 8.1.7

Microsoft Active Directory or iPlanet Directory or Netscape Directory

Windows Client Component Requirements  133 MHz processor  Windows 95 and up (9x clients)  Windows NT 4 SP5+ and up (NT clients)  64 MB of RAM  100 MB of available disk space

Deployment Tool Structure

Each vendor has their own strategy for deploying software and managing clients. The deployment tool structure varies between Marimba and SMS 2003 greatly. Featured below are the most important parts of each tools strategy and structure.

Microsoft SMS 2003

Client / Server Infrastructure Microsoft SMS 2003 is based on a Client/Server architecture with multiple hierarchal levels can be established. Microsoft relates subnets of computers with “sites” in SMS 2003 similar to Active Directory; in fact the sites may be pulled from Active Directory. Microsoft uses HTTP as the distribution method for packages.

Architecture Each site in SMS contains a site server which may or may not house a SQL database. If the site does not contain a SQL server it is known as a “Secondary Site” and there is no server cost associated with this site. Sites that contain SQL server may be “Primary Sites”, “Child & Parent Sites”, or “Child Sites”. The Diagram below shows the basic architecture of SMS 2003.

Collections Microsoft can be groups of objects based on any number of characteristics. The collections in SMS 2003 can be obtained from Active Director or manually imported.

Checkpoint Restart Since clients may travel from site to site they may change locations before completing the download of a package. Microsoft has built in “checkpoint recovery” to allow a client to download a package while changing network locations, or disconnecting completely.

Packing Methods Microsoft has included the ability to package MSI and InstallShield packages with SMS 2003.

Inventory SMS 2003 completes a WMI based inventory by default once a week. The data collected during this inventory is added to the database.

Remote Management Microsoft has an RDP client connection in SMS 2003 for remote client management.

Management Interfaces All the SMS 2003 interfaces are through MMC consoles. The MMC consoles are preconfigured to allow administrators to complete tasks on the SMS server. Microsoft recommends using terminal services to remotely administer the SMS 2003 environment rather than HTTP based management consoles.

Client Software Microsoft has two clients for SMS 2003. The client installs as a service which is very difficult to install.

 Advanced Client o For use on computers with Windows 2000 and higher o Uses BITS technology o Advanced features only available on this client

 Legacy Client o For use on computers with Windows 98 and NT4.0 o Does not allow for BITS technology o Does not allow for roaming

Reporting Creating HTML based reports if simple to do with SMS 2003. Microsoft includes canned reports as well as the ability to create custom reports and dashboard view.

Client Resource Utilization The SMS advanced client runs as “CCMexec” in task manager and runs with out using a noticeable amount of resources. The Legacy Client however does not support BITS which without proper scheduling could cause users to notice.

Notes Microsoft recommends implementing SMS 2003 in conjunction with Active Directory although it is not required.

Marimba Structure

Client / Server Infrastructure Marimba has several different server configurations to help deployment in various network environments. The sever types are listed below:  Master Transmitter  Mirror Transmitter  Repeater Transmitter  Proxy

The Marimba Client is installed onto computers located inside and outside the corporate network. The Marimba Client has many configurable settings but only one version for Windows systems unlike SMS, simplifying deployment.

Architecture Marimba has several different server configurations to help deployment in various network environments. The sever types are listed below:  Master Transmitter  Mirror Transmitter  Repeater Transmitter  Proxy

Collections Marimba uses collections to target and manage remote devices, like SMS the collections can be created using several methods.

Bit-Level Differencing The “Bit-Level differencing” feature built into Marimba saves bandwidth and avoids excessive network traffic by only forwarding the changes to packages, rather than resending an entire package. Marimba clients can also alternate between connections during package downloads; once the entire package is downloaded it is compiled silently on the client.

Packing Methods Marimba includes several packaging methods:  File Package o Ability to package files  Shrink-wrap Package o Ability to package applications using snapshots  Custom Package

o Ability to package application installs using dependencies and macros.  Windows MSI Package o Ability to package applications that include MSI files.

Inventory The inventory features of Marimba include WMI based inventory as well as an application inventory. Like SMS the inventory process is one of the first steps after the discovery process. Marimba can create custom reports based off all the data collected in the inventory.

Remote Management The Marimba tuner software which is loaded on the client machines has the capability to initialize software installations.

Management Interfaces Marimba management interfaces are accessible via HTTP sites hosted by the same built in web server that deploys software. The web interfaces are well build and intuitive with real-time data.

Client Software The client software known as a “tuner” is configurable and simple. Marimba has a single client for all Windows based operating systems, making deployment simpler.

Reporting Marimba “Report Center” has several hundred “canned” reports, as well as the ability to create reports from more advanced SQL queries. The Report Center has a SQL query builder application to help create advanced queries, where users can see and modify the actual SQL code.

Client Resource Utilization During testing and review of the “tuners” we found the resource usage to be acceptable. Users with machines that only met the hardware specifications could notice the client during installation of software, although users with machines slightly higher than the minimum did not notice any effects.

Notes Marimba provides the ability to provide software to users who are not connected to a corporate network.

Evaluation Results The evaluation of Marimba and SMS 2003 has been completed by listing each of the required features and its weighted score, then rating the tools. A spreadsheet is included below which lists the required features and how each tool scored. No tool was able to obtain a perfect score of 1300 points although Marimba did score higher with a total of 1241 / 1300 compared to Microsoft’s’ SMS 2003 which scored 972 / 1300. Each of the key requirement sections and their respective scores are shown below:

Conclusion

During this evaluation we found SMS 2003 and Marimba to be most successful in the following scenarios:

o SMS 2003 Medium to large well connected corporate networks with stationary users.

o Marimba This software deployment tool works well over any network type, in fact it has the scalability to work with out even having a corporate network. Marimba seems to be the best choice for keeping all types of mobile users up to date at all times.

Based on this information and the fact that Systems is a highly mobile company we recommend Marimba as our standard software deployment tool. Due to this tools scalability and flexibility we also found Marimba to be the best tool to offer our customers for software deployment.

[email protected] Page 19 4/4/2018