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Hello and welcome to another episode of webinformant.tv. My name is David Strum. Today, we look at some of the new features found in Atheros client management suite form Semantic Version 7. If you aren’t familiar with Semantic CMS, take a look at the introductory video on how the product can automate common support in inventory task on my website. There are a lot of things that have been added in this version but we’ll focus on three of the most important ones. More sophisticated software delivery options, additional patch management features and integrated remove controls using PC anywhere. Let’s show you how each of these give you a feeling of the power of the software. We’ve been looking at the inventory machines across our network.
One of the improvements is the ability to be more parsimonious with how software is applied to each client so we don’t have to duplicate bits that are already present on the machine, we can also install software in virtual layers for better security. Here you see the managed software delivery wizard that shows the layering option. We can set up fairly complex delivery options with this wizard and incorporate various relationships and dependencies so we make sure that any software prerequisites are installed first and you see on the last screen of this wizard. Then, we can run the task and you can see that the quick fax package has been delivered to all of our clients.
Our second feature is a new and improved patch management portal. As you can see here, on one screen, you can track licenses, vulnerabilities and computers that have failed any of the required updates that fit your complaint’s profile. There are also separate sections for Mac and Linux machines too. There are lots of details on how to bring your clients into compliance with licensing and remove vulnerabilities. If we go to the Microsoft updates and needed updates, you can see the screen with list of the patches that we need to apply to our Windows clients. As we scroll down the menu options, you can even see which clients are missing the Atheros patch plug in and which need to be restarted for the patches to be correctly applied. New to this version is the ability to apply updates to the Mac clients as you can see here when we go through the process of editing Firefox browsing software to this machine to a quick delivery option.
Our third principle feature is the ability to remotely control any of out clients. There are actually two different ways we can do this. The first is by using PC anywhere. This replaces the carbon copy program that have been part of previous versions of the Atheros product for sometime. We can start up a session right from the management console as you can see here by going into the actions remote management, remote control and typing in a computer name or IP address we want to connect to. Once we authenticate, you can see a remote connection to the Mac desktop in a few seconds and verify that the Firefox software has been downloaded to it. The second way of remote management is using what is called Real time management. Well, we don’t actually do any remote control but we can fix a bunch of problems such as registry and configuration errors. And you can see that here by going to the appropriate screen and the resource manager.
One last thing that is now included in Semantics CMS, they built in a PC anywhere access server and a corporate TMZ to support multiple remote connections without having to connect fire walls but still maintain secure connections. This just scratches the surface of the product but give you an idea of its power and how Semantic continues to expand its functionality. As I mentioned in the first video, this is a very complex product that will require a great deal of specialized training to fully use these and other features, but to pay off its better support of your N user population and automating numerous configuration tasks across your desktops.
Thanks for watching this episode on webinformant.tv. Do send me an email comments David@strum.com
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