Pegasus Technology Pty. Ltd.

Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7* and Linux desktops are now part of most networks. Managing these mixed environments presents many challenges. You have to know what you have and how it’s used, and you have to develop efficient processes to help you deal with changes. With Novell, managing your desktops doesn’t have to be painful or costly. We enable you to automate device discovery, imaging, configuration and change management, software distribution and remote problem resolution. Moreover, our application virtualization allows you to isolate commercial and custom applications to avoid software conflicts and reduce problems.

Customer Situation A university needed to reduce the cost and complexity associated with managing desktops and laptops. The environment included 700 desktops in computer labs spread across campus plus 2,500 desktops and laptops used by teachers and administrators. Budget constraints wouldn’t allow for dedicated IT staff in each building to support the rollout of new software or to help users solve problems. To meet service-level demands, the IT department needed to remotely enforce standard configurations on desktops in the labs. At the same time, the staff needed to optimize each desktop with the appropriate configuration, settings and software based on user role, group membership, location and security requirements. Further complicating the task, many university-managed desktops connected only occasionally over the Internet as staff traveled for research or remote teaching assignments. Making IT Work As One

The Solution The university quickly gained control of its desktops and laptops with Novell ZENworks Configuration Management. The IT staff created a standard image and configuration for desktops in the computer labs. These shared desktops were locked down, blocking students from making changes, installing software and introducing problems. Because university staff had divergent application needs, IT took an individualized approach to installation and management. Leveraging both Active Directory* and Novell eDirectory™ as sources for user identity, ZENworks was used to build a custom desktop for each user. Applications, desktop settings and printer configurations were automatically distributed and are now managed by established policies. The university also virtualized the latest Novell GroupWise client to reduce testing requirements, accelerate the upgrade process and simplify its contingency plans. Novell ZENworks has automated IT tasks that were previously done manually, and has enabled the university to consolidate IT resources and centralize its helpdesk. Software updates are now distributed without requiring technical personnel to touch each desktop or laptop. And administrators can securely control any desktop remotely, regardless of where it is. When the occasional hard drive fails, the new drive is remotely re-imaged, and the desktop is quickly back in service with the exact set of applications it had before. Even personalized desktop photos are restored. With Novell ZENworks, the university cut management costs, reduced helpdesk calls and decreased the time it takes to resolve problems when they arise.