Configuration and Policy Management
Easily Automate, Target, and Enforce Configuration Management Tasks
Accomplishing a variety of routine and ad hoc configuration management tasks can be challenging to schedule and enforce across a network. Regular maintenance procedures, standardization of desktop and server configurations and policy implementations can be complex and time-consuming.
The K1000 provides comprehensive and easy-to-use configuration policy management and enforcement using scripts for Windows, Mac and Linux systems. Scripts can be conditional, multi-dependency and multi-stage, to greatly simplify policy management, and can be created to target individual nodes, a specific group of nodes, or an entire network. They can also be configured to scan for and detect malicious software and configurations and establish automated remediation steps.
K-scripts and our K-script wizard
K1000 scripting enables administrators to automate many tasks which would typically require a manual process or the advanced programming of scripts. Through an intuitive point-and-click interface, administrators can build a K-script using a step-by-step wizard approach (verify, success, remediation, failure) and the use of drop down boxes, without advanced scripting knowledge. This allows easy set up of rules defining tasks to be run on the target machine.
Batch Scripts and 3rd Party Script Support
Administrators with a library of 3rd party scripts in languages such as Visual Basic (VB Scripts) can use the K1000 to distribute these scripts. The Batch Scripting support provides a convenient way for administrators to author and distribute batch scripts directly from the K1000 UI. They can be set up as dependencies and will be downloaded by the K-script and be available when the script runs.
Schedule and Run Now
Scripts can be configured to run in a flexible way, enabling a one-time “job,” or by creating a regular ongoing policy implementation. They can execute at pre-determined intervals (daily, weekly, monthly, every X minutes) or be implemented in “run-now” mode for real-time impact, such as a response to an unplanned network issue.
User Environment Management
Dell Desktop Authority extends K1000 configuration management by offering user-based deep configuration capabilities for Windows systems. Dell Desktop Authority gives IT administrators the power to easily create a customized, secure, and efficient Windows environment, tailored to the user and machine. It provides granular control over system settings, patches and updates to provide a stable, secure platform, and helps lower costs by improving support and reducing power usage.
Configuration Management and Configuration History
The K1000 provides the ability to create and enforce reliable configurations, and can activate pre-packaged scripts and policies for desktop configuration and standardization such as registry settings, desktop settings and option enforcers, or be used to implement new configuration polices. In addition, the K1000 delivers the ability to track configuration history of edits to endpoint configurations including creations, deletions and information on who, what and when has changed. This provides a complete audit trail which is an essential requirement to satisfy regulatory compliance requirements.
Dynamic Policy Enforcement
The K1000 provides fine grained control over configuration policies so that administrators can quickly and easily set up ongoing automated enforcement as new systems are introduced or new scripts and software packages are made available.
The K1000 allows administrators to set up dynamic groups defining which scripts, configurations or applications are relevant to particular groups of systems. The updates are mapped onto filter driven labels defining dynamic policy groupings to ensure end systems receive their updates with minimal if any IT intervention. The policy groups can define target systems by for example geography, OS type or installed applications etc. The flexibility of filtering on common base criteria provides the ability for policies to keep the constantly changing content and target systems updated dynamically without administrator involvement.
Reporting and Alerts
Full script status and execution reports are provided, and alerts can be established related to script status and exceptions.