Best way to stay on top of updates and maintenance?
I work in higher education. We're using SCCM 2012 but we're still fairly new to the systems management arena for workstations. How are other sys admins staying on top of the numerous software updates, drivers, patches and server maintenance? For now, I manage some of the high-level tasks using Outlook tasks. As an example, I have a daily task to check servers for alerts/issues, weekly tasks to check for out of band Windows patches, monthly task for browser updates, etc. I was hoping there was software out there to help manage this but I'm not having any luck. I would love an easy way to visualize all this work and then assign it out to various techs.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
~dom.nick
1 Comment
[ + ] Show comment
-
Depends if you want free software or have some money to spend. For server alerts/issues you could look into Nagios or Splunk. Windows patches can be managed via WSUS. - hoodathunkut 9 years ago
Answers (2)
Please log in to answer
Posted by:
dedenker
9 years ago
It sounds to me you will also require SCOM, to monitor your system events (might be covered by your license agreement!).
You could also setup a free tool like Zabbix, but this does require an additional skill set.
For updates you can use the WSUS function in SCCM, but this will only cover Microsoft products.
If you need a full vulnerability test, the company I work uses Secunia, or you can do an inventory with SCCM and check it manually yourself.
You could also setup a free tool like Zabbix, but this does require an additional skill set.
For updates you can use the WSUS function in SCCM, but this will only cover Microsoft products.
If you need a full vulnerability test, the company I work uses Secunia, or you can do an inventory with SCCM and check it manually yourself.
Comments:
-
Don't forget some 3rd party vendors are supported via SCUP catalogs for patching. - dunnpy 9 years ago
Posted by:
dom.nick
9 years ago
Thanks for the replies. I guess I should clarify that this less of a technical question and more operational. We do push application and windows updates (although not with SCUP). I'm just curious how people manage and keep track all the various administrative tasks.