Dell to release network management software

Computerworld - Dell Inc. next week will announce a set of network management tools that it plans to offer at no extra cost to users of its PowerConnect line of switches.
The OpenManage Network Manager software is designed to help IT staffers centralize the management of PowerConnect installations that include more than 10 switches, said Ulrich Hansen, a senior product manager at Dell, which entered the market for networking equipment two years ago.
Network managers will be able to use the software to deploy firmware updates and change the configurations of multiple switches with a single operation, saving time and money compared with doing the work on individual devices, Hansen said. In addition, the new products, which join existing OpenManage tools for servers and PCs, can track networking gear made by rival vendors, diagnose network problems and schedule data backup operations.
Dell's network management tools could be useful to IT managers at small and midsize businesses, said Stephen Elliot, an analyst at IDC in Framingham, Mass.
But he added that these tools won't compete against the software suites sold by BMC Software Inc., Computer Associates International Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and IBM's Tivoli Software unit for managing large networks.
Instead, Dell's technology is comparable to Cisco Systems Inc.'s CiscoWorks software and products developed by Lexington, Mass.-based Ipswitch Inc., Elliot said.
Steven Cartwright, director of systems and support at Omnium Worldwide Inc. in Omaha, said the financial services firm plans to test Dell's software on its network, which includes 80 PowerConnect switches that are deployed in networking closets and its data center.
Omnium already uses OpenManage technology to control about 1,000 PCs and 100 servers made by Dell, so the network management tools "will really fit well in our environment," Cartwright said.
The company has been using the PowerConnect switches for the past 18 months. The Dell devices cost about one-third as much as comparable switches from market leader Cisco and have performed well, Cartwright said. But he added that Omnium plans to keep using Cisco products as its primary data center switches and to put PowerConnect on the edges of its network.
Another Dell user, Intervet Inc. in Millsboro, Del., also plans to evaluate the new management software as its network grows larger, said Chad Elliott, a technology team leader at the maker of animal health care products.
Intervet has installed four Dell switches, as well as devices made by Cisco. The network management tools will add to the "whole equation" for justifying the use of Dell's hardware, Elliott said. "From what I'veheard about the software, it does sound valuable," he added.
Dell offers eight PowerConnect products and has sold the switches to about 50,000 customers thus far, according to Hansen. "We're still a recent addition to the market, and we have room to grow," he said.

Read more about Networking in Computerworld's Networking Topic Center.