In a recent study issued by D.H. Brown Associates, Inc., a prominent IT research and consulting firm, Sun remote systems administration and management software topped comparable software packages offered by Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Compaq and Dell. Sun Management Center software nailed the top ranking due to its superior system availability features, including dynamic reconfiguration, which minimizes downtime during upgrades and system configurations; embedded performance management, which collects system data and performs analyses; and application monitoring, which allows easy GUI-based monitoring of applications, whether off-the-shelf or home-grown.

The study, "Trends in Remote Systems Management From E-commerce to Supply Chain," highlights how companies, when faced with explosive Internet-driven growth and a shortage of system administrators, are turning to systems management software for help. With the spread of e-commerce and supply chain management broadening the base of users and the number of potential problems, system administrators need a window onto their distributed systems to diagnose and fix those problems proactively and maintain system availability.

Systems management software frees up valuable human resources to address other pressing IT needs, while also limiting the potential for human error. In the case of Sun Management Center software, integration with third-party applications and heterogeneous system management frameworks is the key to greater efficiency and accuracy. Using the Sun Management Center Developer Environment, IT departments can connect all of their applications, databases, and hardware devices directly to the systems management software, uniting thousands of disparate system components under one common management console.

Single Consistent Interface Puts Sun on Top

Sun Management Center software got high grades for its ability to manage Sun Enterprise servers, workstations, the Solaris Operating Environment and Sun StorEdge systems with a single, consistent interface. As the number of systems grows in a business, system experts require a single point of management from anywhere on the network, an essential feature of Sun Management Center software.

With more heterogeneous systems running across enterprises than ever, Sun Management Center software, according to D.H. Brown, tackles the broader issues of end-to-end connectivity, security, and capacity planning by providing a solution that integrates with leading third-party enterprise-wide management frameworks.

Industry Competition Lags Behind Sun

Limited by its reliance on add-on products and services, Hewlett-Packard placed second in the study. IBM, which lacks a single-console product to monitor and control multiple, distributed AIX systems, finished third.

Dell's and Compaq's less-advanced Windows NT solutions brought up the rear. Both vendors fell short in the areas of application monitoring and automation, as well as getting downgraded for depending on third-party products and enterprise frameworks to handle basic event correlation. Neither's solutions can customize views for individual administrators.

The study evaluated system-specific UNIX solutions from Sun, HP, and IBM, along with NT solutions from Compaq and Dell on their ability to provide remote administration/management and proactive management.

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