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LANutil32 Suite combines software and hardware inventory management with a software distribution system in one complete desktop management utility package. The software inventory helps you stay legal with your licensing, and also enables you to ensure that the correct version of each piece of software is installed on all workstations. The hardware inventory allows hardware upgrades to be planned and machines retired and replaced gracefully.

The software distribution function builds on both of these inventory functions, which are essential prerequisites of managing software distribution - you need to know about the existing versions of installed applications and that the hardware and operating system software of each desktop is capable of supporting the new distribution. LANutil32 includes Crystal Reports run-time, but it is easy to export data into your preferred reporting package.

There are two ways of using the LANutil32 client: offline and online. Online clients can be interrogated in real time by the management system via disk shares on the client. Offline clients push inventory data to a shared storage area (usually on a server), from where it is collected by the management system. The push interval can be set to every reboot, or a configurable time interval. The offline client option is provided because you may have reasons for not wanting to create disk shares on every client. Of course, the offline approach also suits PCs, such as notebooks, which are only occasionally connected to the network.

If you intend to use multiple management consoles, you need first to create a shared area on a 32-bit Windows machine (usually an NT/2000 server) to store the database. Installation begins by running the Site Creation Wizard, which also sets up the ODBC links to the database. LANutil32 supports Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle databases. Choosing MS Access has the advantage that you don't actually need a copy of Access already installed and LANutil can configure a data source name (DSN) for your site automatically. The disadvantage of Access is that databases are limited to 1Gb in size.

Distribution of the client agent is carried out by first creating a pre-configured client kit at a shared location on the network. Automatic distribution of the LANutil32 client can then be carried out without visiting client PCs. This is achieved by editing the network login script, and an example login script is provided. This process works well on Windows 9x machines, but requires administrator privileges to install the client on NT/2000 desktops. Unless all your NT/2000 users log in with administrator privileges, you need a way of obtaining such privileges for distribution. LANutil32 solves this problem using something that Vector calls LANdeploy, which provides an easy-to-use wizard approach to identifying and scheduling the deployment of Windows NT/2000 PCs, and can be configured with the necessary administrator's username and password.

PCs may be grouped together for ease of management. LANutil32 can be configured to prompt users for information such as department, location and phone number. This facility is easy to use with pick-list support and data validation. It is also highly customizable in the way that this information may be retrieved, for example, to decide in which groups to put machines. Where groups are already set up, user prompting can be targeted at specific groups or users, rather than the whole population.

LANutil32 uses what it calls Operations to define actions performed from the console on selected nodes or groups. Operations include such things as hardware and software inventory, software distribution, file management by browsing files on selected nodes, remote control (using its sister product PC-Duo or any third-party remote-control package), free-space scans on disks and backup processes. You can also schedule Operations by submitting them as jobs to be performed by a specified host at a particular date and time.

The hardware inventory is very comprehensive and includes a change notification feature to alert you to possibly unauthorized changes in hardware configurations. Operating system software is considered part of the hardware inventory.

The software inventory facility includes a packages database, which includes all the common applications that LANutil32 can recognize automatically. It also provides discovery utilities to assist in the identification of unrecognized applications. Rules may be set up regarding things such as which files must be present for a package to be identified, and which subdirectories must exist. The latter is important if you need to know whether options such as tutorials, clip art libraries, etc. have been installed. The file rules support wildcards, file size, date and time stamp, and file attributes.

The RuleMaker window enables you to define rules to identify software packages. It includes RuleWizard to automate the generation of rules for new packages. LANutil32 is unique in supporting multiple version recognition within a single package definition. This reduces the number of records in the packages database and helps facilitate a consistent approach to the task of maintaining the rules for multiple package versions. LANutil32 can be integrated with Microsoft SMS, if desired.

The License Group Editor makes it easy to set up groups to define the PCs that are authorized, or mandated, to install particular applications. Once the license groups have been defined, you can use the reporting facilities to identify discrepancies in the package licenses at your site and assess your future license requirements.

The software distribution function can even install applications that are not designed for silent install. It does this by creating automated responses to the application's questions. So, the application thinks it's being installed interactively, but it is actually being fed answers by LANutil32. To prevent network overload, LANutil32 can use its own algorithm to spread installations across several days, if required.

From a security standpoint, inventory and software distribution can be a dangerous facility in the wrong hands. However, LANutil32 uses checksums to prevent unauthorized users from editing configuration files, which could otherwise trigger a software distribution. Additionally, encryption is used on all network paths so that user names and passwords are kept secret.

System requirements are any 32-bit version of Windows for the management console, while DOS 3.3 and Windows 3.1 are additionally supported for the clients. No specific hardware requirements are specified beyond that necessary to run the respective operating systems.  

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