Re: Still trying to decide - Implementing a PM system

["Susan Bradley, CPA aka Ebitz - SBS Rocks [MVP]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>]

VMware or VPC as has been stated on this listserve in the past.

Or at a minimum, "canaries".  Even in my little Small Business Server 
LAN there are two individuals [myself and another person] who get the 
patches through Automatic update THAT DAY.  We "dogfood it" and if it's 
okay, it's pushed by Shavlik to the rest later that week.

As soon as I upgrade myself to SBS 2k3 at the office [timing wasn't 
right to roll it out here at the office last October when it first came 
out] my home mini lan of SBS will be the "canary" for my office. It will 
get the patches the Tuesday night they come out.

Next, do you have fellow admins in your profession running the same 
kinds of programs?  Network with them.

Last Friday, Trend Antivirus rolled out a agent update and from about 8 
a.m. PST to 11 a.m. PST we saw blue screens of death on SBS2k3 boxes 
being reported in the microsoft.SBS public newsgroup as that agent 
update hit our Server boxes.  Knowing that at least you are not alone in 
your issues helps your peace of mind [and gives you more info to take 
back to the vendor ;-).   Find or build a community that shares 
information on patches that is similar to yours. 

Susan

[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

> We are using HFNetchk and it does works OK for us. Only problem for us 
> is that we don't have a dedicated test facility hence  every patch we 
> apply, we have to keep our fingers crossed. Can anyone advise how 
> should we approach towards creating a test environment for the 
> patches..We have SQL, IIS, Oracle and lots of bespoke applications 
> running in our environment which makes it difficult to plan a test 
> environment.
>  
> Can anyone advice how to approach testing and we can then try to 
> finetune it to our requirements.
>  
> Anmol
>
>     -----Original Message-----
>     *From:* Charlene Griffith [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>     *Sent:* 01 April 2004 17:59
>     *To:* Patch Management Mailing List
>     *Subject:* RE: Still trying to decide - Implementing a PM system
>
>     We just bought HFNetChk.  It has worked wonderfully for us.  I
>     have never encountered any complications.  I strongly recommend 
>     this software.  Its definitely great for someone who wants a cost
>     effective, and easy solution for patch management. I believe that
>     you can download a trial version on their website that allows you
>     to play around with the software.  It only will allow you to
>     manage ten computers, but it will let you get a feel for the product.
>      
>     Also, please do not forget about Michael's recommendation about
>     testing patches first, that is one of the most important parts of
>     Patch Management.
>      
>     I also have no affiliation with Shavlik Technologies, this is only
>     my opinion.
>      
>     Charlene
>
>         -----Original Message-----
>         *From:* Michael O'Coners [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>         *Sent:* Thursday, April 01, 2004 11:33 AM
>         *To:* Patch Management Mailing List
>         *Subject:* RE: Still trying to decide - Implementing a PM system
>
>         Rich,
>          
>         I have installed HFNetChk in about 20+ environments and have
>         never required scripts or anything more complicated than
>         running from the HFNetChk GUI. The only problem I occasionally
>         run into is related to patches not working properly with
>         applications on test machines. From my experience HFNetChk is
>         by far one of the easiest and most cost effective solutions
>         for managing patches. The GUI is excellent and the built-in
>         help can get a new user up and running quickly - its all point
>         and click. Don't let the simplicity fool you with any product.
>         Always plan your roll-out strategy and policies before you
>         actually implement them and always remember to roll-out
>         patches on test machines or isolated machines first. Then
>         perform a larger scale roll-out.
>          
>         By the way - I have no affiliation with Shavlik Technologies
>         so my opinions are only biased on my personal experience :-)
>          
>         Thanks,
>         Michael
>
>             -----Original Message-----
>             *From:* Marsh, Richard [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>             *Sent:* Thursday, April 01, 2004 11:10 AM
>             *To:* Patch Management Mailing List
>             *Subject:* Still trying to decide - Implementing a PM system
>
>             Several months back, I mentioned my greenness and the
>             overwhelming feeling all the choices (regarding patch
>             management) gave me.  I did some research and read a lot
>             more posts.  Currently, we do all patching manually and
>             there is no budget for a patch management solution, which
>             means my suggestion must be cheap.  Norton's ghost seems
>             cheap enough (we would only need 1 license) though
>             hfnetcheck pro sounded reasonable as well.  I did see that
>             I would need to write scripts for the Ghost to do updates,
>             that isn't really a task I'm ready to take on.  Is
>             hfnetcheckpro the same, will I inevitably need to learn
>             how to script?  Still confused but learning...Thanks as
>             always.
>
>
>             Sincerely,
>              
>             Rich Marsh
>              
>             "It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task
>             which, more than
>             anything else, will affect its successful outcome."
>
>             William James
>             1842-1910
>             http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/james/ 
>              
>
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