New & Improved - 30 Mar 2004

BACKUP AND RECOVERY

Recover a Failed System

http://www.softwarepursuits.com,
650-372-0900, 800-367-4823

Software Pursuits released BootBack, software that can recover a failed system from corruption or virus infection. The software takes snapshots of a user's system on a scheduled basis or on demand. If the system becomes unbootable, the user can revert back to the most recent usable snapshot. The software also lets users map one set of files and folders into all snapshots. Data files are immediately available after booting from a snapshot. BootBack runs on Windows 2003/XP/2000. Pricing starts at $44 per workstation and $347 per server.

COLLABORATION TOOLS

Manage Documents Within Office

http://www.merant.com, 503-645-1150,
800-547-7827, [email protected]

Merant released Merant Meritage, software that lets you more effectively manage documents within Microsoft Office 2003. With Merant Meritage, application-development and other project teams can collaborate through every stage of design, development, and delivery. The software lets teams maintain and manage multiple versions of Microsoft Office Word 2003, Office Excel 2003, and Office PowerPoint 2003 documents, which eliminates the usual problems of coordinating, controlling, and managing resource-allocation spreadsheets, cost plans, delivery plans, feature-set specifications, and other materials associated with product delivery. Merant Meritage also supports Office XP and Office 2000. You can use the software as a standalone application or integrated with Merant Version Manager, a component of the Merant Professional suite. Pricing is $2995 per server plus $149 per user.

SECURITY

Secure Logon and Logoff Activity

http://www.isdecisions.com, [email protected]

IS Decisions announced UserLock 3.0, software that tracks, notifies, and secures the logon and logoff activity of your domains. The software runs aMerant Meritage, softwars a Windows NT service and can limit the number of simultaneous connections allowed under the same username on an entire Windows 2000 or NT network. UserLock sets pop-up or email notifications for permitted or denied logon and logoff, creates a comma-separated value (CSV) log file that tracks logon and logoff activity, lets you choose which users and groups to limit, and restricts the computers to which those users or groups can log on according to computer name or by IP range. UserLock works on all network LANs and WANs. UserLock 3.0 now features support for terminal sessions (i.e., Citrix Systems' Citrix ICA and Microsoft RDP). The software runs on Windows 2003/XP/2000/NT systems and costs $54 for 10 users.

SECURITY

Search for Rogue Nodes

http://www.neon.com,
925-283-9771, [email protected]

Neon Software released Continuous Scan, intrusion-detection and prevention software for its LANsurveyor network diagram and management software. Administrators use LANsurveyor to create one or more network diagrams and verify the network nodes on those maps. Continuous Scan uses the maps as the network baseline for authorized nodes and constantly searches for rogue nodes that don't match authorized nodes. The software uses several search methods including Ping, NetBIOS, and SNMP queries to find new nodes. When the software discovers a new node, it adds the node to the Threat List. When you determine the node isn't a threat, you can enable network access for the node directly from the Threat List. Continuous Scan costs $249 as an option to LANsurveyor Management Station and LANsurveyor Workgroup Edition. Continuous Scan is bundled with LANsurveyor Enterprise Edition.

STORAGE

Expand Your Storage

http://www.snapappliance.com,
408-879-8700, 888-310-7627

Snap Appliance released Snap Disk 10, a 1U (1.75"), 1TB expansion array that you can use with the Snap Server 4500. The array and server combination provide as much as 3TB of native storage capacity in 3U (5.25") of rack space. Snap Disk 10 leverages the Snap Server 4500's architecture to provide high performance, cross-platform data storage, and backup and recovery capabilities. Snap Disk 10 provides four hot-swappable disk drives, RAID and antivirus protection, snapshot technology, and data-replication capability. For pricing, contact Snap Appliance.

SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT

Create Defined Event-Log Records

http://www.gravitysquare.com, 425-637-1443

Gravity Square released GSI Event Log Gatherer (ELG) 1.51, software that lets you define system alerts and receive instant notification about critical and predefined system conditions. ELG lets you create easily defined server event-log records and notifications to forward system information to specified mailboxes, cell phones, and pagers. ELG can speed up the process of filtering, viewing, and analyzing event-log records from Windows 2000 and Windows NT systems. With ELG, you can define parameters for the event-log data analysis, including server sources, date and time intervals, event-log and event-record types, IDs, application sources, and categories. For pricing, contact Gravity Square.

TECHNICAL RESOURCE

Implement Windows Server 2003

http://www.osborne.com, 609-426-5793, 800-227-0900

McGraw-Hill/Osborne released Nelson Ruest's and Danielle Ruest's Windows Server 2003: Best Practices for Enterprise Deployments, a book that provides advice about how to implement Windows 2003. The book provides installation information, discusses designing an Active Directory (AD), and outlines the tasks required to place an enterprise AD into production. You can also learn how to migrate data including users, passwords, groups, files, folders, security descriptors, printers, and applications. Topics covered in the book include planning for Windows 2003, preparing the user organizational unit (OU) infrastructure, managing enterprise security, planning for system redundancy, and putting the enterprise network into production. For pricing, contact McGraw-Hill/Osborne.

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

Tab Tag

http://www.tabtag.com, 360-344-4240

TabTag software links the ease of Microsoft Outlook to the full power of Microsoft SQL Server by combining database technology with an enhanced Outlook GUI. Users can access and manage a database from the Outlook GUI. Users can also use TabTag to share data in a small network without a server, in large networks with SQL Server, locally with remote users and partner organizations, and on the Web. TabTag can manage every detail of structured data (i.e., information that you can display in a table). Built-in functions cover most classification requirements such as working groups, memberships, subscriptions, and interrelations between items.

Michael Tissington, TabTag chief technology officer (CTO), said various kinds of businesses use the application. "On one hand there are small offices that want to share Outlook data without having to install Exchange Server. Then there are organizations that want to keep Outlook but find they have outgrown its data management capabilities and need a real database. And finally, there are enterprises that value TabTag from another perspective—for enabling Outlook as a familiar, user-friendly front-end to SQL Server."

TabTag saves data directly to a SQL Server database in real time so that users don't need to deal with .pst files or roundabout synchronization procedures. Users can synchronize the data to a PDA or laptop. Pricing starts at $145 for 1 user, $246.50 for 2 users, $1087.50 for 10 users, and $4350 for 50 users. Volume licensing is available.