Net Director
NetDirector is an open and extensible management framework for managing configurations of common open source network services. It offers both form driven and fine-grained control of server configuration files with many added benefits including rollback and policy-based access.
Management Capabilities
* Features included in NetDirector Release 3.0 | Supported Operating Systems
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Unique Features of NetDirector
- Multi-server configuration change capability speeds management of large / distributed networks
- Change scheduling capability
- Rollback to any previous state speeds recovery and reduces application downtime
- Role-based permissions provide security and regulatory compliance
- Server configuration cloning aids disaster recovery, migration and adding new servers
NetDirector provides IT professionals with an intuitive and powerful system for the administration of local and distributed Linux, Solaris and BSD servers, while ensuring that IT executives have an unparalleled level of visibility and control over these assets.
NetDirector, which is based on a highly scalable and secure client-server model, has three primary components: Server Agents that reside on each server under management and are responsible for receiving and implementing configuration changes, a Server Manager that maintains status of each Server Agent and receives and relays user commands for configuration changes, and a highly intuitive Graphical User Interface, or GUI, that allows the grouping of servers according to virtually any organizational criteria (e.g. geography, service, or workgroup) and the simultaneous editing of configurations across any number of servers and/or groups of servers. Communication between the Agent and Server Manger is secured by encrypting the conversations with SSL.
NetDirector allows you to see your network from a simple web GUI, and see only the servers running the service you want to manage at a time. For example, if you need to make changes to your email system and select Postfix, the Server Tree (see Screenshots) will filter to only show you the servers in your network that are running Postfix.
Additional Features
- Configure all your servers from a central console - no more need to connect to each box individually
- Schedule changes for off hours, no need for inconvenient maintainence windows.
- You can go straight to the configuration flat files through NetDirector, thus allowing you to configure manually, while still providing the benefits of rollbacks, role-based access control and scheduled changes
- NetDirector's log browser lets you view server and service logs on a per day basis. Just select the server, click the day, and browse the log.
- Use NetDirector to easily manage remote and local servers at the same time
- NetDirector's open API lets you extend the tool to manage additional services
- NetDirector gives you one system for managing all of your Linux, Solaris ad BSD servers
- NetDirector's unique server cloning feature lets you quickly migrate workloads across platforms
- NetDirector gives you true on-the-fly application management, whether you have a Windows or a UNIX background
- Experienced Sys Admins can go straight to the configuration flat files through NetDirector, thus allowing them to configure manually, while still providing the benefits of rollbacks, role-based access control and scheduled changes.
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NetDirector Helps Windows Administrators Make the Transition to LinuxWith NetDIrector, you can change your operating system and keep your IT team by limiting the learning curve for Windows administrators. NetDirector's GUI helps Administrators that may be new to Linux to quickly become productive managing complex Linux-based services. Download Whitepaper: Linux Business Case for Microsoft Users. |
Benefits
The NetDirector advantage is in convenience which leads to better productivity and consequently a more productive staff. Besides the obvious advantages the auditing system built into NetDirector can provide an additional layer of security and tracking in cases where regulatory compliance is a concern.
Convenience
Manual approaches to configuration can be slow and scripts are notoriously brittle. NetDirector's intuitive Web GUI for the configuration management of multiple servers simultaneously, and the ability to schedule any change for later, allows Administrators to more efficiently manage corporate and ISP server networks. Consider the convenience of scheduling the creation of a new virtual server across all your corporate Apache servers for Sunday at midnight, and receiving an Email when it occurs.
Cost Reduction
When applications go down, money gets lost. NetDirector dramatically improves the server configuration process and enables the rapid recovery from misconfigurations when they do occur. And, when you simplify the ongoing configuration management of your Linux network, you can more rapidly embrace Linux and Open Source for additional services. NetDirector from Emu Software can help you move yet more applications to Linux – Email, Directory Services, Firewalls, Databases – by taking the concern about managing the new Linux servers off the table.
Compliance Through Security Policy Enforcement
NetDirector has strict role-based access controls, providing IT managers with an easy way to "lock-down" Administrators to only the services and servers for which they are responsible. And because NetDirector keeps track of all changes, producing audit reports is vastly simplified. Always important, these auditing and control capabilities have taken on greater urgency as IT departments conform to new regulatory mandates, such as Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA.
