My experience with Symantec Server Management Suite (SMP)
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We have been using Symantec Server Mgmt Suite since version 7.1, moved to 7.5, and recently upgraded to 8.0.
We use the platform to keep our server infrastructure up to date with Patch Management, Software Deployment, as well as for OS Deployment. It has helped us to use one tool for all of these needs, vs needing multiple tools.
Pros
- Being able to manage and report on our entire enterprise infrastructure from a single pane of glass is very handy!
- Deploying patches via the SMP can be a little complicated, but once you figure out exactly how to do it, it works very well!
- Building system images with the SMP is an easy process. I build a VM with the software I want, and then run a job that prepares the system for image capture (runs sysprep, wipes the SMP GUID, etc) and then boots into WinPE and captures the image via Ghost.
Cons
- The SMP solution is a beast. Each piece is complicated in itself let alone how everything ties together!
- There is plenty of documentation online on how to perform a specific task, but you need to pay attention to what VERSION the article is written for. I've been halfway through implementing something only to hit a roadblock since I'm running a newer version and the option the article says to click on doesn't exist anymore...
Likelihood to Recommend
The SMP suite is great at what it does, but it can be very complicated to learn how to get it to do what you want. It's a beast!
However, when you learn how to the things you want to do, it comes as second nature and you complete them like they're supposed to be done that way. A lot of these things are done to be able to be completed a number of different ways. Take Patch Management, you can deploy patches automatically, via Jobs, or via the "Start Software Update Cycle Now" link in the SMP Agent!
