PATCHWORK PROTECTION.

This article evaluates several patch management products, such as the Patch Manager 3.0 from Ecora, Patch Manager 4.0 from BigFix, PatchLink Update 5.0, St. Bernard UpdateExpert 6.1 and Gravity Storm Service Pack Manager 2000. To be eligible for testing, the products had to be able to deploy patches for Windows platforms and cost less than $50,000 for 1,000 workstations and 20 servers. The user interface of Patch Manager has a few quirks that kept it from taking first in the management category. The icons in the user interface indicate whether a patch has been successfully deployed or is needed. An interesting feature of BigFix Patch Manager is the ability to use retrieved properties for systems. Its deployment strategy has some advanced features that push it near to the top. Bandwidth management is handled through what it calls Temporal Distribution and the use of Relay Agents. PatchLink Update is still one of the more well-rounded entries. It is the only product that can patch a dizzying array of non-Microsoft operating systems. UpdateExpert is unique among the products reviewed in that it supports agent and agentless models. Its intuitive interface and solid bandwidth management features help ensure that patch installations would not clog networks. INSETS: HOW WE TESTED PATCH MANAGEMENT;MICROSOFT'S EVOLVING ROLE;PATCH MANAGER-DM INTERSECTION?.