Patch management software has become a growing choice of corporations and businesses over the last few years. The Windows operating system and the frequent fixes got the consumer used to the idea of updating, and to limited automated software patch programs. The new patch management solutions bring this to businesses in a way that meets their security needs.
A computer user in a home environment will often allow Windows to automatically search for, and apply patches or security packs on an automatic basis. In the corporate or business environment, the same is true, however there are additional programs running that must also be fixed in order to ensure a system is up to date and secure. Taking the time to research and assess each program on each machine could be a task that consumed labor and expense for businesses prior to the introduction of patch software.
However the software patch management programs have taken much of the burden off the workforce and allow these operations to be configured and executed automatically. Whether a company has two machines or an entire network of machines spanning the nation, the need is the same, to keep up to date. While formerly one or more employees might be dedicated strictly to updating and securing all the machines in a location, new software programs have freed them for more profitable duties.
The software will normally contain a console where administrator preferences can be set. That means the administrator can determine which programs should be updated and scanned and those which can be ignored. There are usually options to choose a patch download site in the console area as well.
A company with multiple machines may well have different purposes for each one and different programs installed as well. In that case the management software will scan each machine separately and apply the patches or fixes. Software to manage patches will usually intelligently apply only those patches necessary for the programs present on the machine.
There are two broad types of management programs for patches that are used in both businesses and for home users. The first is an agent based patching solution. Agent based means simply that a small program is resident on each computer and scans the machine it is on, downloads the necessary patches and then reports to a central computer. This method is bandwidth intensive but mostly automated and efficient on a large scale.
Other types of management programs use a central machine as the controller. This central computer with a program on it scans each of the machines in the system applies the necessary system changes on the targeted computers in the network. This is known as agentless management in that the only requirement for the other machines is that they be connected to the network, instead of the internet as is required for agent based solutions. The agentless type of management software requires more direct supervision than the programs which reside on individual machines.
These alternatives have cut the cost of maintaining some security aspects of a large network. It has become popular even among home users. However, a business should consider their available bandwidth, work force, and corporate needs before deciding upon particular management program, since the differences are so striking.
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