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DeviceExpert Adds Automated End-of-Life Management for Network Equipment

• By Leila Meyer
• 01/31/12

ManageEngine has released the latest version of its network configuration and change management software. DeviceExpert now includes automated device end-of-life (EOL) management, which monitors equipment vendor Web sites and bulletins for EOL status updates and notifies network administrators so they can take appropriate action.

"With so many devices on a network, the task of discovering that a particular device has reached end-of-sale, end-of-life, or end-of-support status can be herculean," said Rajesh Ganesan, director of product management at ManageEngine. "Yet it's critical. If an EOL router or firewall hangs and the network administrator calls a vendor for support, the vendor may not be able to do anything, and the organization has a serious problem on its hands. The ability to automate both EOL status discovery and the identification of devices that have reached EOL saves time and money even as it helps eliminate potential network vulnerabilities."

DeviceExpert provides EOL monitoring for a limited number of equipment vendors. A list of supported vendors is available on the ManageEngine site.

Key features of DeviceExpert include:

• Network discovery option to automatically add SNMP-enabled devices to inventory;
• Comprehensive inventory view, including serial numbers, interface details, chassis details, port configurations, IP addresses, and hardware properties;
• Encrypted device configuration information in the bundled MySQL database;
• Optional secure SSH communications between DeviceExpert and network equipment;
• Side-by-side comparison of any two configuration versions of the same device or different devices;
• Automated, incremental configuration backups;
• Task scheduling for configuration backups, report generation, and compliance checks;
• Role-based access control;
• Advanced script execution for tasks such as upgrading firmware, configuring banner messages, and resetting device passwords;
• Real-time configuration change tracking;
• Ability to roll back to a trusted baseline equipment configuration;
• Compliance monitoring according to a defined set of internal or external policies and standards;
• Integration with Active Directory, LDAP, and RADIUS;
• Switch Port Mapper to identify devices to connected to each port of a managed switch; and
• User activity tracking.

Pricing for DeviceExpert starts at $795. Further information is available on the ManageEngine site.