Opsware Evolves Server Automation

The IT automation vendor on Monday introduced version 5.1 of its Server Automation System (SAS). New to version 5.1 is Opsware ExpressAutomation, which hyper-accelerates the scanning, discovery and agent deployment required to ramp up automated policy, patch, configuration and workflow management, said Tim Howes, CTO of Opsware, Sunnyvale, Calif.

"The point is faster time to ROI," said Howes. "The tasks that took months can now be done over hours across potentially thousands of servers."

Using SAS 5.1, one customer deployed the Opsware solution across 7,500 servers in just a few days. A second customer provisioned 600 software packages across several hundred servers in about 6 minutes, according to Opsware.

With its improved interface, SAS 5.1 effectively reduces the number of IT administrators required to perform a wide range of tasks, including patch management, server reprovisioning and software installation, Howes said.

SAS also enables automation of tasks critical to compliance regulation and can generate boardroom-ready reports on server status using Opsware's Compliance Center, which is also new to SAS 5.1, Howes said.

Howes said SAS 5.1 was originally code-named Darwin because with the release of version 5.1 of SAS, Opsware evolves one step closer to its goal of merging its server and network monitoring technologies into an new application monitoring solution, which could arrive by year's end.

Opsware is encouraging its solution provider partners to begin certifying on the vendor's Network Automation System (NAS) 4.0 and SAS 5.1 in anticipation of the upcoming application layer products, said Eric Vishria, director of marketing for Opsware.