Aldebaran Systems announced the release of the latest version of their server management tool, ServerAssist. Integrating with HfNetChk from Shavlik Technologies, ServerAssist will continually monitor the security profile of your Windows computers, automatically checking for relevant updates at set intervals.

A recent survey found that network security is the area that most concerns system administrators, and that keeping up to date with current vulnerabilities is taking too much time. As a result, most servers are not as secure as they could be.

Security alert bulletins are very useful and timely, but they cover all vulnerabilities, not just those that are necessary for your environment. Windows Update won't tell you about any hot fixes or service packs for SQL Server or Exchange, and it doesn't even cover all the patches needed for the operating system.

Now, using ServerAssist, a system monitoring tool for Windows, your computer can tell you when it needs patching. ServerAssist will continually monitor the security profile of your Windows computers, and whenever a new patch is available from Microsoft which needs to be applied, will inform you via e-mail.

ServerAssist provides two key benefits. It automatically checks for updates at set intervals, so you don't have to remember to scan computers manually. If any new patches are needed, ServerAssist notifies you by e-mail, providing a detailed analysis of the new patch requirements. Because it runs on the computer itself, you are only notified about applicable patches - those necessary for your computers.


In a nutshell, ServerAssist allows your servers to tell you when they need patching.

ServerAssist also provides comprehensive server management capabilities, identifying performance and availability problems, providing diagnostic information, and allowing comprehensive service level and performance reporting. From one intuitive console, ServerAssist provides a complete solution for centrally managing the health, performance, and availability of all your Windows computers.

ServerAssist provides automatic notification when preset processor, memory or disk space usage thresholds are exceeded or when selected events occur, generates detailed status reports and performance graphs, and ensures key services are operating correctly. Advanced performance monitoring and event review capabilities allow in depth analysis of system resources with a high degree of granularity.

Detailed reports let you see memory and disk usage, review the event logs, see service and process information, and plot detailed performance data over days or weeks - all from an MMC snap-in or web browser.

An evaluation edition of ServerAssist is available here, and may be downloaded free. The 30-day evaluation software installs in minutes and comes with full technical support.