Start-up eases wireless device management
 
|
|||
 | |||
|
Wireless management start-up mFormation Technologies' Tuesday unveiled new software that extends traditional network management features to wireless devices.
The software, mFormation Enterprise Manager, brings network and systems management capabilities out to wireless devices without requiring users to sync up with the network through a device cradle, says Jeb Bolding, an analyst with Enterprise Management Associates.
Once configured with mFormation's software agent, any device with a wireless connection can be treated just like every other managed element in the wired network, Bolding says.
"It seems to me that they have really covered everything with this software. It brings true systems management out to wireless devices," Bolding says. "Most wireless users do not have regular access to a cradle, but they need to be supported regardless."
Bolding says traditional network and systems management companies such as Computer Associates and Tivoli have extended their management software out to wireless devices but have focused mostly on asset management. With mFormation, however, users can access data on application performance, device health and assets from the agent installed on each device.
mFormation's Enterprise Manager consists of server and agent software. Users can install the server software on Sun Solaris or Microsoft Windows NT boxes within their firewalls. The software also works with Oracle, SQL and BEA WebLogic databases. Software agents must be installed on each managed wireless device. The server software can be set to automatically poll the agent at predefined intervals, and the net manager can manually poll the device if a user reports a performance problem. Also, the agent constantly polls its device for changes in predefined performance metrics, and if a change is detected, the agent sends that data to the server.
The agent software can also be installed within the network on application servers, Web servers and databases to determine what within the network may be causing performance problems for the wireless devices. By using a proprietary protocol and some SNMP, mFormation can also communicate with back-end legacy systems.
Because wireless devices such as Palm, Research In Motion's Blackberry, Compaq's iPAQ and those based on Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) software are small and easily lost or stolen, Enterprise Manager also provides several security functions. For example, if a device is lost, the server can send commands to the agent to lock it up, delete its contents or halt delivery of content to it. The mFormation software works with several wireless networks including Cingular/Mobitex, Motient, Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD), Code Division Multiple Access and General Packet Radio Service.
Bolding says mFormation's software may be ahead of user demand at this point, but adds that the software works with products from CA, Tivoli and Hewlett-Packard. In fact, data collected by mFormation can be integrated into management consoles from those vendors, which makes sense, he says.
"This product is really solid. It makes a lot of sense for the CAs and the Tivolis to partner with a company that's already done the development work," Bolding says.
Available now, mFormation Enterprise Manager costs $10,000 for the server software and between $40 and $70 per device for the agent component. The company also offers an ASP-hosted version of the software for which it charges customers $6 to $8 per managed wireless device per month.
Related Links
