Opsware now tracks changes

Strengthening its bid to win business from budget-strapped federal agencies, Opsware Inc. has added a suite of audit and change-tracking tools to its flagship product.

Version 4.0 of Opsware System, which automates the management and updating of computers across a network, includes a Data Center Intelligence component that shows administrators how much each workstation or server costs to run.

"If you look at what people are doing today in getting visibility into their data centers, it's a pretty motley collection" of information sources, said Tim Howes, chief technology officer at Opsware. "The information they get is never that accurate or up to date. A lot of customers I talk to, as embarrassing as it is, they don't even know how many machines they have out there."

The system also tracks changes and allows administrators to quickly see what users — or unwanted intruders like worms and viruses — have done to the network. It includes patch management capabilities that show which machines have the latest security updates and which don't.

Government customers are "generally more concerned about security. The security needs are fairly unique and more stringent" than commercial firms, he said.