A new version of RMM-solution Panda Systems Management has been released.

On February 13, 2018, a new version of the Panda Systems Management integrated RMM solution was released for centralized and remote management, control and maintenance of corporate networks, devices and IT infrastructure. Introducing the improvements implemented in the new version.

Summary of Changes

Major improvements in the new version:
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• Significant improvements in the discovery of devices that help the administrator better understand which devices are not controlled by this solution.
• Improvements in monitoring capabilities. In essence, a new monitor engine has been implemented, new powerful monitors have been added, existing monitors have been improved, and some graphics have been added for real-time monitoring.
• A number of new features for managing network devices have appeared. Since we have improved device discovery, we can now monitor network devices using policies, and now we can even remotely monitor such devices.
• The best recommendations on monitoring policies are now available in the COMSTORE component store (Monitoring Policies). These policies are based on best practices for monitoring the most common platforms and servers (for example, Exchange / DNS), hardware from well-known manufacturers (for example, Dell / HP), and network devices (for example, Cisco and SonicWall).
• Naturally, some bugs were fixed that were revealed during the operation of the previous version.

Requires .NET 4.0 Framework

The new agent for Windows in Panda Systems Management is built on the .NET 4.0 Framework, which means that all existing devices must have this version of .NET installed so that the new agent can be used. Otherwise, the agent will not be updated, and therefore all new features added in the new version of the product, and those that are planned to be added in the future, will not work with the currently installed version of .NET.
By the way, a filter is available in the product that allows you to check which version of .Net is installed on devices. There is also a component available in COMSTORE for updating identified devices to the required version of the .NET Framework.

Device discovery

Network discovery

Significant improvements have been made in network discovery functions (Network Discovery), which help administrators better understand which devices are still not managed by Panda Systems Management.

We have slightly changed the display of network discovery results, which gives administrators a clearer overview of which detected devices are available on the network. Now the devices are grouped by type, and therefore now you can immediately see all groups of devices at the same time, and when opening the required group, devices of a certain type. Moreover, within each group, you can group devices by subnets. We moved the results of network discovery at the site level to a new section called Site -> Audit.

A new type of network audit (Network Audit) is also available at the account level. This allows a single glance to see the newly discovered and not managed devices in all serviced sites.

Additional subnets

Network discovery capabilities have been enhanced to add support for additional subnets. Administrators whose networks consist of several V-LANs can now add multiple subnets at the individual site level to check them as part of the daily audit process.

Monitoring

New monitoring core

We redid the core of our monitoring engine. This has led to the fact that monitoring options now have to work more reliably, efficiently and powerfully. In addition, now we have the opportunity to introduce new popular monitoring options in future versions. Now our agents manage two independent services for the separation of communications and the monitoring itself, which allows us to share the workload and increase reliability.

Significant changes were also made to monitoring on our platform. Now we have real-time communication between agents and the platform. This allows you to use configured monitors much faster, so that administrators can immediately see everything that happens on managed devices.

Real-time monitoring status

In addition to ensuring that all devices are functioning correctly, administrators also need to know whether their monitors are working correctly, without having to wait (or create conditions for notification) of confirmation. To make this possible, the monitors used will now tell the platform their latest values. We will show the current values ​​and graphically the history of these values ​​on the Summary tabs both at the agent and at the network device level. Data monitoring functions will be stored for a certain period of time, and in future versions we will use this data to display trends over a longer period.



WMI monitor

WMI provides access to a wealth of important information on any Windows system. Currently, administrators use component monitors to check systems for specific WMI information. Our new WMI monitor integrates this functionality in a simple and efficient way, greatly simplifying complex monitoring tasks in monitoring, for example, environments with Hyper-V.

Windows performance monitor

Many administrators want to see statistics in real time and generate alerts on important performance indicators, such as the SQL Server cache hit rate, the mail queue in Exchange, or the queue length of requests to the system disk. The new Windows performance monitor allows administrators to set thresholds and track any Windows performance counter on the device.

Patch Failure Monitor

Our recent changes to patch management options have enabled administrators to gain more control and visibility over the patch application process. The new patch monitor will allow administrators to manage patches in exceptional situations. The monitor will generate an alert if one or more patches fail to install, and it can display a notification when patches are successfully installed on a subsequent launch.

Ping monitoring

ICMP, or more commonly referred to as Ping, is a great tool for detecting and analyzing network problems. We have added our own Ping monitor, which will help to detect network problems earlier. The new monitor can easily detect if the device is still online, but it can also warn if there is a network latency or packet loss.



Event Log Monitor

The event log is one of the most important sources of information when monitoring Windows systems. The event log monitor in the new version has been significantly improved. First, now the agent will be able to access the event logs that were previously inaccessible. Secondly, event filtering has been improved. The new functionality also includes the possibility of notification in the absence of events or notification in the event that several events are generated in a certain period of time. Alerts from the event log monitor will also receive options for automatically applying certain scripts.



Disk usage monitor

We made changes to our disk usage monitor so that administrators can more easily implement disk usage monitoring without worrying about false alerts. A new option is available in the monitor to exclude disks whose size is below a certain value, as well as an option that allows you to not apply the monitor to removable disks.

Security Center Monitor

We have expanded the capabilities of the security center monitor so that administrators can better control the alert settings. The monitor now offers controls for category and exception types. This allows, for example, to configure alerts so that they are created in case of antivirus failure, but are not created if the firewall is not running.

Component Monitor

In order to please the experienced users of the Panda Systems Management solution, some subtle changes were also made. Like ordinary components, component monitors can now have file attachments. This allows you to use more powerful custom monitors on end devices without first deploying the required files to them. In addition, any component monitor can now send detailed output to the diagnostic alert panel.

UI Improvements

We have made a number of small useful improvements in the user interface. We implemented search in various places to help administrators find alerts and policies faster. The device monitor configuration page is now grouped by policy, which allows administrators to better see where these or other settings come from. Processor and memory monitors now allow any threshold values, and therefore alerts can be configured only when they reach 99%, not 95.

Network monitoring

Network monitoring upgrade

We made a lot of changes to help administrators manage their network devices better. A major change is the ability to manage network devices using monitoring policies. To realize this, now every network device is directly connected to a network node. The assigned network node will run the necessary checks for the associated device. The network node will be assigned when a device is added to Panda Systems Management, and it can be changed from the device list and the device overview page.

Other devices, such as Windows servers and VMWare ESXi hosts, will also use the designated network node when assigning monitoring parameters. This allows administrators to control which node monitors VMWare hosts. If we talk about the devices on which the agent is installed (for example, Windows servers), then this innovation will allow the product to use SNMP monitors to the device in order to monitor the hardware.

SNMP monitoring

The new version contains a new type of monitor - SNMP-monitor. The operation of this new monitor is consistent with the behavior of other monitors, so any administrator familiar with monitoring in Panda Systems Management will be able to easily implement SNMP monitoring on their networks.

This new SNMP monitor can be freely assigned to any device or device group using a policy. SNMP values ​​can be calculated or translated so that they are easier to understand. The new Panda Systems Management real-time monitoring capabilities will show the SNMP results on the platform in real-time, and a history of changes in these values ​​will be available in a graphical form.

In addition to the new SNMP monitor, we also added a new SNMP bandwidth monitor. This monitor allows administrators to monitor channel bandwidth consumption for internal or external interfaces of routers or switches.

Offline monitoring

Offline monitoring can also be applied to network devices using a policy. Like SNMP monitoring, the network node will check for device availability. The device status indicator in the product management console shows the status of the network device.

Network Device Audit

Network devices will be audited on an ongoing basis, which ensures the same functionality that is offered for devices where the Panda Systems Management agent is installed. We will present many standard SNMP fields in the system and make them available in our filters. New filters will be available by default, so built-in monitoring policies can be used.

Network management

SSH / Telnet

Network devices should be managed by experts, although connecting to them can be quite cumbersome. Without requiring VPN or any other tool, Panda Systems Management users can now directly connect to the terminal interface of any managed device. These sessions can be quickly started from the Summary tab of a specific device, from the list of devices and in the agent browser. The agent browser connects us to the appropriate network node to connect to the device and use the integrated version of PuTTY to provide a transparent connection.



HTTP / HTTPS

Just as SSH / Telnet connections work, the Panda Systems Management user can now configure the browser connection to any managed device in the product. The network node will work as a proxy to connect to the device without the need for a VPN or additional tools. You can change and save the connection settings, and the connections themselves will be recorded in the Panda Systems Management activity log.

b> customizable connections

The new network management feature can also be used to configure a user tunnel to any device. This allows you to use any application directly to any device. Examples of this use are: managing VMWare hosts using vSphere, or using a third-party management console on a Windows device.

COMSTORE

Monitoring policies

A new category for monitoring policies is now available in the COMSTORE component store. We provide policies for implementing best practices for monitoring devices using the Panda Systems Management solution. These policies are based on best practices for monitoring the most common platforms and servers (for example, Exchange / DNS), hardware from well-known manufacturers (for example, Dell / HP), and network devices (for example, Cisco and SonicWall). Monitoring policies loaded from COMSTORE will appear in their own policies, where they can be changed before applying them to devices through filters or groups.

Conclusion

The new version of the integrated cloud RMM-solution Panda Systems Management is designed to improve the user experience with this service, improve its usability, as well as the efficiency of its use. The main focus in improving the new version is made on more effective monitoring of devices, as well as increasing the product's capabilities for managing and monitoring network devices.