Migrating to the New Dell Management Console

The new Dell^TM  Management Console Powered by Altiris^TM  from Symantec^TM  is designed to significantly simplify systems management, enabling administrators to manage the myriad aspects of their IT environments—including deployment, help-desk support, security, backup, and servers and storage—from a single centralized console. Based on the flexible, extensible Symantec Management Platform architecture, this tool can integrate easily with an entire catalog of high-value plug-ins without requiring complicated integration services. Implementing a single console that can support a wide variety of systems management tasks not only helps reduce operational costs, but can also help simplify training for IT staff and enable administrators to focus on enhancing the business value of their IT infrastructures rather than on managing their management tools.

Administrators can implement the Dell Management Console either by performing a clean installation of the software, which includes the Symantec Management Platform, or by first upgrading an existing Altiris Notification Server^TM  6 installation to the Symantec Management Platform and then installing the console as a plug-in solution. The Symantec Installation Wizard (SIM) can guide administrators through the upgrade process and help ensure that existing Altiris Notification Server 6 data is migrated correctly.

After upgrading to the Symantec Management Platform, administrators can then use a migration wizard in the Dell Management Console to import discovery ranges and schedule settings from an existing installation of Dell OpenManage^TM  IT Assistant 8.0 or later. By upgrading from an existing Altiris Notification Server 6 infrastructure and migrating data from Dell OpenManage IT Assistant, administrators can help ensure a smooth transition and begin taking advantage of this powerful, flexible console in their own environments.

By Manoj Poonia and Ed Casmer

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