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GCN Home > 05/16/05 issue

Patchwork made easy

By Carlos A. Soto, GCN Staff

Patch management tools work well, but differ based on user preferences

The importance of patch management to any network is often understated. A common misconception of patch management software is that it simply initializes the auto-update features found in existing operating systems and software applications. In fact, good patch management solutions not only analyze the actual patches, looking for possible bugs in the software, but also ensure the integrity of applications after patches have been applied.

That’s important because patching a computer has a domino effect. One swapped Dynamic Link Library file will alter another file, which in turn changes a registry setting, and pretty soon you have 30 or 40 files that are different because one file had to be replaced. And this scenario includes only one computer, not a network. It also doesn’t take into account the fact that patches often contain corrupt or incorrect files, created either by accident or by an attacker. Multiply the single-system domino effect by 1,000 or 500,000 nodes, then add spyware, virus and spam worries, and you have an appreciation for the IT nightmare common among agency network administrators.

The GCN Lab recently invited four solution providers to participate in a review of patch management software: BMC Software Inc., LANDesk Software Inc., PatchLink Corp. and Symantec Corp. After much discussion, Symantec chose not to participate; its LiveState Patch Manager product is due out soon.

We’re aware there are many solutions we were unable to review [for details on a variety of solutions, see the GCN Buyers Guide coming June 6]. We chose these three for our first foray into enterprise patch management testing because they are well known, demonstrate the full spectrum of patch management capabilities and could meet our rigid schedule, which included day-long appointments with each vendor in our Washington lab.

What we did

We installed each patch management suite on the GCN Lab network and judged several aspects of usability, performance and features.

More news on related topics: Software Applications, IT Security, Product Reviews, Products Central



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