In-Depth
Editor's Choice: Training
<b>Winner:</b> DameWare Development DameWare NT Utilities<br>
<br>
<b>Honorable Mention: </b><a href="#vmware">VMware Workstation</a>
- By James Carrion
- 12/01/2002
DameWare
NT Utilities $189.95 for a single license 
DameWare Development; 985-871-7519; www.dameware.com
The computer classroom can be, at times, difficult to manage: multiple
students simultaneously working on a lab exercise, all demanding the instructor’s
attention and guidance. It’s nice to have a technology tool to help manage
this environment, which can serve as a virtual teacher’s assistance.
DameWare NT Utilities is a versatile management program that allows you
to control and manage network computers remotely. It centralizes, in one
interface, all the major diagnostic and management functions that would
normally require many different native operating system utilities, as
well as other third-party utilities, to replicate. Don’t let the program’s
title throw you; DameWare for NT utilities is also optimized to work on
Windows 2000.
What I really like about DameWare is that you don’t have to preinstall
client software on the remote computer. Instead, the client agent is installed
automatically when needed. As a traveling instructor, this gives me the
flexibility to walk into a new classroom and take “control” of it immediately.
I can then interact with individual student computers and check up on
how a student’s doing on a lab exercise. It supports all the major Windows
platforms.
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| DameWare
NT Utilities consolidates all major remote management tools under
a single interface. (Click image to view larger version.) |
DameWare really shines in centralizing all the essential information
you need to diagnose a remote computer problem, as well as consolidating
all the major utilities for maintaining the remote system. It also provides
more detail than Task Manager ever could. Factor in that native remote
management of Windows 95/98 in Win2K is non-existent, and you can see
that DameWare is a tool that can really do it all.
I’m sure that DameWare was designed with the helpdesk in mind, but it
can be used as a technology-training tool, as well. Technology instructors,
especially those who travel, will find that DameWare can serve as a virtual
teacher’s assistant and help bring an unruly computer classroom back into
order. Its extensive remote diagnostic and management capabilities provide
you a wealth of information you’d be hard-pressed to replicate with native
utilities.
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Honorable
Mention
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VMware
Workstation
$299 for the download and $329 for full packaging
VMware
650-475-5000, www.vmware.com |
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My next favorite utility is VMware Workstation. This is a virtual machine
environment that allows you to boot into a number of different operating
systems virtually.
VMware has allowed me to play with different operating systems without
having to mess with my computer’s normal boot loader process. I need that
sometimes.
About the Author
James Carrion, MCM R2 Directory, MCITP, MCSE, MCT, CCNA, CISSP has worked as a computer consultant and technical instructor for the past 16 years. He’s the owner of and principal instructor for MountainView Systems, LLC, which specializes in accelerated Microsoft Certification training.