What is Patch Management?
Patch management is a process within the larger function of overall systems management. The idea behind patch management is built around the proper methods of identifying and testing various types of code changes, with an eye to making the programming code function with a greater degree of efficiency. Patch management also extends to the actual implementation of the code changes and monitoring the function of the code to identify any unforeseen circumstances that did not emerge during the testing phase. Under the broad banner of patch management, there are several important functions that are considered part of this ongoing process. First, an administrator who engages in patch management is expected to maintain a working knowledge of all code changes or patches that are applied to a particular system. This is considered essential as each new modification of the existing code could create an issue with a patch that was applied to the system six months or a year before. The administrator
Patch management from NetworkCare provides fast, easy and reliable software upddates to keep your servers, workstations and remote computers up-to-date with the latest software security patches and updates. NetworkCare Patch Management provides discovery of all missing patches and updates. As the administrator, Progressive Office will have the ability to automate the entire patch scan process including scheduling when each machine is scanned and what patches and or updates are approved for installation. The scan results for each computer is stored for later use on the NetworkCare server. From our central office we can view the complete patch history for each machine including missing patches and patches that have been successfully applied. If you are running different versions of the same program and accessing a common database, your firm can be at risk of software crashes and data corruption and that means DOWNTIME. This is avoided with NetworkCare because we are constantly monitoring
If you haven’t worked with Windows, you probably haven’t heard or might not understand the term “Patch management”. Patch management is the process & tools that accurately identify which patches are missing on each system, provide an easy means to deploy patches and provide administrative reports tracking patch status across multiple machines. In Mac OS X, the term “Patch Management” is correlates to managing & distributing software updates, usually this is accomplished using Apple’s Software Update, but this mechanism is limited and not very robust or flexible, but there are many other tools that help solve some of the pieces of the puzzle. Ideally, Apple will offer a full-featured patch management system that supports Apple OS & software, third-party software, and unix software that can be managed with tools like Fink and DarwinPorts. Next, Apple needs to implement some type of mechanism for modifications to the operating system like installing an update or new software, its initial
Patch Management (also known as “Update Management”) refers to the automated process of proactively identifying which Windows servers in your network can be exploited or threatened because of the absence of critical Microsoft security service packs. Typical deliverables include a series of reports that enable you to assess your patch vulnerabilities from several angles – severity, count, by device, by software type, and by the latest Microsoft Bulletin.
