Your favorite IT manager – OpenManage Essentials – is into networking now

It wasn’t that long ago you were first introduced. Dell OpenManage Essentials appeared on the scene in beta in November 2011, and was welcomed as version 1.0 in the spring of 2012. On November 14, 2012, and with more than 40,000 registered software downloads, Dell OpenManage Essentials v1.2 overwhelmingly became your new manager.

Fast forward through the many additional capabilities and enhanced features you and other customers have relied upon – simplifying the monitoring and management of your Dell and 3rd party infrastructure; automating the most essential and frequently performed IT management tasks; and ensuring the availability of your servers and workloads. On July 5, 2016, OpenManage Essentials v2.2 was made available for download at http://marketing.dell.com/ome-software, including several new features developed as a response to the rapid customer-adoption of FX2 modular infrastructure, Dell’s innovative game changer.

Network set-up is simplified, device management scales

OpenManage Essentials v2.2 now employs template-based processes to automate and replicate the assignment of VLANs during blades provisioning – reducing deployment time, steps and the potential for errors.  And a visual mapping display of blade I/O ports and IOA ports further simplifies the assignment of VLAN settings for FX2 and M1000e modular infrastructure.

With additional devices to monitor and manage, OpenManage Essentials customers now have the added advantage of a 37% increase in manageability. A single instance of the OpenManage Essentials console now provides management across 5,500 devices.

Service and support are seamless and swift 

“Geographic View,” a feature previously available only for Dell VRTX, is now available for FX2 as well. Customers, such as Tracewell Systems, are finding the density and scalability of FX2 equally as well suited for deployment in remote locations as within data centers. Tracewell helps customers like the U.S. Army support FX2 systems in command centers located in harsh environments. The ability to quickly pinpoint the map locations of remote VRTX or FX2 modular systems, then drill down to assess the health of all components, is pretty important. Especially if there is no IT admin or technician onsite – and a part is needed to be dispatched for a repair.

This is the time when the seamless integration and download of Dell SupportAssist software with OpenManage Essentials is most important. SupportAssist provides proactive, predictive support and automated case creation, and when combined with Dell ProSupport Plus, hardware issues are resolved up to 90% faster.

Our better infrastructure management beats the competition    

OpenManage Essentials truly just keeps getting better. And that includes outperforming the competition. Don’t just take my word on that, Watch this video and review the results from an independent 3rd party competitive assessment.

While you are here, consider OpenManage Mobile v1.4 , which leads the evolution in infrastructure management, with support for Dell PowerEdge 12th and 13th generation servers and integration with OpenManage Essentials. We love hearing from our customers! Please leave a comment on the blog, and be sure to follow us on Twitter for all the latest systems management and PowerEdge updates.

About the Author: Sandra Hamilton

Sandra Hamilton is currently the Sr. Product Marketing Manager for the Dell OpenManage systems management portfolio. As an Enterprise Solutions Group subject matter expert for systems management, she is responsible for the development and distribution of globally available, cross-domain messaging and marketing deliverables related to Dell Enterprise Systems Management and Enterprise Infrastructure Hardware solutions. She is a business leader with over 30 years of experience in roles including Sr. Manager of business development, alliances, finance, logistics, training, channel marketing, marketing programs, and optimization of online solutions content. Prior to Dell she was employed by both H.P. and Compaq Computer. Her passion for technology is equal to her interest in childhood development and her previous work as a school teacher and PTA president. Sandra holds a summa cum laude B.A. in Organizational and Behavioral Psychology from the University of Houston.