BMC To Roll Out Simpler Version Of Patrol Software

"For our [channel partners, it's something that's easy to install and deploy, so they'll get paid faster," said Jason Andrew, director of the subscription services business unit at BMC, based here. Partners can also use Patrol Express to host entry-level management services, he added.

Designed to monitor non-mission-critical systems, Patrol Express is a packaged version of Guardian Angel, a BMC-hosted, subscription-based remote management service launched last fall, Andrew said. The software monitors the performance and availability of network, server and application infrastructure but can't automatically fix network problems, he said.

Patrol Express includes the Service Integration Portal, a Web portal that publishes network data and issues notifications when problems occur, and Remote Service Monitor, a Windows-based application that remotely collects performance data and sends the information to the portal. Each Remote Service Monitor can track up to 2,000 network elements, Andrew said.

Unlike BMC Patrol, Patrol Express doesn't use agents,small apps that sit on each monitored device and gather performance data. Patrol Express' "agentless" technology is key to its simplicity because it eases the rollout of network management services, said Asif Khan, vice president of marketing at Irvine, Calif.-based MSP SiteLite.

SiteLite uses Patrol Express as the basis for its Smart Point service. The MSP can automatically deploy agents to the devices on a customer's network but requires the customer to open ports on its firewall and provide system passwords, Khan said. "You need cooperation from the customer, and sometimes they're busy," he said.

BMC offers perpetual and subscription-based licensing for Patrol Express based on the number of elements monitored. Perpetual licenses are priced at $100 for network devices, $400 for servers and $800 for applications.