The NetMan Desktop Manager function overview
This page lists all features of NetMan Desktop Manager.
Management
| Cross media application management | Windows-based applications as well as contents (URLs, CDs/DVDs) are managed and deployed in an identical, consistent manner using a single administrative interface. |
| RemoteApps | Enterprise-wide application service based on application name. Application access permission can be made dependent on user, station, group or time |
| Dynamic load balancing | Automatic load balancing between terminal servers in a server farm based on number of sessions, CPU load or memory use. When several server farms are connected, load balancing can be configured for individual farms. |
| Session Sharing | Allows multiple applications to run in a single terminal server session. Session sharing saves resources and permits more users per server. |
| User environment management | Flexible adaptation of user and application environments to location, device and access method. |
| Universal printer driver | Print jobs are converted in the PDF-format and transferred from server to client for subsequent printing using locally attached printers. |
| Bandwidth control for print jobs | The amount of bandwidth used for print jobs may be specified per user/station, per application or a combination of both. |
| Anonymous users | Providing a predefined set of applications to those users whose explicit logon permissions are not required. |
| Limiting anonymous users | Access privileges for anonymous users can be allocated on the basis of IP address or address range |
| Support of Windows operating systems | Microsoft Windows 2000 or higher for NetMan Desktop Client; Windows 98 or higher for web frontend. |
| Support of thin clients, Apple Macintosh, LINUX | Integrate thin clients, Mac and Linux using Java client or Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). |
| Auto client update | Automatic update of the NetMan Desktop Manager clients without user intervention. The administrator simply installs the latest version on the server and predefines an update process for workstations to either start immediately or after the next boot process. |
| Session specific parameters | Color depth, sound support, window size, screen resolution and other parameters can be set individually per session. |
| Extended user/group policies | NetMan Desktop Manager provides its own policies on user and group level as an enhancement to MS Windows policies. |
| Extended station/group policies | NetMan Desktop Manager provides its own policies on station and group level as an enhancement to MS Windows policies. |
| Protected user profiles | Ensures that user profiles remain consistent even when multiple terminal servers run in load-balancing mode. |
| Point & Click integration | Predefined actions (macros) in NetMan Desktop Manager enable the definition (simply by point & click!) of supplementary measures accompanying the integration and course of applications, thus reducing or eliminating the necessity of login scripts or batch files. |
| Lock-Ids | Allows reciprocal locking of applications with competing demands on system resources. |
| Individual start/end configurations | Specification of the start/end behaviour of NetMan Desktop Manager clients. Individually adjustable per user, station or groups of users or stations. |
| Extended CD/DVD support | NetMan Desktop Manager provides direct access to the functions of the Virtual CD products. |
| Dynamic drive letter mapping | Fully automatic assignment of drive letters during runtime, adjustable for all drive letters or subsets. |
| Dynamic Internet filter | You can define access whitelists and blacklists by URL or domain, using wildcards as needed. Rules are applied both in terminal server sessions and in local web browser sessions. |
| Server farms | NDM supports the operation of multiple server farms at different locations, including the associated fallback rules in the event of a connection interrupt or an outage. |
| Satellite installation (failover solution) | Separate NDM installation as a backup or mirror server. The satellite installation is constantly updated to match the primary NDM server and takes over its functions in the event of a server outage. Two satellite installations must be present to ensure permanent availability. |
| Ring replication (high availability solution) | Several satellite installations are combined into a replication ring. Data replication takes place within this ring, and the arrangement of the servers determines which server takes over for the primary server when a failure occurs. |
Usability
| Seamless integration into the Windows Desktop | NetMan Desktop Manager pushes additional icons on the user desktop and/or additional entries in the start menu thus providing the same user experience as with local applications. |
| Dynamic desktop elements | Dynamic creation/removal of icons on the user desktop and entries in the start menu depending upon user rights and the applications´ availability. |
| Role-based user view | NetMan Desktop Manager displays desktop elements depending upon user/station rights. Supported authentication providers are NT, NDS, ADS or LDAP, station names and groups, IP-addresses and DNS names. |
| Web Frontend | NetMan Desktop Manager's web frontend lets users access their own portfolios of applications and content over a standard browser. Through the web frontend, the NetMan Desktop Manager makes applications and content available to specific users, groups and stations in the same way that the NetMan Desktop Client provides applications through start menu and desktop icons. |
| Java Client | Browser-based access (e.g. over the Internet) is not dependent on a particular operating system. No installation is required on the user terminal. Applications are launched through the web front-end (see above). |
| Single sign on | Automatically passes the user´s local login data to the terminal server, thus eliminating the need for multiple authentications. |
| Seamless Windows Mode | In terminal server sessions the look & feel of applications is identical to that of local applications. |
| Individual provision of applications | Integrated “actions” in NetMan Desktop Manager easily enable to predefine the integration and start/end behaviour of applications and contents, adapted to user or system requirements, guaranteeing optimum workflow. |
| Content Redirection | Double-clicking on a file automatically opens that file on a terminal server with its associated application, regardless of whether the file is stored locally or attached to an e-mail message. When the client is not connected to the terminal server, applications launch with the locally associated application. |
| Reverse content redirection | Routes requests sent from a session to local applications according to the used protocol (Uniform Resource Identifier). For example, when a user in a session clicks on a URL, the locally installed browser opens. |
| Support for Android and iOS devices | With or without the optional NDM RDP Acceleration, NDM supports the AccessToGo client for Android and iOS devices. |
Monitoring & Reporting
| Integrated license management | Allows input and control of software licenses of third party applications deployed by NetMan Desktop Manager. Common license models are supported. Allows also for the analysis of parallel license usage. |
| License queue | If all “concurrent use” licenses for a particular application are in use, a license queue forms. The respective application will start automatically once a license is available. |
| Application timeout | Allows automatic termination of applications when a user was inactive for a preset period of time. |
| Real time monitors | Integrated monitoring of server load, software license usage, active stations/sessions and the NetMan Desktop Manager environment. |
| Real time diagnostics monitor | Provides help during error analysis, recording communication between server(s) and client(s). Adjustable filter levels help limiting the diagnostics output to predefined aspects. |
| Helpdeskfunctions | Allows management of remote workstations with NetMan Desktop Manager client installed. It provides session mirroring, remote program starts, message transmissions, remote user logout, shutdown of stations, input requests etc. |
| Statistical use analysis | Analysis of user access (and unsuccessful access attempts) to applications and content served by NetMan Desktop Manager. Detailed numerical and graphical analysis, storage and calls of parameter templates; analysis of parallel license usage. The statistics can be accessed in the NDM Management interface or in a web browser. |
Security
| Optional SSL encryption (Web Frontend) | Data traffic over NetMan's web frontend between terminal servers and clients can be protected by 128-bit SSL encryption. |
| Two-factor authentication | NetMan's web frontend supports two-factor authentication with one-time passwords (OTP). Authentication is handled by an integrated RADIUS server, ensuring compatibility with all established token solutions. |
| RDP ticketing | Enhanced security against illicit use of terminal servers accomplished by a time-limited validity of RDP-files. |
| Local drive access | Session-specific assignment of ‘read’ and ‘write’ rights in directories on local drives. |
| Enhanced access | Provides higher security against illicit use by specifying addresses that can or cannot connect to the terminal server(s). Allows specification of individual IP-addresses, IP-areas or DNS names. |
| Local access control | The NetMan Client can block access to undesirable or unauthorized applications on the local end-user device. |