Hoping to ease the migration process involved with moving corporate users to new desktops, Symantec Corp. on Tuesday unveiled a new tool that automates many of the more mundane tasks associated with PC migration.
Version 3.0 of the Symantec Client Migration tool features the company’s AutoMigrate function, a fully automated, script-based migration service. The new product also has a Web-based interface making it easier for users to carry out their own migration and application update tasks.
Users can now use a single and more familiar browser-based interface from which to carry out a desktop migration to a new version of Windows without having to install a second client.
“In talking with users today, they tell us that operating system provisioning tools by themselves often cannot sufficiently deal with the complexity of a complex and mixed hardware and software environment. We think this tool can help them migrate PC data and desktop settings as part of their overall operating systems deployment plan,” said Thom Bailey, Symantec’s director of product management and enterprise administration.
Version 3.0 has several enhanced components, including the Migration Server, which runs on a dedicated system and is responsible for all migration resources, client logins, and data storage, according to a company spokesman. The server also stores all migration policies and operates the self-service and AutoMigrate processes.
The product’s Migration Control Center, which serves as a central management console, now better enables administrators to create migration policies by selecting what can be included and excluded from a particular user’s configuration. It can also carry out tasks such as initializing the product’s AutoMigrate function.
The Symantec AutoInstall, which is an application packager, is also included and allows IT administrators to create self-executable files and applications along with a variety of different patches and hot fixes that can be deployed across the breadth of a network.
The new version works with Windows 95/98/2000 as well as with Windows 2000 and Windows XP Professional.
Version 3.0 is expected to be available early this month through Symantec’s network of distributors and resellers.
