Review: Novell ZENworks Endpoint Security Management

ZENworks Endpoint Security Management is a client/server endpoint solution that works off of Novell's ZENworks Control Center platform (ZCC). The ZCC platform centrally manages many of Novell's other products and the Endpoint Security solution is simply unlocked through licensing. The offering provides VPN and wireless security enforcement, client firewall, device control, file/folder encryption and other features. It can be deployed physically or virtually to Windows or Linux platforms using a number of compatible database backend systems and directory services. Endpoints can be deployed to Windows client operating systems.

Both the backend server and client components were easy to deploy. We found ourselves up and running in a short amount of time. The solution can be deployed to a number of platforms and easily integrates into a number of different heterogeneous environments. The solution is very policy-centric and provides a number of useful features to control endpoints. Managing the environment and deploying client agents and policies is intuitive, and we were impressed with its enterprise-class look and feel. It is highly customizable and can bolt into existing ZENworks environments with ease.

Although anti-virus and data leakage protection capabilities are not included, virtually every other endpoint security feature is present. Additionally, the ability to use a number of backend databases for events, data reporting and other features is impressive as well.

One feature we noted was the way the solution manages encrypted files and folders. The policy language for encryption enforcement labels these hosts as "safe harbor," which can help organizations understand which hosts can help them comply with breach reporting laws.

Lastly, the Flash-based graphical reporting engine helps to summarize the current state of the endpoints in an easy-to-understand and polished format.

A flexible, enterprise-class endpoint solution that fits well into many different types of environments.