Patch management software has become more popular over recent years with businesses both large and small. Frequent fixes to the windows operating System fix security issues and sometimes add functionality to the programs. They have also gotten the consumer used to the fact that most programs require patches.
Most home users will enable automatic updates for the Windows operating system and this is a specific and limited type of patch management software. There are many more programs on almost every computer which also require patching. For the larger company or business, this can be a time and labor intensive job keeping up with patches and securing the system.
However today there are multiple choices in programs for managing updates and patches automatically or semi automatically. Security of the company assets is a primary source of concern for many businesses and enabling the latest security fixes provides enhanced security and functionality to the programs. Although these patches are essential they can be time consuming in larger operations if patch software management is not used.
These programs usually have a special console and it may well be located on a single master machine on the network. The master console can determine which programs should be patched and which should be overlooked. The user can also determine from which website a patch should be downloaded.
A company with multiple machines may well have different purposes for each one and different programs installed as well. In that case the management software will scan each machine separately and apply the patches or fixes. Software to manage patches will usually intelligently apply only those patches necessary for the programs present on the machine.
One very common type of management program for patches is that of the agent based software. This solution employs an agent, or small program on each machine. The agent scans the machine and makes the necessary changes. When the changes and scan are complete the program reports the results to a central administrative machine.
Agentless management programs on the other hand are centralized. The main machine performs all the scans upon the network and initiates the actions to patch. While agentless software is certainly more centrally configurable and permits closer monitoring of network machines than an agent based option. The cost for these programs will be higher than that of the agent based solutions. They also will require more supervision than those with agents.
These alternatives have cut the cost of maintaining some security aspects of a large network. It has become popular even among home users. However, a business should consider their available bandwidth, work force, and corporate needs before deciding upon particular management program, since the differences are so striking.
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