DameWare 9.0 - Almost Here!

We are very close to releasing the next version of DameWare Mini Remote Control and DameWare Remote Support (formerly NT Utilities).  Version 9.0 includes some exciting new features in both products; let's take a look.

First, we've added the ability to connect to Mac and Linux endpoints with MRC.  This means you can now use MRC to initiate a remote control session on operating systems other than Windows.  If you've been using more than one tool for your Mac and Linux needs, you now have the opportunity to do some consolidation and use MRC for all of the platforms you're responsible for supporting.  The Mac and Linux support relies on the VNC server already installed on your Mac or Linux box.  As long as the VNC server is enabled on the endpoint, you can use MRC to connect with the appropriate credentials.

Here you can see an active MRC session connected to a Mac!

Next is support for some of the native AMT features on vPro machines.  We've added functionality that leverages some of the native AMT functions on a vPro box, namely remote control (or KVM), and the ability to manage power on the machine (think Wake on LAN).  You can now use MRC to connect to a vPro AMT machine for a remote control session, and you can use DameWare Remote Support (DRS) to power up or restart a sleeping machine.

Here you can see where the Power and AMT configuration settings have been added in DRS.

Here you can see where we've added the ability to initiate a remote control session on an AMT supported vPro system from MRC.

We've also implemented backwards compatibility for the MRC client agent in 9.0.  This should ease the pain of upgrading for existing customers that need to update the client agent on all of their endpoints, or simply want to avoid updating the agent due to change control policies.  This means version 9.0 of MRC can now connect to endpoints that are running 7.x and 8.x versions of the client agent without having to upgrade the agent.

Finally, as I mentioned earlier in the post, we've changed the name of NT Utilities to DameWare Remote Support, or DRS for those of you who prefer acronyms.  If you already own NT Utilities, you'll notice this name change in the License Management section of your SolarWinds Customer Portal.  Don't worry!  Nothing has changed about the licensing; it's just a name change.

Look for an announcement very, very soon for version 9.0.  We're looking forward to hearing your feedback on the new features, and hope you'll give 9.0 a test drive!