The development of Monitoring Templates continues apace. Following our update in March that allowed you to add checks with Monitoring Templates to existing devices as well as new ones, the next release will make Monitoring Templates much more versatile.

Monitoring Templates Part 3 allows you to choose whether you want to replace the existing checks with those in the template, as currently the case, or add them to the checks already on the device.

This is really significant because now you can use the templates to configure devices with successive layers of checks based on the role of the device. For example, you can create a base-layer template of checks that you wish to apply to all devices as standard, then add a specialist template to monitor a device’s particular role such as a set of exchange server checks.

What does this really mean for you?

Monitoring Templates Part 3 offers you a number of key benefits:

• A great time saver
  Set up Monitoring Templates once and use these to add checks to devices going forward, instead of editing devices one at a time.

• Improve consistency and standardisation
  Use the centralised templates to ensure technicians configure devices in exactly the same way across clients with much less chance of accidental deviations.

• Maximise your team’s expertise
  Create and roll out specialist check templates tailored to server and workstation roles, leveraging your team’s expertise directly through the Dashboard.

We’re really excited about this release, we think it’s a big step forward in allowing you to manage large numbers of devices in a standard and consistent way, while saving time and effort doing so. To further improve this, the next update will let you apply monitoring templates directly at client and site level, making it even easier to add standard checks to multiple devices at a time.

Release Webinar Series
We’re also pleased to announce the first webinar in a series of RM Release Updates, scheduled for April 28th. Join Eric Anthony and Jason Poulopoulos for a review of the latest updates and changes to MAX RemoteManagement. We will spend about 30 minutes demonstrating the features from the most recent releases and then the remainder of the time answering your questions as best we can about anything MAX related.

Click here for details on how to sign up to the free webinar.

All the details…
In the meantime, here’s a detailed run-through of the current set of enhancements to Monitoring Templates. Please note you need the latest agent installed, Agent v9.8.9 RC:

1) To create and manage Monitoring Templates, select Monitoring Template from the Settings menu, then click Manage Templates (1).

NB: See this previous release post for more details on setting up monitoring templates.

2) To apply a monitoring template and choose whether you want to add or replace the existing checks on a device, select the device in the north pane, right-click to bring up the context menu, then select Apply Monitoring Template (2). Use CTRL+Click or Shift+Click to select multiple devices (3).

3) Select the template you wish to add, or use the check detection scan to automatically determine which checks to add to the device (4).

4) Now select whether you want to replace the existing checks on the device(s), or add the checks in the template to the existing set (5). Select the preferred behaviour in the event that the device and the template both have the same check – you can leave the existing check as is, or you can update the existing check to use the settings of the one in the template (6).

5) Lastly, confirm the update by entering your password. Note that checks associated with features such as Managed Antivirus or Managed Online Backup will not be removed and replaced by the new template or check detection scan (7).

A final couple of points:

• As mentioned, you need to have the latest RC agent installed in order to see the new feature enhancements. If you don’t have the latest agent installed it will show the current dialog where you can choose the template and it will automatically replace the existing checks.

• After applying a template it takes a little time to update the device. During this period the option is greyed out, as soon as the checks have been added you can apply the next template. Normally this process will take no more than a minute, occasionally it will depend on the next time the agent checks in as part of its check cycle.

One more…
Over on Automated Tasks, we’ve added the option to select “Manual” when entering a frequency for the task. This is useful for tasks you wish to run on demand, for instance a one-off script, instead of having to set a repeat cycle which might not be applicable for that particular task or script.

Let us know what you think
Your feedback helps us design better features so please keep the comments coming. You can use our LinkedIn group, IdeaFactory, speak to your account managers or talk to customer support. We’re hard at work on the next set of updates, including enhancements to User Roles and Permissions and Monitoring Templates.

And finally…
The staging release notes are listed below:

Staging Release Notes

Please note, staging release notes are subject to change. Final release notes will go out with the release.

Summary for Service Release

• Service release focused on new features, bug fixes and performance
• Dashboard v5.60
• Agent v9.8.9 RC

Dashboard v5.60
FEATURE: Choose whether to update or replace checks on devices when applying a Monitoring Template (requires Agent v9.8.9 RC)
UPDATE: Option to set the Automated Task Scheduler to “Manual” so you can run scripts on demand e.g. one-off scripts
BUGFIX: Ensure the Wallchart plays a sound when a check fails
BUGFIX: Ensure Client Groups and 2 Factor Authentication work together correctly

Agent v9.8.9 RC
FEATURE: Choose whether to update or replace checks on devices when applying a Monitoring Template