(imported topic written by naveedm)
We are pleased to announce the release of a new set of Power Management features.
View screen shots of some of the new functionality:
http://support.bigfix.com/images/miscscreenshots/power-controls-wfs.jpg
http://support.bigfix.com/images/miscscreenshots/wake-from-standby-scheduling.jpg
http://support.bigfix.com/images/miscscreenshots/wake-from-standby-remove.jpg
The new functionality includes:
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A Wake-from-Standby Scheduling Wizard which enables administrators to have computers locally wake themselves from Standby without the need for a Wake-on-LAN packet.
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Tasks to force on-demand or scheduled entrance into Standby (Task ID 30) or Hibernation (Task ID 31)
These new features are particularly helpful because they allow organizations to create a consistent and easy-to-implement power policy that allows for standard scheduled maintenance.
Here is a simple example customer power policy:
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BigFix-managed power settings are set to:
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Monitor goes into low-power mode after 15 minutes of user inactivity
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Hard-drive goes into low-power mode after 60 minutes of user inactivity
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System standby after 90 minutes of user inactivity
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Forced Standby at pre-defined times: BigFix forces the computer into Standby at 8PM (using the new Task) after displaying a warning to users who may still be working, providing them with an option to snooze the action. This step to force entrance into Standby or Hibernation is sometimes a necessary “catch-all” step to assist with computers that suffer from “PC Insomnia” where applications prevent the system from entering Standby with the normal OS inactivity settings.
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Scheduled Wake-from-Standby: Computer automatically wakes up at 1AM (scheduled using the new Wizard – no Wake-on-LAN required) and performs regularly scheduled Tasks (through BigFix or through other systems) such as backups, patch updates, DAT updates, etc. After the maintenance tasks are complete, the computer will re-enter Standby (either due to the inactivity timer or through forced entrance using the new Task).
As you can see from the above example, this is a straight-forward power policy that is easy to implement in BigFix, easy to test, and allows for significant power savings while also allowing IT Operations teams to perform their normal scheduled maintenance with minimal disruption.
For a list of all recently released Power Management enhancements please see:
http://forum.bigfix.com/viewtopic.php?id=2047
http://forum.bigfix.com/viewtopic.php?id=1871
http://forum.bigfix.com/viewtopic.php?id=1752
http://forum.bigfix.com/viewtopic.php?id=1652
Lastly, as a reminder, BigFix Power Management has been certified by major energy utilities so customers with BigFix Power Management may be eligible for rebates as high as $15 per computer.
For more information about rebates or if you would like a free trial of BigFix Power Management to determine savings potential within your organization, please contact your sales representative or email sales@bigfix.com.
We hope you enjoy the new features and stay tuned for many more enhancements in the coming months!
Naveed