EMC Upgrades VoyenceControl Network Management System

EMC on Monday introduced an upgrade of its model-based network change and configuration management software.

VoyenceControl 4.0 aligns closely with EMC's Application Discovery Manager and other products with the company's Smarts family for IT operations management. The combination of products enables EMC customers to create vendor-neutral compliance templates for network devices, rather than creating a policy and template for each vendor, EMC said.

"When integrated with EMC Smarts or any other leading management software, EMC VoyenceControl enables fully closed-loop configuration management -- automating and streamlining all tasks related to network configuration, change, and compliance management," Chris Gahagan, senior VP of resource management software at the storage vendor, said in statement.

New features in VoyenceControl include the ability to see the configuration state of a device at any time, even as part of a virtual LAN. A VLAN is a group of hosts with a common set of requirements that communicate as if they were attached to the same wire on a network, regardless of location.

In addition, customers using EMC's Smarts software can see details from VoyenceControl events from within the Smarts user interface, contextually launch VoyenceControl directly from Smarts, and synchronize the Smarts and VoyenceControl topologies, EMC said.

VoyenceControl also has a compliance engine that covers device and regulatory compliance, and a new reporting engine for creating customized reports.

More information on VoyenceControl is available on EMC's Web site. Pricing was not disclosed.

EMC lately has been extending its reach from large organizations, which are the target for VoyenceControl, into consumer and small business markets. The company last month said it would acquire Iomega, a maker of external hard drives and network-attached storage devices, for $213 million.

The deal followed by six months EMC's acquisition of online backup service Mozy. EMC bought Mozy through the acquisition of its parent company, Berkeley Data Systems. The Mozy subscription service had 300,000 customers and provided backup for desktops, laptops, and remote-office servers.