In my last post I reviewed Admin Arsenal’s inventory and monitoring features. Today I will show you how you can use this nifty tool to deploy software and manage computers remotely.

Software deployment is fairly easy with Admin Arsenal. You just have to select a collection and choose the MSI, MSU, or EXE file. It is also possible to remotely install software on a single computer or multiple computers by selecting each computer separately. Admin Arsenal supports unattended installations, you can uninstall or repair software, and it is possible to restart computers after an installation, if necessary. All prior remote installations are listed in the deployment interface.

Admin Arsenal starts immediately with the installation on all selected computers, which means there will be no delays, as you might know from enterprise software deployment solutions. The installation will fail if a computer isn’t online. Admin Arsenal won’t try again later; thus you must ensure that all machines are reachable before you start the deployment process. Because Admin Arsenal supports Wake on LAN, this shouldn’t be a problem for small and mid-sized networks.

Apart from Wake on LAN, Admin Arsenal has the following remote management features: reboot/shutdown, kill processes, start/stop/pause services, and remote command.

Remote command allows you to execute a command on one or multiple machines. The command has to be available on the remote machines and its directory path has to be stored in the Windows Path variable. Note that Remote Command is not a remote command prompt; that is, if the command requires a user’s input, it will hang on the remote machines. However, you can see the command’s output in Admin Arsenal’s Remote Command window.

Admin Arsenal also enables you to launch common Windows management tools such as Remote Desktop, Remote Assistance, VNC, Computer Management, and Event Viewer.

If multiple administrators are supposed to use Admin Arsenal, then you should install the tool on a server and use it in a Terminal Services session. This way, all administrators will use the same collections and inventory database. You also can install the tool on your desktop if you prefer working with your own database. But then you should take into account that you will generate more network traffic because each installed instance will scan all your computers.

Admin Arsenal is a system management tool for SMBs that can make a Windows administrator’s life easier. The user interface is well thought-out. During my test, I consulted the manual only once or twice. You can use the tool immediately just like you would use a TV remote control.

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