General Information
Why is the Division deploying the LANDesk Management Suite?
Will LANDesk work on my Macintosh or other non-Windows computer?
Will LANDesk change settings on my managed computer?
What can myIT see on my computer after LANDesk is installed?
Is the Division using LANDesk to monitor staff, faculty, or student behavior?
Will LANDesk affect the performance of my workstation?
How does LANDesk handle mobile laptops?
Remote User Assistance
Does Remote Assistance work when I am using my workstation off campus?
IT Asset Management
What information is in the inventory and when is it collected?
Patch Management
What type of patches will be managed?
Will my workstation's performance be impacted when a patch is being installed?
Will patches be installed on my Mac?
What is LANDesk Desktop Manager?
What happens if a particular patch is not compatible with my system/application?
What is LANDesk?
LANDesk is an asset management software system used to remotely inventory and manage desktop computers. It has the ability to report on installed software and hardware, allow remote assistance, and install operating system security patches. Comprehensive information can be found at the LANDesk website.
Is it mandatory?
Yes, LANDesk must be installed on all Creighton-owned assets.
Why is the Division deploying the LANDesk Management Suite?
Remote Assistance / Efficiency
DoIT strives to provide the best customer service experience. With the customer's consent and LANDesk Remote Assistance, Help Desk analysts can see exactly what the customer sees. This allows them to provide help instantly, over the phone. Field technicians can thus be deployed more quickly to attend to urgent hardware and software issues that require a physical presence.
Asset Management
All workstations with the LANDesk Agent provide valuable inventory data about the machines they are installed on; such as: available storage, total RAM, and age of hardware. This will allow myIT staff and our local support partners to effectively manage the workstation management lifecycle.
Security
LANDesk will enable myIT and your departmental IT support staff to address vulnerabilities remotely and quickly. LANDesk can install software patches on one day, or remotely change workstation settings to counter recently discovered security holes.
Software Updates
The LANDesk Agent, combined with patch management, can ensure that all applications are up to date with the latest security fixes. LANDesk can update a variety of products from many vendors.
Reporting
Site administrators using LANDesk can create customized, detailed reports regarding departmental hardware and software assets.
Will LANDesk work on my Macintosh or other non-Windows computer?
There is a LANDesk client for Mac OS 10.6 and above, as well as a Linux client. LANDesk capabilities vary for each of the different operating systems, but inventory reporting works across all platforms.
Will LANDesk change settings on my managed computer?
No. The LANDesk Agent communicates exclusively with the LANDesk Core server to ensure that the managed workstation is up to date and all necessary patches have been applied. Additionally the Agent performs a hardware and software inventory scan, once a day when the computer is idle.
What can the Service Desk personnel see on my computer after LANDesk is installed?
LANDesk will not permit the Service Desk to view the files on your computer. Using LANDesk, we can only view inventory information about the hardware components and software applications.
When using the Remote Assistance tool, you are able to grant permission to a Service Desk Analyst and to share your desktop with them. During a remote assistance session, they will see exactly what you see and be able to move the mouse cursor and type through the keyboard. Please note: permission must be granted for each session before viewing begins.
A remote assistance session is just like having that person sitting with you in your office: you will be able to see each action as it is performed. You can stop the session at any time.
Is the Division using LANDesk to monitor staff, faculty, or student behavior?
No. LANDesk does not monitor staff, faculty, or students; or the websites they visit. LANDesk does check to see if your software applications are up to date with the latest Microsoft patches, as well as patches from other companies such as Adobe, Apple, Corel, Dell, and Kaspersky. LANDesk also returns important information to administrators about the hardware installed on a university-owned workstation.
I have sensitive information on my workstation. Is it vulnerable to snooping or tampering via LANDesk?
No. LANDesk does not increase risk. However, be sure that you store all important information on a network resource, to ensure that it is secure and backed up. We discourage you from storing sensitive or important information on your workstation. Please contact the myIT Service Desk at (402) 280-1111, or 800-329-1011, option 3. Or, Email the Service Desk at servicedesk@creighton.edu
Will LANDesk affect the performance of my workstation?
LANDesk has been deployed on over 3600 workstations, both Windows and OS X, with no adverse effects on performance.
How does LANDesk handle mobile laptops?
The LANDesk Agent is only active while utilizing remote assistance features and sending inventory to the core server. The rest of the time, it is inactive and will not interfere with network communication.
Remote User Assistance
What is Remote Assistance?
The Remote Assistance feature in LANDesk lets you share control of your computer with a Service Desk analyst. This will help them to more quickly and accurately troubleshoot and resolve problems. Please note: the Service Desk cannot access your computer or provide remote assistance without your explicit permission. To authorize an analyst to help you remotely, you will need to click OK when presented with a remote assistance dialog box.
Does Remote Assistance work when I am using my workstation off campus?
Yes, Remote Assistance works with workstations that are not on Creighton's network, using the LANDesk Management Gateway.
What information is in the inventory and when is it collected?
The inventory contains detailed information about all of the hardware components and software applications installed on your computer. It can be used to determine how much and what kind of memory is in your computer, what operating system you have, and the versions of the software that you use. The inventory tool will run no more than once per day.
All of this information assists the Service Desk when troubleshooting a problem with your computer. Inventory information will also help departments evaluate their current technology assets when it is time to buy new computers. The inventory tool cannot access any of your personal files.
What is Asset Management?
Asset management is a combination of inventory control and maintenance. It helps departments answer basic questions about their computing environment, such as:
- How many workstations do we own?
- When did we deploy this workstation?
- Is the workstation due for replacement?
- Is the workstation in use?
- Is the workstation using one of our software licenses?
- Is the workstation up to date with the latest antivirus signatures?
Patch Management
Why Patch Management?
Patch management helps to safeguard Creighton owned computers and Creighton data from cyber criminals looking to exploit applications that are out of date. Patch management keeps operating system software and applications up to date.
What type of patches will be managed?
The Division will use LANDesk to determine which systems require Microsoft critical and recommended patches, as well as other third party software patches, such as: Adobe, Flash, and Java.
Will my workstation's performance be impacted when a patch is being installed?
The performance impact of patching will depend on the type and quantity of patches being applied. However, the impact will be equal to that of installing the patches via the Windows Update site. To minimize user impact, customers are given the opportunity to defer standard patches for at least 7 days.
Will patches be installed on my Mac?
At this time, OS X patching has not been implemented. However, we are currently testing the use of the LANDesk Agent for OS X to patch OS X workstations.
What is LANDesk Desktop Manager?
LANDesk Desktop Manager can be accessed through your computer, and contains the Software Deployment Portal and LaunchPad. The Software Deployment Portal is a feature of LANDesk that deploys software to targeted groups of users. The LaunchPad serves as a standard location for files or applications that should be standardized on all Creighton workstations. Both features allow DoIT to place software patches and software applications in one central location, so users can update and install software from their desktops.
What happens if a particular patch is not compatible with my system/application?
Before each monthly patching cycle, all patches will be inventoried and announced via myT Alert. These patches will be tested internally by the Division as well as by our technical team leaders. We will allow three weeks to pass from the initial release of the patch until the deployment date. If you find a patch that is incompatible with your system or application, please report this to the Service Desk at x1111.
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