Hi Thomas,
First, thank you for responding. And before I begin, I like to emphasise that we all know NS7 is an evolving beast and that resources being what they are, you guys are doing the best you can. Your job is tough -making this v7 at least as functional as the existing and mature v6 line, whilst delivering headline grabbing functionality improvements too. Tough and controversial decisions are inevitable when scoping what to do, and when.
I'd like to say though that of all the issues I've raised over the last year with DS7, this one I consider quite serious. It smacks against the foundations of good IT -automation and efficiency.
Let me explain. With CMS6.x we already have the concept of a two-tier packaging framework; on one side we have software jobs created in DS for use in image building and ad-hoc deployment. On the the other we have our NS packages for deployment through policy.
Although this two-tier process isn't efficient, it does have at least the advantage that you can automate your processes from build and deployment, to the software maintenance lifecycle beyond.
With CMS7.x one of the core selling points is the evolution of task server and software management -this enhances software deployment to the point where tasks can be delivered in both the NS and DS styles. Finally Altiris have achieved a single-tier software delivery platform, which delivers as a result a great efficiency boost to customers.
However, the licensing oversight with regard to bare-metal deployment means you can't have both efficiency and automation in CMS7 software deployment. You either suffer your process being more manual, or subscribe to a two-tier system again. Introducing a manual process into one which should be automated will generate frustration, so people with the know-how will now develop their own second tier to the CMS7 software deployment system (as you've already indicated). This is surely worse than the situation we have with CMS6?
Let's now take a step back -migrating to CMS7 isn't trivial and involves a lot of organisational resource. The justification most of us put forward is that it will be worth it. The end result being a system with increased flexibilitiy, automation and efficiency. In real terms, this translates to less staff hours required to provide a more responsive and proactive IT environment. I'm not yet convinced that this will be the case for us, and I want to be.
At the moment I see a great many nuggets of gold in NS7 -I really do. I'll even list them for you if you want. But its hard not to be disappointed that 7 is taking such a long time to reach parity with it's predecessor in such key areas.
Kind Regards,
Ian./