Finding a suitable system management tool that is reasonably priced and reasonably well specified is no easy task but for the past few weeks I have been beta testing the new Spiceworks 2 (Spiceworks is available free!) having tested 1.7 which I previously discussed in Spicing up Network Management with Spiceworks. With v2 Spiceworks is really starting to tick all the right boxes.

After installation, the first step is for the software to scan the network and categorise all the discovered nodes. Scans can be configured to run regularly and it’s also possible to manually assign nodes to specific categories. From then on Alerts can be set to watch for various conditions reported by the nodes, some of the monitors and alerts includes checking disk space, anti-virus updates, software installations and printer supply levels. The alerting function is proving very useful, I now have a thin client sitting on my desk with a Spiceworks session permanently on display (see Monitoring the Network). It’s great having all the relevant information in one place. Better still, alerts can be sent via email notifications so if you are out and about with your mobile email device you can keep in touch and up to date with the network.

It is very handy to have a summary screen showing a snapshot of the collected network data and this view can be customised to add RSS feed data so I have several of my favourite technology Blogs at hand. Already included are Microsoft Security Bulletins, Product Reviews, and IT News. A section is also included to show New Hardware and New Software identified in the current week which can be useful to spot rogue devices and software installations that may otherwise have gone unnoticed on the network. Spiceworks is laid out neatly and informative, some aspects are perhaps not as intuitive as they could be - especially if you don’t always read what’s on the screen - a few times I have been curious about how to perform a particular function only to realise later that instructions on how to do so are clearly stated! Mind you I come from a generation of users for whom RTFM was the very very last resort.

Spiceworks 2 has been made much quicker and its new Spicemeter gadget is a surprisingly useful addition which assists in ensuring the software is configured correctly and that you are making full use of the available functionality. A useful new feature is its ability to track Windows Event Logs across machines watching out for potential problems so they can be dealt with swiftly. The location of the events aren’t immediately obvious (especially if you don’t have Flash Player installed) - to get to it go into the Inventory Tab and make sure the Overview Tab on the lower part of the screen is highlighted. Wait for the event bar chart to appear then click on a particular day  - the events will be shown in a pop up window. Alternatively click on a node in the Inventory Window and select Events in the lower panel. Clicking on an Event ID redirects to a Microsoft Technet site but that part didn’t work for me - maybe the link URL has changed?

The built in helpdesk functionality is also proving useful. I have tried various helpdesk programs before but it is very useful having one integrated into the Spiceworks platform. On the same screen as the helpdesk is a facility for asking questions to the 200,000+ Spiceworks user base. I have asked a few questions and received responses very quickly. A sense of community pervades most areas of Spiceworks which is comforting when trying to resolve a particularly tricky network issue.

To keep the software free it is supported by an advertisement section but at least this is kept out of the way and the ads are at least technology based. For a small fee the advertisements can be removed by becoming a Spiceworks Sponsor under the MyWay (beta) package.

Spiceworks is well worth a look and is available from www.spiceworks.com