The anti-virus package goes out to all users every evening for mandatory execution the next morning. After running the virus check, the system reports the machine name, the alias, and the results back to the central log. At the same time it sends e-mail to any users with infected files, notifying them that a virus was found and disinfected. The European operation used Microsoft Network Monitor in Systems Management Server, to identify systems still running the protocol, so it could be more easily removed. Network Monitor is able to track and decode traffic on the network, and thereby find out which machines are using which protocols.
Systems administrators use the diagnostic utilities to view the client's current configuration.
Then they use the help-desk utilities to directly access remote clients to help them on a variety of tasks, from configuring network drivers and software applications to finding a missing .exe file. Presently about 40 percent of help-desk calls are handled using Systems Management Server. This saves the user having to explain the problem because the technician can see firsthand exactly what the user sees. As a result, these calls can often be resolved in less time than it used to take just to explain the problem. The IT group is also considering methods to provide additional flexibility within groups and within regions for distributing software and collecting inventory data.